Looks like he lost some weight. I dont know how Nelson can keep him out of the lineup. He can run the court and is a better PF than Dunleavy...
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Looks like he lost some weight. I dont know how Nelson can keep him out of the lineup. He can run the court and is a better PF than Dunleavy...</div> Well, I guess it is arguable who is a better PF. In a traditional system, Diogu probably has the edge, but I would not say that much. Both players have different strengths and weaknesses, which you do not really take into account, or for that matter really give much any solid reasoning why you believe that Diogu is a better PF. You also have to take into consideration Nellie's system and what he wants the PF to do, which clearly Dunleavy is the better player for the system. Since Nellie wants the "PF" to stay at the top of the key and basically play "PG", while the guards are the scorers who either post up (more so with Baron and Jrich) or slash to the basket. Diogu cannot do that yet. Diogu is pretty one dimensional. He's great scorer and that's about it. His defense I would not say is better than Dunleavy's. Don't get me wrong I like Diogu and wish that he were a few inches taller, but for the system that Nellie has devised Diogu does not fit as well as Dunleavy. From what I've read one of the reasons Diogu has not played much is because he does not have a good grasp of the plays yet, and apparently Nellie wants his players to know the plays for every position, basically know what to do. For me I think Diogu could be a nice player off the bench to help change tempo and style of play. I kind of envision him in an Antawn Jamison role when he played in Dallas. But right now Nellie has tailored his system to take advantage of Dunleavy's strengths.
I don't know about Diogu not being better at defense than Dunleavy, because I think Dunleavy will probably get slaughtered against PFs once the season starts and the game slows down. Other than that, I pretty much agree with what Gohn said. One thing Nelson wants is either you dominates at your own position like Dirk or be quicker than your own position players. While Diogu is a good scorer, he is hardly dominating and he is not quicker than other PF. To make things worse, the best situation for Diogu is probably dumping the ball to the post and let Diogu work on either post or midrange jumper. However, that's not Nelson style at all unless your name is Dirk. Also, I think Diogu is struggling to be a sidekick, instead of being the main guy. It would be ideal if he can play center, but so far, Diogu didn't seem to understand what it takes to be center either. Certainly, Diogu has a skill, and once he finds a role in Nelson's style (or get a chance due to injuries or poor plays from starters), he may get a chance. But the question is when...
I thought Diogu was pretty dominant. He's a good passer, but I doubt he's that good in the low post versus the way he is in the high post. Now Dampier was a pretty decent passer in the low post for us. Most of our other bigs were good to great high post passing guys like Clif Robinson and Zarko and Dunleavy, but they didn't set up any guards unless they drove. Unfortunately, we need that that dribble penetration (drive and dish) stuff or the low post kickouts to go from inside to outside. We need the inside outside game that way or we will be severely limited. As for defense, the only problem with Ike is his lateral movement. I think he's got good timing on the blocks, but he needs a help defender. That's hard to find around the basket when the help is either Dunleavy, who is a good help perimeter defender rather than weakside post defender, or Murphy who plays little help defense. Now Murphy will play some nice individual D as far as his slow lateral movement can take him, but guys don't fear getting their shots blocked by him. Diogu and Murphy are pretty slow in the side-to-side movement, but only Diogu was an effective shotblocker coming out of college. It's harder because he's shorter and he's not a quick high jumper, but at least he can be counted on to swat some shots. He is a decent athlete, just not very quick going side to side. Some day I'd like to see Ike's weaknesses covered up by POB or Andris or whoever is ready to play like a real big man. I mean forget Murphy and Dunleavy. Get their values up and ship them off. If we need guys that can shoot, put them on the perimeter positions instead or find a guy that can do that coming off the bench. The kind of small play will probably only work if there is guy like Amare or Kmart. If Biedrins or POB or Ike is that guy maybe we stand a chance. But Dun at PF, Murphy at C can't last that long. Our guards will be forced to pull up and shoot if the bigs stay at home and pack in the paint instead of collapsing out on the wing. With Murphy and Dun as sub 40% shooters, I don't trust them taking those shots, especially if our guards aren't hitting 50% for field goals and converting high % at the foul line. There will be a string of 40%'s across the board and no big guy that can nail above 50% unless we're talking Biedrins staying on the floor and Diogu dominating inside. I said I wouldn't be negative, but this preseason probably isn't going to reflect what we will show during the regular season. Nelson will probably have to make some changes if we plan to be a truly effective running team. I think we can't do it very well with Murphy at C and Dunleavy at PF because guards would have to emulate the PF/C job inside. I've seen Dunleavy run and he's decent, but he's no inside player. He's not really a small forward or a power forward. I've seen Ike run and he's best used when there are guys like Ellis/Baron/Dun rewarding him for the hustle and he is an inside player. Same with Biedrins, Taft, etc. We get a reliable inside and outside presence and we will finally win some, but only if our defense is honest and we're taking care of the rebounding and limiting turnovers. High % points is a must so we must capitalize on fastbreak opportunities and second chance points off offensive rebounds. That's why I want Murphy in there, separate from Dunleavy. Put in a guy like Ike who can box out for him or if it's too bad defensively, have it Ike and Biedrins. Now once Ike learns the plays hopefully Nelson will use Ike's inside presence. If we have 5 guys who can emulate each of the five positions played on the floor and cover each other's weaknesses and win 2 of the 5 matchups offensively out there, we can get the defense on their heels and we won't have to worry about defensive liabilities out there. I swear Dun and Murphy defensively is like playing whack-a-mole on the first round. They're too easy to score on if you can outquick them, over power them, or shoot right over them. Their benefit to offense doesn't really help the guards IMO because they won't set the guards up in return like Shaq or Duncan or Brand would. Now if we're playing the Dallas 1 versus 1 way, then maybe we got something there, but that can be trouble for our team if guys get carried away with the overdribbling and shooting at the last second or before the shotclock hits 20.
I think Diogu will be very valuable for us this year. when the other team has slowed down the game and is forcing us to play slower and in a half court setting, Diogu will shine. People seem to forget how well he played the last month of the season last year, as he averaged 12.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in only 22.5 mpg last April. Also with Fish gone, Diogu is now our best free throw shooter. This guy needs playing time to develop his defense, and i have no problem having him out there instead of Murphy at times, as his defense can't be any worse than Murph's, plus Nellie is not focusing on individual but team defense. I thought Diogu's help defense was solid last year.
Once Diogu gets his stamina up and learns where to be on the floor, he'll be a good asset, he has soft hands and can block shots, and shoots decent free throws. All of which are suited for this type of up and down game. He just has to bust his butt to get in shape. Nelson has done this before with players, and I think Ike is going to appreciate it in the end.
