Should we be using DJ more?

[LACtdom]

It's no surprise that while Blake is out, DJ has been scoring and rebounding more. We all knew he was capable of this. My question is, do you guys think that DJ's role as a defensive player who scores off put backs and lobs is the perfect fit for this team or should we be running more plays for DJ? We've kind of viewed out team as a big '2 and a half' but what if DJ could really be our 3rd star? My favourite aspect of DJ's game (without Blake) is his ability to get deep into the post and draw fouls. My view of thinking is that fouls are more valuable than points. When Blake returns, should we go back to our old system or should we keep DJ's offensive activity at a high level?

[MartinToVaught]

It's no surprise that while Blake is out, DJ has been scoring and rebounding more.

He's also faced two teams that were missing their starting centers. When he's not going against the likes of Charlie Villanueva and Josh Smith, his offensive game is far too limited to be a focal point of the offense.

[nickhx2]

there are too many factors that go into the makings of a net positive post player.

he needs to be great at beating his guy no matter how big/long, he needs not to have chris kamanitis (dropping the ball all over the place), he needs to not be easily disrupted by guards swiping the ball, and he needs to be able to pass quickly and effectively out of a double team.

dj's got a post game, but it's too limited. it's not really worth it at this point in the season for him to try, imo.

[Neddy]

I would much rather prefer that Blake plays more minutes with the second unit and let DJ do his thing in spurts here and there.
the problem i see is that if DJ is our primary low post player, there is no space left for Blake and he needs to step way outside. he does have a decent long 2 range game but probably someone like Hawes with a 3 point range would help DJ the most. Blake's dwindling inside game could become non existent too.

and BTW, is it me or are we actually playing better defense now that Blake is out?

[Quake Griffin]

What's DeAndre gonna do? Iso on the block and turn into DeAndre McHale?

[LACtdom]

There's been plenty of times where DJ has played with the 2nd unit but just for defensive reasons. I don't see why he can't post up under the rim against a backup center.

[LACtdom]

I would much rather prefer that Blake plays more minutes with the second unit and let DJ do his thing in spurts here and there.
the problem i see is that if DJ is our primary low post player, there is no space left for Blake and he needs to step way outside. he does have a decent long 2 range game but probably someone like Hawes with a 3 point range would help DJ the most. Blake's dwindling inside game could become non existent too.

and BTW, is it me or are we actually playing better defense now that Blake is out?

I think DJ and Blake work pretty well together. Blake always draws attention allowing DJ to get decent position under the rim. With Blake's passing game I don't see why we can't run more plays that finish with DJ.

I think when you lose one of your super stars, everyone else steps up to carry the weight. The problem is that they should have been putting this much effort in before. I think our team sometimes gets lazy and expects CP and Blake to carry them.

[QRich3]

Nah, I think he's thriving because this is the perfect role for him. His best case scenario for this team is to be peak Tyson Chandler, and he is already better than that on offense. Now he needs to be the same on defense.

What I keep repeating again and again: right now we have the best offense of this whole decade, we don't need to be changing our offensive responsibilities, we need to start playing better defense and we'll be a true contender. The offense is just perfect.

[nickhx2]

yeah. i agree with ^

I mean, out of necessity, sure. Let's say all your best offensive options are gone and you're just devoid of talent: then you can start asking DJ to learn how to play like he's from the 80's.

But even without blake we should be able to have a really great offense, and we do. Would i like DJ to have hakeem/robinson/mchale type moves? Well yeah. He'd be a freaking god but that's something that will never happen. And halfway into the season is not the time to start messing with these kinds of things anyway when we don't even need it.

[Woodsanity]

Nah, I think he's thriving because this is the perfect role for him. His best case scenario for this team is to be peak Tyson Chandler, and he is already better than that on offense. Now he needs to be the same on defense.

What I keep repeating again and again: right now we have the best offense of this whole decade, we don't need to be changing our offensive responsibilities, we need to start playing better defense and we'll be a true contender. The offense is just perfect.

Believe it or not DJ has been very good on D but our other players.... Its hard to have a good defensive team when your wings are Barnes, Redick and Crawford. Its also hard to be a good defensive team when your best backup big is Mullens 2.0, a horrendous defender. BG has been a liability as well(huge regression from last season) and CP has been on cruise control.

[Neddy]

Nah, I think he's thriving because this is the perfect role for him. His best case scenario for this team is to be peak Tyson Chandler, and he is already better than that on offense. Now he needs to be the same on defense.

What I keep repeating again and again: right now we have the best offense of this whole decade, we don't need to be changing our offensive responsibilities, we need to start playing better defense and we'll be a true contender. The offense is just perfect.

but Tyson made his free throws. they couldn't just foul him at will. if DJ can at least consistently make 50% then we can say his overall game is so much better than Tyson but as of now, I dunno if DJ is even slightly better on offense unless you are referring to Tyson Chandler today and not the comparative ages.

[LACtdom]

What I keep repeating again and again: right now we have the best offense of this whole decade, we don't need to be changing our offensive responsibilities, we need to start playing better defense and we'll be a true contender. The offense is just perfect.

I think you're missing the point. We have a brilliant offense so why don't we sacrifice some of that offense in the form of Jamal/whoever can't defend and bring in more defensively talented players. Then if our offense isn't good enough we can involve DJ more since he is very capable of scoring 10 - 15 points per game.

I would much rather a Wilson Chandler or DeMarre Carroll at the expense of offense for some defensive stability. By saying that we shouldn't change our offensive responsibilities is saying that we should keep players like Crawford because we have a great offense and just try to improve defense from within (which is possible but unlikely).

[QRich3]

What I keep repeating again and again: right now we have the best offense of this whole decade, we don't need to be changing our offensive responsibilities, we need to start playing better defense and we'll be a true contender. The offense is just perfect.

I think you're missing the point. We have a brilliant offense so why don't we sacrifice some of that offense in the form of Jamal/whoever can't defend and bring in more defensively talented players. Then if our offense isn't good enough we can involve DJ more since he is very capable of scoring 10 - 15 points per game.

I would much rather a Wilson Chandler or DeMarre Carroll at the expense of offense for some defensive stability. By saying that we shouldn't change our offensive responsibilities is saying that we should keep players like Crawford because we have a great offense and just try to improve defense from within (which is possible but unlikely).

I didn't mean anything like that, I've been on the trade-Jamal-for-some-defense bandwagon since before the season started. I just think it's way too much hypothesizing to start thinking we're gonna be worse after the trade, and we'll need to feature DJ more. If we trade Jamal, or Redick, or Barnes, or whoever outside of our core 3, we should still keep doing exactly what we're doing, and we're probably gonna keep being equally successful unless the other 2 starters are really terrible offensive players. And even then, what we'd have to do is to increase the usage of both Blake and Paul if we wanna be more effective, I still don't see what sense does it make to draw plays for DJ just because. But all that is way too much hypothesis.

Nah, I think he's thriving because this is the perfect role for him. His best case scenario for this team is to be peak Tyson Chandler, and he is already better than that on offense. Now he needs to be the same on defense.

What I keep repeating again and again: right now we have the best offense of this whole decade, we don't need to be changing our offensive responsibilities, we need to start playing better defense and we'll be a true contender. The offense is just perfect.

but Tyson made his free throws. they couldn't just foul him at will. if DJ can at least consistently make 50% then we can say his overall game is so much better than Tyson but as of now, I dunno if DJ is even slightly better on offense unless you are referring to Tyson Chandler today and not the comparative ages.

Yeah, that is true, but even with the few times that teams decide to hack DJ (and I know people remembers it more frequently than it actually happens), he's barely shooting 4 FT's a game. That barely affects us, and with his ability to convert everything that's thrown at him around the rim (and how much that helps our spacing), he's still one of the 3 most efficient scorers in the league. I don't know, maybe peak Chandler is slightly better than him on offense, don't really want to get caught up in that cause the difference is minimum, and they're both a great example of the perfect offensive C role player. But Chandler is (was?) much more of a difference maker in the other end, and that's where DJ can raise the ceiling of this team significantly.

[Angel strike1]

thing with dj is his FT shooting. its just soo bad.

so he cant really ever be 15-20 shots a game person with his ft shooting.


but i like how we using him now. and he seems to be bit more aggressive.

[LACtdom]

Drawing fouls is underrated. I know I'm in the minority but if you gave me the choice of 8 points or 4 fouls on Howard/Chandler/Cousins/Whoever plus 8 DJ FTs I would choose the fouls and FTs every time. Having an opposition star sit on the bench for an extra 10 minutes is worth 8 points on its own.

[Angel strike1]

there are alot bench players for that.

u know if we face the spurs they going to hack him