Forget Thornton, is DMo in JB's doghouse? If so, why?

Hiding Dmo is a good way to keep him cheap this summer. Morey is thinking big picture here.

 

We already have a rebounder in Howard, he is great at that, so play DMo next to him, when Howard comes out, put in Capella he is the 2nd best rebounder.

Always have one of Howard and Capella out there, with Dmo or TJones.

DD

 

Not sure why we don't employ simple concepts like that.

Also not sure why Lawson wasn't in when harden got into foul trouble.

 

Maybe he over exerted himself and is experiencing extra soreness because he's been pretty bad since he played big minutes in consecutive games. It's one thing to work out and put in the work after back surgery, it's hard to predict how one will respond playing against actually NBA competition.

 

No... scoring and getting stops is important. We are 4th in scoring in the league (103.7 pts per gm) and missed it by 3 pts against the Magic and went over it by 6 pts against the Pelicans. In those loses, we averaged slightly higher than our average per game.

What do you make out of that?

 

Since every game is different, evaluating an individual game by comparing its stats to the season's stats is pointless.

Our last 2 games alone should tell you that your method has no merit. We scored 88 pts and beat the Spurs. And the next night, we scored 108 and lost to the Pelicans.

Even though we scored 108 against the Pelicans, we lost b/c in the final minutes, our offense got stagnant and we relied entirely on hero ball.

 

I'm actually evaluating the 3 games that DMo has gotten significantly less minutes, so I disagree that it is pointless.

I'd really wish you'd actually follow the conversation and not just pounce on what I say. The issue is that people are claiming we need to put DMo in order to score more, I posit that defense is more to do with a loss at this junction.

And we relied on poor execution to close games as well.

 

That's logical, but.....

per holic, as of 12/24: "We are 12-2 when we outrebound our opponent. We are 3-13 when we get outrebounded by our opponent. "

Seems we get outrebounded with Dwight playing quite a bit and we lose quite a bit.

Also, I thought you advocated trading Dwight???

I also am in the camp saying DMo isn't fully back in shape yet. He's actually rebounding a lot worse this year than last year.

 

Brought to you by TJones's greatest supporter:

basketballholic


Twin towers is good big lineup at this junction to start. Certainly looking into the near future, it shouldn't be too hard for DMo to edge TJones out of the lineup once he's recovered from whatever is causing his slump. Still think he's just a bit sore from playing "heavy" minutes just a week ago.

 

Doh! Including the image is key...

 

Yeah, pissing off DMo is a great way to prevent Morris scenario in Phoenix.

 

Every aspect of the game is important. Stop cherry picking.

 

I will laugh hysterically if somehow it turns out dmo and thorn have nothing to do with this "showcase" we suspect and it is all from the coaching staff...

 

I'd like to inject some facts into this discussion.

Facts:

• After his first three games, DMo averaged around 20 mpg in his next 6
• The next game was ORL. Both he and TJones sat the 2nd half as the Rockets went small with only one big on the court.
• SAS game Howard and Capela logged a combined 68 minutes (Capela getting 32)
• NOH game Howard and Capela logged a combined 60 minutes (Capela getting 29)

I have no take on this, other than to point out TJones has taken a significant cut in minutes over the last 8 games. He is under 20 mpg in the last 8 for probably the first time since his rookie year.

Seems Capela is the one stealing minutes from DMo, recently, if anyone is.

 

Maybe if you were going to use more in-depth stats (i.e. impact of switching or not switching off picks), it might be helpful in deciding how to better orchestrate the offense/defense.

But you're not. You're looking at ppg and opponent's ppg. What kind of useful insight can you honestly expect to glean from that?

I think both statements are true. We do need DMo's offense, and we do need to improve our defense. The two aren't mutually exclusive. However, you think think that DMo is a poor defender, and he's not. When comcast replays the games at night, I suggest you watch and focus on DMo. Since he hasn't been getting many minutes, it shouldn't take you very long. But if you actually watch him play (instead of looking at his raw stats), you'll see he's not the poor rebounder/defender you make him out to be.

Yes, the point is that we need to improve our offense...

 

Needed to come off the bench

How about being a terrible defender for a STARTER
Tooo many unnecessary fouls

Not good as a Help Defender

TOO many turn overs

 

Won't work, he is going to get max or near max money.

DD

 

....right. Because you certainly go that in depth in every claim you make, huh? Spare me.

Just basic insight I suppose in addition to the fact that we are top 5 in offense while bottom in pts allowed and rebounding. I'm not trying to get a doctoral here, just making a simple case that defense is more of a concern in the losses.

They aren't mutually exclusive. DMo has played crappy in these last three games, which has been my point, not DMo's overall career.

I got NBA LP, I watch a lot of Rox games and rewatch.

I always focus on DMo, I'm quite high on him. He makes up for the lack of wingspan and elite athleticism with good position on defense. He looked a step too slow lately which has made me think he's been sore after increasing minutes.

So you think it is our offense that is more to blame than defense for the current state of the Rockets? Or you just talking about in the context of closing out close games?

 

So if defense is the problem, you'd want to play DMo more and Jones less in order to improve the defense right?

 

Thanks for the insight. While Capela would resemble more of an old school PF, it seems in the today's NBA he can play the 4/5. That coincides with DMo and his ability to play the 4/5.