5 replies to this topic

[Red94]

New post: Donatas Motiejunas scouting report from bballbreakdown.com
By: Rahat Huq

Quote:

 

According to nbasavant.com, Motiejunas leads the league in scoring off hook shots, hitting his 89 such attempts at a 60.6% clip. He further ranks second when you combine those finishes with turnaround, fadeaway jump-shots. Context is important, of course – Motiejunas is not often guarded by the opponent’s top big man. But Motiejunas has nonetheless improved his ability to set deep post position against more athletic types and his footwork is very natural. He is able to score from either side of the block, often preferring to finish with a turnaround, right-handed hook but also carrying an up-and-under to protect himself against shot blockers and a jump-stop left-handed hook in his arsenal.

 

Bballbreakdown.com had a nice scouting report of our favorite Lithuanian 7-footer.  Motiejunas seems to have returned to form after being reinserted into the starting lineup the other night, though one wonders why the team curiously went away from him in crunch time against the Bulls yesterday after he had been eating Joakim Noah's lunch.

[Losthief]

yeah i like dmo he's been extremely consistent (even on the bench imho) which is something jones/smith don't bring at the 4 position. There's alot to be said for knowing a guy is going to perform a certain way each night.

[thejohnnygold]

New post: Donatas Motiejunas scouting report from bballbreakdown.com
By: Rahat Huq
 

Quote:

 

Bballbreakdown.com had a nice scouting report of our favorite Lithuanian 7-footer.  Motiejunas seems to have returned to form after being reinserted into the starting lineup the other night, though one wonders why the team curiously went away from him in crunch time against the Bulls yesterday after he had been eating Joakim Noah's lunch.

 

 

Pretty solid breakdown--and fairly objective.  Nice that people are taking notice--should encourage him to keep up the good work.

 

As for that Bulls game.  I think we'd all like to forget that last 5-7 minutes.  I know people want to jump on Josh Smith for his ill-advised 3 (and it was), but that wasn't the only problem.  First, we couldn't keep Chicago off the offensive glass.  Next, they had a timely 8 pt. run that started with 1:46 left (and us up by 1) that included the long 3 by Butler, breakaway by Rose (and Bev foul), and then Mirotic drilled the three.  James Harden took the other shot in that series (a 3 from the top of the key--a shot he often makes).

 

I felt like Chicago ramped up their defensive intensity in those last few minutes and it flustered Houston.  I don't know if dumping it into Motie to stifle that would have helped, but I agree that it couldn't have hurt and I think we will start seeing more and more of a two-man game with Motie and Harden to close out tight games.

 

Motie will draw double teams and is a good enough passer to hit cutters and if he can hit Harden for spot up threes we'll be in business. 

[Mario Peña]

I know people want to jump on Josh Smith for his ill-advised 3 (and it was), but that wasn't the only problem. First, we couldn't keep Chicago off the offensive glass. Next, they had a timely 8 pt. run that started with 1:46 left (and us up by 1) that included the long 3 by Butler, breakaway by Rose (and Bev foul), and then Mirotic drilled the three. James Harden took the other shot in that series (a 3 from the top of the key--a shot he often makes).

There have been some troubling defensive breakdowns in the 4th quarters that have swung these games recently so that is something I'm keeping my eye on. I hope it's just some mid season malaise. The defense, if that truely becomes their calling card, must clamp down on top teir offenses for playoff success.



As to Motiejunas, it's good to see his development come to fruition. I believe some fellow forum members might have been a little impatient with his in game development and how McHale and staff guided his development.

[NorEastern]

One of the most important points of that article is that D-Mo is scoring 1.22 PPP in the post. That is just a crazy good number since the NBA average for shots is 1.02 PPP. And if you liked that story you are going to LOVE this one. It is a must read.

 

http://grantland.com...ouston-rockets/

[adonneus]

Great article, NorEastern!

 

And look who else showed up in a list of top corner-3 assisters...

 

The top corner-3 assisters, as of January 4:

1. James Harden – 58
2. Ty Lawson – 40
3. John Wall – 39
4. LeBron James – 34
5. Josh Smith – 31