DJ question

[krazyrumpshaker]

I didnt get to see the game last night, but looking at the stats, it seems he had a decent game. 12 pts, 7 assists and 1 TO. no way to tell how he did as a floor leader though just from stats. My question is, with this seemingly good game, do you think that maybe he views himself as a starter? He seems to play better when he does. Tonight he was tied for the most Assists this year for him. last year everyone dubbed him the starting PG of the future. Well RF has really asserted himself as the undoubtable starter and hopefully we keep him. Does this now affect DJ, knowing that he may no longer be the top dog in waiting? I wish he would play the same way off the bench in a backup role as he does when he starts.

[spectre]

The only thing I feel that's concrete is Dudley's tweet:


I heard my boy DJ Augustine might go to Boston for Big Baby.I hope they pull the trigger..I know it's been a frustrating time for him in CHA 3:08 PM Feb 9th (http://twitter.com/JaredDudley619/status/8875370661)but all the other reports last season had him happy to be learning from Felton.

He played pretty well in the 1st half but the 2nd half not so well. He had a really hard time stopping Sessions on the drive and that played a big part in Minny coming back. Distributing wise I though he was decent for the whole game more or less.

LB (according to Bonnell) was "begging" him to shoot more in the 4th quarter...which would make sense as Crash couldn't buy a shot.

[Felton for Prez]

Dudley and DJ are so close Duds can't even spell DJ's last name correctly.

Of course DJ thinks he should be the starter. I'd be pissed at him if he didn't. Of course, that doesn't mean that he should be, but DJ should have enough confidence to believe that he should.

[Slam]

99% of NBA'ers will play better with consistent mins as opposed to spot mins here and there.

Even when Felts does come back hopefully LB keeps using DJ the way he has the last few games by playing him in chunks of mins as opposed to 2 mins here and there. It's better for DJ, better for Felts and better for the team.

[Slam]

As far as DJ's play last night goes:

Took a few too many threes and not enough driving for my liking, but other than that he played with confidence and ran the team well. He found open guys and made good decisions. He pushed the tempo well from defensive rebounds too.

Apart from Sessions getting by him a couple of times in the 4th (he was playing him too tight - Sessions isn't a shooter), he played really good D. He took one, maybe two charges in the paint playing great man on man D and had a big hand in forcing a lot of steals at half court even if he was only credited with 1 for the game.

[spectre]

I agree he was playing him too tight, but it was more than a couple of times (maybe you meant only "scored" on him a couple of times?):

3rd Quarter
03:40 Sessions Running Bank shot: Made (6 PTS)
00:51.9 Sessions Driving Layup Shot: Made (8 PTS)

4th Quarter
06:56 Sessions Layup Shot: Missed
05:54 Sessions Running Jump Shot: Missed
02:52 Sessions Driving Layup Shot: Made (11 PTS)
02:10 Sessions Driving Layup Shot: Missed
01:32 Sessions Driving Slam Dunk Shot: Made (13 PTS)

He also had 2 driving layups vs DJ in the 2nd quarter (1 make, 1 miss).

Sessions got into the paint a lot.

There were two or three times he defended him very well, but Sessions definitely got the better end of that matchup. On the flip DJ absolutely got the better of Flynn.

[Slam]

Those grabs don't show who was defending Sessions at the time. It doesn't show if there were switches or what the situations were. It also doesn't show why he missed those three shots. Was it because the person guarding him (maybe it was DJ, maybe it wasn't - it doesn't say) played really good D on him? it also doesn't show the amount of times Sessions tried to drive the lane and DJ forced him to go latteral and pass the ball off cutting off his path.

Those grabs are pretty useless for this converstation IMO.

Gomes and Ellington hurt us wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy more than Sessions did.

DJ played a great game last night - especially for someone who has seen as limited mins as he has this season.

Interesting that LB wanted him to shoot more last night. I wanted him to shoot less!

[spectre]

:shrug:

I was watching the game and most of those were with DJ trying to defend him...I even commented in our thread 3 times about it during the 4th quarter. I usually let those go by unless it's happening repeatedly.

DJ does seem to have issues getting switched off on defense, but last night the Wolves just weren't running a good game plan, so for the most part he was covering Sessions (I commented on that repeatedly last night too...they looked like we did in our 1st two seasons).

Dribble penetration causes other players to sag off their man trying to help, which is why I've always advocated having defenders who can cover their man so as not to have any weak links. Last night in the later stages of the game was a prime example of that.


DJ played a great game last night - especially for someone who has seen as limited mins as he has this season.Eh, I think he had a decent game...but we'll just agree to disagree. I will agree that consistent minutes always help.

[etothet]

Good offensive player as of late. Sessions gave him some trouble in the 2nd half. That is why on the last defensive stand he was on the bench. He ran the offense well. The FO is probably going to pay Raymond because he has proven he is a NBA point guard on both ends. DJ has proven on occasion that he can play. He has not had a good year, but the year is not over. He must become more consistent. Shooting 37 percent from the field will hopefully improve with shot selection. He is developing and should be a consistent backup for Raymond. If for some reason they don't sign Raymond, DJ will need to work hard over the summer and get stronger so that he can handle the bigger and stronger point guards. The physical qualities mean a lot on defense but heart and desire play an important role also.

[bozzy]

Those grabs don't show who was defending Sessions at the time.

I only saw the second half and DJ was burnt several times. Sessions kept doing the same fake and DJ fell for it everytime allowing him to penetrate to at least the free throw line. DJ is a horrible defender. That part isn't going to change this year.

[spectre]

That is why on the last defensive stand he was on the bench.


Augustin Substitution replaced by Murray 00:05.3

Totally missed that...good catch.

[spectre]

Rick I disagree with you a little on DJ, Stephanie Ready reported during one of the TV games last week or the week before (can't remember) that DJ's struggles this year had to do with Brown coaching him more directly this season versus last.

Felton admitted that last season there were times he would get in trouble for what DJ was doing and has a leader of the team he didn't mind shouldering that responsibility. But this year Larry Brown addressed DJ directly and that likely had something to do with his struggles. Thoughts?
from Bonnell's blog:

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2010/02/a-postmortem-on-timberwolves-game.html

That's interesting. I don't usually get the home feeds so I don't know how accurate this is. Anyone else catch that?

[SWedd523]

Last night did nothing but reaffirm my thoughts on DJ. Dude is as smooth an offensive PG as anyone else in the league. Has a beautiful jumper, controls the ball, penetrates, works the pick and roll nicely, passes very well on kick outs. He has all the tools necessary to be a high caliber OFFENSIVE point. However, i fear that he will be nothing more than a mediocre defensive player unless he packs on more muscle (he seems to have added some since the draft, but he still has awhile to go) or he learns how to play people.


One of the most basic defensive strategies is to play the guy to his weakness. Play lefties to their right, righties to their left. Sag off people who are quicker and like to drive, hound shooters. Fight over picks on shooters, under on slashers. It's no secret that Sessions is a below average shooter, above average slasher. Yet DJ continued to play him tight and let him get the advantage by driving past him. I don't know if DJ playing tight is trying to show LB that he can "lockdown" on guys or what, but he needs to realize that he's going to have to learn how to play people if he ever wants any respect, especially for a small guy

[chabber]

from Bonnell's blog:

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2010/02/a-postmortem-on-timberwolves-game.html

That's interesting. I don't usually get the home feeds so I don't know how accurate this is. Anyone else catch that?


I've heard that from somewhere in the last two weeks spectre. I don't recall where from (tv/print) but I believe it was accurate because they were talking to Raymond about it. Must have been from Stephanie like the guy said.

[truDUKEfan]

is there any way to watch the game replayed anywhere b/c im curoius to see how dj and law did?

[teej]

To be fair, I only saw the second half, but I wasn't impressed at all by DJ. He wasn't horrible, he wasn't D-League material, but he wasn't even close to being a starter on any team that uses defense in part of its stategy. If he wants to succeed, its going to be in New York, Pheonix, Orlando, somewhere like that. His D was horrid and his passing, while good by itself, was not good judgement wise. He routinely just passed into the paint or to Diaw, even if Jack or GW were open on the perimeter. That frustrated me more than the defense, because if he's going to give up points he needs to make them back up.

Either way, I think he and Larry can't keep this up, and the best thing for both is a trade.

[teej]

Rick I disagree with you a little on DJ, Stephanie Ready reported during one of the TV games last week or the week before (can't remember) that DJ's struggles this year had to do with Brown coaching him more directly this season versus last.

Felton admitted that last season there were times he would get in trouble for what DJ was doing and has a leader of the team he didn't mind shouldering that responsibility. But this year Larry Brown addressed DJ directly and that likely had something to do with his struggles. Thoughts?


QC Sports: You're welcome to believe whatever you want. But I'm telling you Larry is not brow-beating D.J. and I know Stephanie doesn't think that's the case, either.

Rick seems to think DJ isn't getting enough coaching perhaps?

[Marvel]

Yeah DJ is so much smoother than Raymond on the offensive end i know that much.As for his defense he's better than what last nights game indicated maybe he didn't check the scouting report on Sessions.A positive...... he turned the ball over only once in 42 mins.

[bozzy]

Yeah DJ is so much smoother than Raymond on the offensive end

I'm not sure about that. He doesn't run the pick and roll as well as Ray. He does have a quick release which helps him make 3s. But he definitely doesn't run the offense as well as Ray.


As for his defense he's better than what last nights game indicated

I've watched him in the last three games and he is routinely beat of the dribble by the opposing teams point guard because he takes a jab at the PGs first dribble. Sessions noticed this right away and did the exact same move everytime against him.

[Marvel]

^ I've also seen 3 games where DJ has played solid defense against D-Will,Aaron Brooks and Steve Nash.Give him a couple years his pick n roll play will come around

[Brown'sTown]

^ I've also seen 3 games where DJ has played solid defense against D-Will,Aaron Brooks and Steve Nash.Give him a couple years his pick n roll play will come around

Really? I really don't recall him being matched up with D-Will much in the past. Seems like that would be a horrible mismatch since Williams has good size. Brooks is smaller than DJ so I could see how that could work out, except that Brooks is so fast and DJ's lateral movement is questionable. DJ doesn't see too many minutes guarding starters, maybe for only 2 or 3 if it happens. One thing that irritates me about his D is that he bites on pump fakes like no one I've ever seen. It's way too easy to get him in the air.

[Marvel]

Really? I really don't recall him being matched up with D-Will much in the past. Seems like that would be a horrible mismatch since Williams has good size. Brooks is smaller than DJ so I could see how that could work out, except that Brooks is so fast and DJ's lateral movement is questionable. DJ doesn't see too many minutes guarding starters, maybe for only 2 or 3 if it happens. One thing that irritates me about his D is that he bites on pump fakes like no one I've ever seen. It's way too easy to get him in the air.


Yes really...... the game where Diaw sucked and straight after it Wallace called out both Diaw and brick hands i mean TC.

[spectre]

Yes really...... the game where Diaw sucked and straight after it Wallace called out both Diaw and brick hands i mean TC.

Well that was in garbage time when we were down 17 with 6 minutes to go. Before that he was in the game with Williams for less than a minute. During that stretch tho he was very aggressive.

Still, I think more of DJ's defense than others. Some things I think he's pretty good at; others not so much.

[Slam]

Still, I think more of DJ's defense than others. Some things I think he's pretty good at; others not so much.
Under or over.

[spectre]

Under or over.

Going under guys he does ok...can't go over much cuz he's too short.

[Slam]

Going under guys he does ok...can't go over much cuz he's too short.
I'm taking more about his decision making when it comes to defending the pick and roll.

He's getting there, but he's still got a long ways to go until he fully works it out.

Outside of that I like his D.

[spectre]

In no order...

Positives:

1) Good at crowding the PG and instigating traps right at the time line.

2) Defends posting guards very well.

3) Fair at staying with guards off the ball when he doesn't get picked too much.

Negatives:

1) He switches way too quickly on the P&R and on picks in general which ends up putting him and us at a disadvantage both on and off the ball.

2) He plays his cover way too tight at the top of the key regardless of whether their game is based more on the perimeter or the drive.

3) Very weak on stopping dribble penetration. Some of this is related to #2.

4) Big driving guards who can shoot really give him fits. Not his fault really...they're just too much for him.

5) Bites on the perimeter pump fake way too much.

The thing that hurts us the most IMO is not stopping the dribble drive penetration. As I've said before when the PG can get into the paint at will it throws the whole team off. Wing players start trying to cheat off their man to help allowing those open 3 attempts, and the bigs in the paint leave their guy trying to defend the basket which leaves the opponent's big open for either the pass or an O board/put back.

He tries really hard and I've seen some improvements. Some of those negatives can be fixed. Others I'm not so sure about. Either he's just not gotten it together yet between his head and his body on reacting to those first steps on the drive or it's a deficiency in his lateral movement.

Even if it is the latter experience will eventually help to overcome that.

[WarioVsMooChicken]

I think when you're 5 foot 10 like DJ is, you have to be somewhat athletic to keep up with bigger guards and the occasional small foward. If you aren't athletic, you have to have an exxxxxttttremly high basketball IQ to still make everything work.

So I dunno, DJ needs become more athletic or something...

[bozzy]

So I dunno, DJ needs become more athletic or something...

DJ is athletic and speedy enough to keep up with most PGs. His problem is he makes horrible decisions one on one and it makes it easy for a guard to take him off the dribble. Clearly, the Bobcats work on their pick and roll defense under LB and I think DJ has improved there. But when it comes to straight up defense, he is severely lacking (which explains why he gets so little playing time).