[VantageSports] Donatas Motiejunas - Houston's Answer at PF

Wasn't there an article recently that complimented him on being a humble guy. Something about him preferring to box out correctly and allow his teammates to grab the rebound?

 

Great find! I love the point about how fans usually have to cringe when their bigs start dribbling, something we all have when Jones tried to get too fancy or make a play by himself. Even though he could manage, I am much more comfortable with D-Mo handling the ball. Let's hope he keeps it up, because even when TJ comes back, no way he's going to be back at the great level he was at. He will probably be brought back slowly. It won't surprise me if he's announced out for the season within the next 2 months.

 

Disagree. Dmo is a good ball handler but T-jones has better handles than Jeremy Lin.

 

Agreed. MIP award just means he'll be plagued by an injury next season and then traded.

 

He just needed the coach to play him. He needed the minutes and the self confidence. He already had the work ethic

 

No sign of DD here.

 

True selflessness on his part, he won't bask in his glory because he doesn't want to jinx him. What a team player.

 

I am glad Dmo is making the majority of us eat crow. I was really high on him when he came into the league, but pretty much gave up on him after a few games this season where he appeared to look like Dmo of the past two years.

Thanks for proving us all wrong Dmo!!

 

D-Mo does need to improve his hand strength, but his footwork in the paint is a thing of beauty -- dare I say it? -- almost Dream-like. Cut him some slack. He has improved his weight and core strength. His hands are next.

 

DD should bask in silence for the good of the team.

 

The article shows that DMo is at 93rd percentile at blockouts. That confirms my eye test. He's very good at boxing out.

He's just not explosive and doesn't have the long arms to snatch the ball. But he makes sure his man doesn't get the ball either. I think DMo is one of the reasons why our guards (Harden and Bev) get a lot of rebounds. His blocking out lets the quicker guards pick up the ball. That happened many times in last night's game.

 

Yeah. While Motiejunas is a good handler for his size, Jones is even better. However, DMo has much better court vision and is able to make the right pass while dribbling like a guard.

 

I like this. Beverley is a really good rebounder for a PG. Harden is pretty good for a SG. Ariza is above average for SF. And, of course, Dwight is one of the best in the league. Even coming off the bench, Black has been a surprisingly better rebounder than I would have expected for an undrafted rookie.

If Motiejunas can continue his really good play from the past several weeks, and rebounding is his only real weakness, then we should be able to cover that pretty well.

 

He boxes out a lot. That means more rebounds for guards like Harden and Beverley; and also for Dwight. Get with the program.

 

Yea , being somone who consistently and effectively boxes out their man is key in being a good rebounder. Roy Hibbert gets blasted for his rebounding but is also good at this.

 

It's a curse and the Rox fans know that award awww too well.

 

Two things i LOVE about DMo that I had no idea he could do before this year:

- His footwork on defense is really good for a 7 footer. He brings it every night and uses his height effectively. He's always straight up and hardly ever reach in like Dwight.
- He by far sets the best picks of our team on the P & R. He sets clean picks and rolls really well. Everything just flows much better when he's in the game.

 

I was ready to trade him for scraps about a month ago.

Now...he's arguably our 3rd or 4th most important player. Amazing turnaround.

 

I wish he wasnt so freakin clumsy. Other than that and the rebounding thing I've completely switched my position about Dmo