DMO is so overrated! Jesus. Too soft for the bigs. I'd be happy if he became similar to Okur from those Jazz teams that worked over the Rockets in the playoffs.
I'm one of those who got excited when we got him, and was a bit let down by his performance. Mainly because I had pumped myself up too much about the guy when thinking about his obvious potential. So far during preseason, he's clearly shown that he worked hard during the off-season, got stronger and bigger, without losing a bit of his quickness, and he simply looks improved. Isn't that what you want from any player? Steady improvement? As many have said here (I've said it before myself), most big men need time to reach their potential. Most don't come in and immediately become an impact player, like Moses, Ralph, and Hakeem. This slower developmental progression for big men is far more common, in my humble opinion. I'm very encouraged by what I've seen in preseason from Donatas. Seems to me that there are folks here who just have to criticize a player, like they're bored or something, or have a bad cold, and they use hammering on a player as a substitute for chicken soup. I don't get it. Let's just see what develops, and not simply when talking about Donuts or Jones. I think that's good advice when it comes to all our young players.
D-Mo sports the rarest of skills in the NBA. He is a fabulous post up player. Looking at the tape my jaw drops at times. I cannot believe a seven footer could ever exhibit that quickness. Those moves. Such coordination. Someone posted some video of McHale in his prime. I looked at it and saw how similar it is to how D-Mo plays the post. And now that he is 40 pounds heavier? Damn. The Rockets will not be trading D-Mo. He could very well be their starting power forward or their backup center within the next 18 months. At a $1.5M salary. How good is that?
I think Dmo needs one more year of spot minutes/injury minute. He will be going against high quality players in practice and I expect BIG things out of him next year. This year I just expect some success and some struggle.
He perhaps has two of the best practice partners in the world in Howard and Asik. And numerous sessions with Dream. With McHale as his head coach, one of the best power forwards the game has ever seen. D-Mo's future is incredibly bright. Looking at tape from last season and this preseason it seems like D-Mo is beginning to understand the geometry of the NBA court. I believe that last season he was playing on a NBA court with the geometry of the International court stuck in his head. This season should be interesting for many reasons. D-M0's development is just a subplot.
As a 2nd year player I'm happy where hes at, 3rd year is really where you know with most players anyways. I saw him pin Ed Davis last game and demand the ball, which was impressive to me. Granted it was Ed Davis, but that was something he couldn't do last year.
Wasn't Davis the guy that tomahawk slammed D-Mo's head and got ejected with a flagrant 2? And D-Mo got up and hit that free throw.
I have no clue as to why people view D-Mo as soft. I remember EuroLeague video of him two years ago literally slamming his shoulder into the defenders sternum and going around him for the dunk. Last season D-Mo had a weight disadvantage on the court. As it stands now he could easily hit 270 pounds in the near future. If that happens maybe Hibbert could back him down. Maybe.
I don't think he is soft. He is less coordinated and strong than the average PF right now. The good news is that he has made strides in those areas. Again... Next year is when Motiejunas will really make an impact IMO.
I have watched all of his tape. Repeatedly. I have analyzed his defensive stats in excruciating detail. From every source possible. And what exactly have you done except for stating your ignorant opinion?????
Someone hit the jackpot here. "He is white and he isn't Zach Randolph type of player, so he must be soft."
No need to go all homeboy on him and no need to hate on him either. It all comes down to regular season PT for the young buck. We would not have as many Dmo threads if the team did not have Howard and the expectations were just about making the playoffs. Now is the time and Dmo has about one, maximum two years time to develop into an NBA Power forward, whether as a 7th guy type or as a starter. If he can develop under pressure, then it's his spot and if he can't there are other teams willing to take him.
Must be the reason DH nicknamed him "the white Hakeem" ... he's the one with the smoothest post moves on our team. we'll give him time to develop. with camby out, he just might have become our 3rd center. asik has just become untrade-able
