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

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]

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.

[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.

[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.