D-Mo is certainly an intriguing guy to watch. Legit 7 footer and now that he has bulked up he completely looks the part. His post game is a joy to watch. I mean he is a whirling dervish and he can hit shots with either hand effortlessly. That said, in order for him to crack the rotation and stay in it though, he is going to have to do one of two things. Either become a consistent 3 point shooter or become competent on the defensive end. He doesn't have to block shots or shut down the paint, but he needs to stop learning the Greg Smith method of not moving your feet and watching guys blow past you only to reach out and foul. No more of that. He can learn to play better position defense, but he needs to move those damn feet the same way he moves them on offense. His defensive awareness is far too often lacking. Then defensive possessions are not over until you've secured the rebound and he often finds himself out of position to rebound because he is chasing the play and he isn't the kind of athlete that can rebound outside of his area like Howard so it is essential that he learn to be in the right spots to defend and block out for boards. Those are the things that make Asik good. I don't really feel like Asik rebounds outside of his area much either, but the key is he is usually in the right places. If he can do either of those things, he locks down a rotation spot, maybe even starts. And I say this as one of the people that has been pulling for Terrence Jones because I was intrigued with what I saw from him at the end of last season with the offensive rebounding, blocked shots, ball handling, and highlight dunks. His jumper is admittedly broken though and unlike D-Mo, he has some real issues with his actual shooting stroke that could prevent him from ever being a consistent longrange shooter.
Exactly. Valanciunas is aggressive in the post and uses his body a lot more. He is projected to break out this or next year.
I have 2 things to say: 1) If you watched every minute of the preseason, like I did, you have noticed that DMo did not drop on the floor almost at all. 2 times max in all those 7 or so games. While he used to be falling all over the place, twice a quarter last season. It may not be 40lbs of muscle, but you can't deny that he added 40lbs of something and it made him tougher without taking away his quickness and speed! 2) His 3 point shooting. A lot of his shots are very close, rimming out, very little bricks (compared to TJones). I think if Rockets hired some good 3 point shooting coach to change something in DMo's shot (maybe make him shoot the ball higher, maybe change the release) he has, in my opinion, a lot of room to improve his shooting %. But exploiting DMo's potential is at the bottom of Rockets to do list and I am kinda hoping he gets traded to a team where he'd more appreciated.
Perfectly said. But I could see D-Mo stepping into the rotation next season as Howard's back up if he does not add 6 made threes per hundred attempts this season. After an Asik trade of course. Morey has to be looking at Asik's $8M cap hit for a backup center. At ~$1.5M D-Mo has to be considered as an attractive alternative. D-Mo is in an enviable position. He has two separate routes to an $8M paycheck. Improve his defense or add 6% to his three point accuracy. That is potential with defined goals.
The next time we see a highlight reel that for T. Jones that even holds a candle to that will be the first time. Motiejunas is clearly a work in progress, just as Yao was in his second year. Fortunately, if there is anyone who can evaluate the potential of a young power forward and develop that, surely that person must be Kevin McHale. McHale knows what he has here, and that is a very young, potential all-star caliber power forward. Clearly there is no risk of Motiejunas achieving those lofty heights this year, or in all probability, next year either. But the potential is there. He just needs to continue to work hard on his game and be properly mentored. He is really the most interesting developmental prospect on the team. And he is not a bad player at all right now. The people around here who cannot see the potential of players like this, who can only see what they are right this second, are surprisingly short sited and narrow minded in my view. Just because Motiejunas (or some other player) is not fully developed right now does not mean we are seeing all that he can be. Motiejunas has the tools to really be something special in a couple of years, and if he gets enough playing time, maybe even by next year. Fortunately, we have a hall of fame power forward coaching the team who is in an excellent position to nurture all of this, and who is not likely to be distracted by the short-sited grumblings of a bunch of arm-chair quarterbacks on a basketball message board.
Haha! D-Mo's divergent paths to the big money. I said the other day that he will never be a good defensive player and I believe that, but if he can just be competent and by that I mean not be a Greg Smith negative and at least be in the right spots more often than not. If he does that, I do agree with you that he could play center in today's NBA. His offense, in my opinion is already there for the most part. He is also a pretty good interior passer. Imagine if he can do that AND also add that 3 pointer...hmm. Keep working big fella.
DMo is very lucky that he could be learning from Dream. I think he could be the backup center if he can hold his own defensively. His post offense and pnr are already good enough IMO. If his three point shooting becomes really good, he might be good enough to be the starting PF but I don't think right now he is ready. Future is definitely bright for him. Let's see how the Vanilla team can do! (Dmo, Casspi, Lin, Garcia and Asik or Parsons)
Great vid, say what you want bus practice against Dwight and Asik on both court of the floor, make him better offense which is good allready(if you can score on dwigt you allmost can scor on all), and especially in defense! make my words
He needs to lay off of the 3 pointers. I think he's embraced the role of stretch 4 a bit too much. A post player of his caliber should stay in the paint.
Nice highlight package. Jones may not have the pretty post up game that D-Mo has, but he brings something different to the table. This game against the Kings last year towards the end of the year showed that Jones could be a good athletic garbage man. Rebounds in TRAFFIC, blocks, defense and hustle. He just needs seasoning...and to get his head out of his a$$ every now and then lol. He probably needs to completely abandon the 3 point shot for right now and just keep refining it in practice. He has a more Lamar Odom type of game potentially. <iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/t_o13q2o6WQ?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Dmo's about to show he's on ________'s level. Seriously, I think Dmo's like a "jack of all trades, master of none." He can shoot the three, post-up, rebound, defend, but not consistently (esp. the last two). But I'm rooting for him. His skillset is unique, and I hope he can develop something in his skillset that will satisfy Mchale's liking, and get consistent playing time. Go, Dmo!
Larry Sanders and Derek Favors were looking like busts their first few years. Look at Asik he's 27 and this was his breakout year. Even if it takes until Donuts' second contract to perform he's worth keeping. Why waste all that time and resources just to see another franchise benefit from it?
Well said. I guess TJones being as close to NBA ready as Dmo is shows that he has a future. He is 2 years younger than the Lithuanian and did not play in Europe. (DMo played close to 2 years in the European pro league) Less games in College.
Criticize DMo all you want, say he's a highlight reel and a stats scourge and I would partially agree with you...but come on man, if you're gonna use the Jack of All Trades attribution, surely you must apply it to Terrence Jones first. The dude does EVERYTHING alright, and nothing well. With DMo you can project him to one day have an elite skill (his post game and offensive touch). With Jones there isn't even anything projectable. He's athletic, a hustler, a good glue guy one day eventually...and that's it. And that may be perfectly ok for you if you are just looking for an energy Brandon-Bass type. But remember, he's not even Brandon Bass yet. We'll see I suppose. Our team's patience for young developmental types has worn much more thin in the last six months.
You're right. I want Jones to do well. I just do not see the upside with him that I see with Motiejunas. And the Motiejunas highlight reel, together with the lack of anything on the same level from Jones, supports that proposition.
Sure. You got your opinion. Personally I would rather watch someone established like Millsap, Monroe going to work next to Howard. But for now I am sticking with those. Highlights reels do not tell the whole story and the last 3 games Terrence was out due to shoulder injury.
