D-Mo's numbers could actually go up as one of the primary scoring options off the bench rather than the 3rd to 5th option in the starting line up. But the poll asks too different questions; he will start because reports say we promised him the starting job. Whether he should is something that only time will tell. I don't think Smith is any where close to as inept as Asik from mid range though. Especially when the defense will be keying on Harden and Howard over him. A lot of his low percentages are from shooting lots of contested shots. Being in the starting line up almost naturally limits his shot attempts more than coming off the bench because he is at best the 3rd option.
I don't think that his lack of a 3pt shot really hurts us. DMo was hitting 28% of his 3's this year but no one was crying about his lack of prowess there. I think our rotation with DMo off the bench is going to look pretty great, for reasons that have been stated by other posters in the thread. Go Rockets!!!
He won't always get that many minutes, especially when the Rockets go small ball. If papanikolau starts getting backup minutes at the PF spot, that could affect Dmo's overall minutes. Like I said, he showed vast improvements when he got consistently significant pt, but he may have to keep it up when his minutes become more inconsistent. Something most players, especially younger guys, seem to have difficulties with, and that's not necessarily on McHale either IMO.
I think it makes more sense because DMo plays better without Howard clogging the lanes. You essentially can run an offense off him and he can get you the same production on the rebound end. It keeps the team from going into lows like they had last season along with some games this year.
It should depend on how well he meshes with the starting line-up. They shouldn't start him without a few practices under his belt at least. Either way, our bench is automatically improved.
I would support a platoon between Jones and DMo depending on the matchup because he's so bad against big PF's that it could put the team in a hole they can't dig out of. IMO the big differences between Jones and Smith is that Jones isn't actively detrimental to the offense like Smith has been almost his entire career and Smith is a much better defender.
Smith is a better offensive talent than Jones. Has been his whole career and I think his play in Detroit isn't a reflection of his ability. Playing PF next to Dwight will make Smith much better. I already feel that Smith is Jones's ceiling as a player. That jumpsuit Jones has is never goîng to be good.
I disagree. Smith isn't a smart enough player to realize that he is a laughably poor shooter so he ends up actively harming the offense. Jones is also a poor shooter, but not Josh Smith level poor, but he doesn't go into chucker mode. Basically if Jones learned really bad habits, I could see him being Smith level poor on offense, but it hasn't happened yet. Both are the best when it comes to transition and putting back shots at the rim but I take the player who doesn't have the bad habits and ego that ends up hurting the team.
Not anymore he isn't.....please look at the comparison in FG% - it is not even close TJones and DMo are more efficient and better offensive players than Josh Smith. TJones is a CAREER 53% shooter..... http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6597/terrence-jones DMo is a career 46% shooter overall. BOTH BETTER THAN JSMITHS CAREER avg of .456 And he is shooting .391% this year while both TJones and DMo are trending upwards, JSmooth, is turning into Jbumpy. Everyone is also ignoring the fact that JSmith is primarily most effective on the post, which is where Dwight is occupying... DD
DMo looks best when he is the focal point of the offense off the low block. When Howard came back it relegated him to a stretch 4 position. He made his 3s but I think we would all prefer him getting 80+% of his shots in the post based on what we saw out of him with Howard out. I like Josh Smith starting but expect DMo's minutes to stay the same--just staggered. I'm sure this is why we guaranteed him starting spot. We also give Howard more rest. Great move and bravo Morey, bravo. This is what flexibility gets you.
We got an awesome frontcourt rotation from this trade. I too like Smith starting next to Howard will DMo playing backup C and has the ability to play the 4. I want to echo what others have said in that DMo will be benefit from playing without Howard. Can't wait to see how our new bench operates.
If we aim to play Howard between 30-35 minutes a game, that leaves 15-18 minutes available at backup C. 48 minutes to split at PF. Until Jones returns they can both average right over 30 minutes which would work regardless of who starts.
In terms of RAPM, neither DMo nor Terrence Jones has been much offensively. It's not like we're benching elite offensive players. Defensively, Josh Smith is far superior.
It doesn't work like that. He's going to be paid at maximum what he's signed for with Detroit. So there's no incentive to sign a similar length contract. Also, it really depends on what he thought of Detroit. I can see him taking the minimum the next two years to stick it to them and then sign an extension based on performance after that.
