DeAndre Jordan or Javale McGee?

madmaxmedia · Post #1 » by **madmaxmedia** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 6:30 pm

Here's a fun poll- considering they have very similar contracts, same age, similar stats, and almost identical height and build, which player would you rather have- DeAndre Jordan or Javale McGee?

A year ago this would not have even been a question (Lob City!), but many of us were hoping for better improvement from DJ this year. And Javale actually had a couple of big playoff games, whereas DJ more or less disappeared in the postseason.

At this point I would personally have to choose the space case, because he seems to actually have some sort of offensive low post skills to complement the defense and shotblocking. DJ has no offensive skills yet, and his 1-on-1 defense still needs to be improved (not sure how Javale is in this area, both are more known as shotblockers than lockdown defenders.) They even both came into the league the same year, so developmentally they've had the same exposure and experience in the league.

I like DJ, but I'm worried his NBA trajectory is starting to point sideways rather than upwards.

jflipclip · Post #2 » by **jflipclip** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:03 pm

McGee seems to have an edge on ballhandling (securing ball + dribbling + backing down) and an average post-up game. There have only been a few occasions where DJ has posted up and looked for his shot (against the Blazers and Suns are memorable to me). That's the biggest difference between the two because defensively they're very similar.

I would take McGee right now but DJ has just as much upside. I think DJ's frame allows him to put on more weight, which hopefully will make DJ a better defender in the future.

TheNewEra · Post #3 » by **TheNewEra** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:51 pm

Jordan.. he is a hard worker and for sure has the better bbiq. He has improved each year and is working hard now to improve next year without a doubt DJ.

RiversideClips · Post #4 » by **RiversideClips** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:04 pm

I echo "The New Era," DJ has a work ethic that is close to Blake's & CP3's. I wanted to give up on him last year, but my son was relentless that DJ has the character & the ethic to work hard this summer, he does have something to prove. I like JM, but sometimes it looks like he doesn't see or know that he is on the court.
I'll take DJ this season & I will get back to you next summer.

Post #5 » by **og15** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:31 pm

McGee is better than DJ. I like that DJ works hard, but I don't know how hard McGee works, so I can't comment on that. Defensively, both guys bring very similar things to the table, and offensively, McGee is more skilled.

I think I'm going to stop saying double double athletic big men are not worth what they are getting because they are all getting that kind of money.

adiedanny · Post #6 » by **adiedanny** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 12:30 am

Ask Blake and that is who i go with. C'mon we all know DJ is here because of Blake. DJ close thread

Post #7 » by **mkwest** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 12:50 am

They'll likely always be compared to each other good or bad. Same draft class, measurements, similar stats and so on. Earlier in their careers, McGee showed more in their head-to-head match-ups, whether it was in summer league or the regular season. McGee was just more skilled. In the past few match-ups, DJ has held his own for the most part. While he was on the Wizards, I noticed their fans criticizing McGee and saying that he needed to be more like Jordan at times. It goes back and forth and up and down. McGee is in a much better situation for himself now and playing under a great coach. McGee had a much better showing than DJ did in the playoffs, so most will have a higher trust in McGee doing more in this league than DJ. McGee will be putting in work with Hakeem (2 weeks) and Shaq this summer, so he could potentially make huge strides if he's focused.

DJ will probably never be able to do some of the things that McGee is capable of doing at times, but there's still a lot of room for him in terms of improvement that can be made. I just hope that DJ understands the importance that he has to this team. We need him to be the best and most that he can be, because there are no other options right now. It's easy to get frustrated when you're not in the game at the most crucial minutes, but it's not always the coach that is making a bad decision. The players need to understand why the coach would opt to put someone else in. I think DJ gets it, or he's at least saying the right things. He's mentioned that he wants to add a go-to move and counter, as well as improving his defense and (foul) shooting this summer. I hope that he is successful at making those adjustments. I think that McGee is taking the necessary initiative to get better this offseason and hope that DJ is making wise choices as well.

PerkinsFor3 · Post #8 » by **PerkinsFor3** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 2:14 pm

stuffedmonkey · Post #9 » by **stuffedmonkey** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:40 am

Oh man, as a DC native, DeAndre all the way. Javale is a knucklehead. We did really well to offload him and the rest of the scrubsauce lineup we had.

Chronz · Post #10 » by **Chronz** » Tue Aug 7, 2012 3:50 am

Now isnt a good time to ask, the playoffs really made DJ look worse than he was all year. If DJ can show up in the playoffs, hes a better player. If his game is the type that consistently shrinks in the post season then its the bonehead with skill

old rem · Post #11 » by **old rem** » Wed Aug 8, 2012 12:36 am

jflipclip wrote:McGee seems to have an edge on ballhandling (securing ball + dribbling + backing down) and an average post-up game. There have only been a few occasions where DJ has posted up and looked for his shot (against the Blazers and Suns are memorable to me). That's the biggest difference between the two because defensively they're very similar.

I would take McGee right now but DJ has just as much upside. I think DJ's frame allows him to put on more weight, which hopefully will make DJ a better defender in the future.

Exactly. Jordan didn't first see a basketball court just a year ago,but he's simply got pretty limited skills and has been slow adding to that. McGee seemed a space case..then went to Denver and mysteriously matured.

LewisnotMiller · Post #12 » by **LewisnotMiller** » Wed Aug 8, 2012 2:51 am

McGee, although I still think DJ is okay. Sure, his improvement flattened, but from what I can tell his work ethic is fine, and he obviously has the size and defensive timing. Just needs to improve his interior man defence, and develop one or two go to moves offensively...not like he's ever going to be asked to score 20.

But McGee might have got either the kick in the butt/better environment/better coaching he needed in moving to Denver. He looked substantially better. Still raw, still low BBIQ, but his consistency of effort was up, and the pure boneheadedness was down. His mistakes were more honest, rather than lack of care, if that makes sense? And in terms of athletic ability, you can't go past him. I think he COULD be a very good centre in 2 years. Whereas I think DJ could be a very good role player.

Its Orange Baby · Post #13 » by **Its Orange Baby** » Thu Aug 9, 2012 2:58 am

The playoffs did make McGee look like the better player, but both are still wild card performers in my opinion. The work ethic that Jordan have and the frame he got vs McGee is really the only catagories I give him over McGee. I really doubt any one will develop in to a constant performer, but I would take Jordan just for the chemistry he bring to the team.
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madmaxmedia · Post #14 » by **madmaxmedia** » Thu Aug 9, 2012 4:48 pm

Yeah, the change of environment made a huge difference for McGee, I think he needed a structured environment with a good coach and playoff-level team. I think what it showed is that McGee may not be a rock, but he's not a malcontent either. So in the right situation he can make the most of his talent.

DJ has always been a hard worker for the Clips, the problem is that his skills have not improved with that work ethic. My main concern with him is not offense, but defensive and rebound positioning. If he only added better man defense and rebounding, I would be happy with him. If you stuck Dennis Rodman's brain in DJ's body, with that size, quickness, and long arms he would get 16 rebounds every night.

No one is expecting either guy to score 20 PPG in the playoffs, but McGee had some really nice rebounding numbers and great games overall, whereas with DJ it was really the opposite. But maybe the playoffs was an eye-opener for him to see how far he still has to go, and he will get to work on it.

kombayn · Post #15 » by **kombayn** » Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:56 pm

I would take McGee but only after Karl got his hands on him. A good coach will make him a good player, I don't think VDN could do anything with JaVale McGee, but he'll be an extremely good player and the Nuggets with Igouldala just got way better and found that guy to take over the game they've been missing.

Post #16 » by **og15** » Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:27 pm

I wonder what a different coach could do with DJ on the defensive end? In general, McGee projects to be better on offense, and I suppose he also has the tools to be very good on defense too, but DJ with a cach that can iron him out defensively would be interesting to see.

Allstar242 · Post #17 » by **Allstar242** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 1:42 pm

McGee is spending a month over the summer working with Hakeem Olajuwon, so look for a much improved McGee next season with a post game. Would not be suprised to see him as a top 5 center this upcoming season, his potential is limitless and his athleticism is crazy

Nuggets_Talk · Post #18 » by **Nuggets_Talk** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:20 am

stuffedmonkey wrote:Oh man, as a DC native, DeAndre all the way. Javale is a knucklehead. We did really well to offload him and the rest of the scrubsauce lineup we had.

and denver thanks you for him

Neddy · Post #19 » by **Neddy** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 5:19 am

this thread makes me miss ike austin...