Ok, so it is obvious that we have some people that love MDJ, me and wtwalker77, and some people that do not feel the same way about him, custodianrules2 and warriorsfansnc93. For the fans of MDJ: What is it about Dunleavy that we love and appreciate? I just love his game in general. The guy can pretty much do it all. He could relieve some pressure off the PGs by handling the ball. He has great court vision and gets others involved with his passing. He also has great range. He can keep other defenses honest by hitting open 3's. He is a good rebounder and he can score if given the minutes. His 20/20 game was no fluke, he attacks the boards and knows how to put the ball in the basket. He has good size. He is roughly 6'9 and can do things that people that tall should not be able to do like having good ball handling skills, great shot, and a great passer. Guys like this just do not come around all that often. For the MDJ Haters: What is it about Dunleavy that you hate or dislike? For all Warriors Fans: Do you see/want MDJ in our longterm future? I definately do, especially now that Mullin is in charge. Mike is a versitile player and is very usefull, especially with an injury prone team. Unless a superstar is wants to come to Oakland, Dunleavy isn't going anywhere.
As a neutral Warrior fan, I'll explain some things I like and dislike about Dunleavy. Like: Takes a lot of charges, doesn't shy away from physical contact, has a lot of fundamentals down - good shot selection, good passing, good ball handling, good rebounding. Dislike: Not an ideal primary option due to his mentality, has to be more wary of turnovers. Should focus on spot-up shooting a bit more. Not great at any one thing yet despite numerous "good" qualities. "Bounces" too much on defense like I used to, which probably means he's anticipating too much. Future: I'd like to keep Dunleavy in our future. He's a young player and has done a pretty good job showing his potential and growing. He worked out a lot over last offseason, but I'm not sure if he managed to keep the weight on during the season. He would benefit from another scoring option on the team now that Damp's leaving. Vaguely reminds me of Scottie Pippen at times (maybe if I squinted really, really hard), if he could beef up his defense he'd be a lot closer.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Zhone:</div><div class="quote_post"> Dislike: Not an ideal primary option due to his mentality, has to be more wary of turnovers. Should focus on spot-up shooting a bit more. Not great at any one thing yet despite numerous "good" qualities.</div> So do you want MDJ to become a primary scoring option? Number 1 or 2? Right now I see J-Rich as our #1 option, I think that is a given. Than I would put a healthy Murphy as our second option, whether it be taking a bigger/slower PF off the dribble or establishing a low post game. I really see Dunleavy as our #3 option and I think it works out best for him. Defenses will not be keying in on him defensively. If MDJ can knock down the open jumper and take the ball to the basket on occasion to keep the defense honest, he is doing his job IMO.
Actually, the #3 option was exactly where I envisioned him. Last year, I think he benefitted from having Damp and J-Rich as the first two options. I forgot a bit about Murphy as the #2 option, but that would work out for him. I do want him to try to be a clutch player, though. If he fails, then he can stop, but he has to take a part in the crunch time (when he should be in there, next season.)
Exactly. Its not his offensive abilities that will keep him out of close game but his defense or lack there of. Speaking of his defense, I don't think he is as bad as some perceive him to be. Sure he isn't the quickest when he moves laterally but he knows how to get position and that is why he draws so many charges. You can see that he works his ass off on defense and we will only see him improve in that area. With Mullin in charge and Monty as coach, I think we will see a lot of Dunleavy in the clutch next season.
For the fans of MDJ: What is it about Dunleavy that we love and appreciate? He's got the full package in terms of basketball skills + size at forward. He can pass, dribble, avoid turnovers (as much as his size will allow as point forward) and protect the ball pretty well even with defenders on him and that's hard to do since he's 6'10" and the ball is further from him when it leaves his hand. Lucikly the dude has long arms for his size. I like his court sense and if you watch him on a play, he knows where to stand in getting the rebound. He's gotten quite a few rebounds because he's got good vision to know where a missed shot is going to deflect whether left or right, short or long off the rim. This was so important when we had a power forward that can't rebound to save his life (Cliff Robinson, cough, cough). Dunleavy also has the tools to initiate a fastbreak. He can start dribbling a few steps and then rocket a pass ahead to faster guards who can run for the break. He's also developing some decent post skills and he's made some effort to get stronger even though his body type he will always look like a stick in the upper body. I think that's his body type at least. He'll never be above 240 possibly. For the MDJ Haters: What is it about Dunleavy that you hate or dislike? Consistency and Defense and lack of a spot up shooting game/midrange game. This guy has to be depended on to hit the deep ball accurately consecutive number of times in a game. You see it a few times, but it just disappears in several other games where you need to drill that open shot. If you're a pro ball player and you're the team's setup guy, hit that dang shot. There's nobody on you, so make it. The fact he appears to not handle the pressure and provide that scoring punch really hurts his role on the team because he physically isn't quick enough to play the type of defense in the NBA. So when he isn't scoring and he's letting guys like Joe Johnson and some other tiny small forwards light him up for points, I blame Dunleavy a little. Instead the other team works a play to get Dunleavy to collapse on somebody else (he's helping someone else), his man then suddenly cuts, crawls out to the arc and Dunleavy is left there a bit too late in contesting the shot. BTW I credit this lack of help defense on the team commnication and partly to Jrich (when he's the closest defender who is supposed to rotate on Dunleavy's man) who gets lost as well and he'll need to work on his perimeter and man to man defense as well. Also I see streakier shooters than Dunleavy like Manu Ginobili or Michael Finley who at least play defense and I want to see that impact from Dunleavy. But I know he'll never be that defensive player because he's not quick enough. Plus I hate how he settles for the wide open long ball shot when there's time to dribble it in closer for a college 3 (23') which he knows he can hit consistently. It's also obvious that some of these defenders play off him because they don't respect his shot yet. Also Dunleavy should drive more if he can get a little more help on screens maybe involving Troy Murphy or Cliff Robinson. Dunleavy does blow a lot of shots for a pure shooter and layups for a bigger guy although he exploded second half of the season when he was forced to be more assertive. Also I hate the fact that Dunleavy plays a lot like the expression on his face at times. Tired and Bored. Guys like T-mac and Sleepy Floyd both do that same expression a whole lot better and play like they're into it. Also Dunleavy's free throw ability shouldn't be that bad for a guy who is supposed to be a shooter. For all Warriors Fans: Do you see/want MDJ in our longterm future? No. not really. Not my type of player. He already reminds me a lot like Scott Padgett and Keith Van Horn except Dunleavy is more talented in the overall game than both players and Keith Van Horn appears more clutch because we haven't seen what Dunleavy can do in 4th quarters except for miss an inbound shot during his only 4th quarter apperance as the go to guy. I'm more into the Mike Miller, Peja Stojkavic type players if you want shooters who are at least able to do the things that Dunleavy can and play a little defense. They can create their shots in the same way, but they're more physically gifted, and they can both hit their free throws better than Dunleavy. For the ultimate small forward I'd want somebody of Dunleavy's skills but with a defender at least as good as Shane Battier's. Come to think it I'd prefer Battier over Dunleavy. I think Battier could be a perfect fit over Dunleavy if scoring is coing from primarily Murphy, Jrich, and Claxton and they all stay consistent. Sorry for the run on sentences but bare with me.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post"> ...and some people that do not feel the same way about him, custodianrules2 and warriorsfansnc93. </div> Wow. You called me out didn't you Rudeezy! haha. Here I go...Let me start off by saying, I have only seen a handful of games since I live in CO. I have gone to a few in person, and I have seen a few national games. I did not get an opportunity to see him show off his skills at PG, but I will say he had some of his best games playing the point/forward. He has shown some nice passes, but I have seen some plain boneheaded plays from him. That is why I am down on him. For being such a smart player, I dont understand how he can make such stupid plays at times. He has disappointed me at hitting the 3's too. There was one game in particular in the beginning of last season when he had a wide open 3 to win the game, and he missed. Not very clutch. That was something I always prided myself in my game. I always wanted/do take the game winning shot. And I have hit that shot several times in some big games. So when he missed that shot, it killed me. He is a good rebounder. I just wish he was more athletic. He can score when given the opportunity, but so can alot of other players in the NBA. He plays the worst defense I have ever seen. He does not play with the energy and heart that Cardinal played with. There were times when I wanted Cardinal to start over Dunleavy just for that reason alone. He just looks like he is not a competitor and does not have that killer instinct. I still have yet to place a judgement on if he should stay with the team. He has an opportunity this year with Mullin in his corner, and Monty who was a great college coach to improve his game and step up. If he does better this year, then I would like to keep him around. Last year was pretty much like his rookie season. I am expecting him to average over 15ppg this year. I want a big season from Dunleavy this year.
Custodianrules2- You brought up his problem of being inconsistent. Do you think that had to do with getting inconsistent minutes? Some games it seemed as though Muss had confidence in him and he produced. Other games it seemed as though Muss took him out of the game because of a rough start and forgot that he was still on the bench. With young players confidence plays a big role. Sure they are grown men and should motivate themselves but I believe it is the responsibility for the coach to keep his guys motivated. Foyle had the same problem playing under Muss. Now Dunleavy is in a situation where he will be comfortable with a "president" who loves his game, Mullin, and a coach he is familiar with. Dunleavy will really have no excuse not to produce this year and I believe he will.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">Custodianrules2- You brought up his problem of being inconsistent. Do you think that had to do with getting inconsistent minutes? .</div>No, I thought the reason he got inconsistent minutes was because he was playing inconsistent to begin with. LOL. Can't be jacking up shots, missing, and not producing on the other end of the floor. That's what got Pietrus and guys like me mad at Jrich and Dunleavy at times, because they were the team's scorers and they were getting all the glory/minutes, yet they didn't give much hustle on defense like Pietrus/Claxton and others would do. Only 1 guy can shoot the ball at a time, but everyone has to play at least average individual defense and know how to make team defense above average. If everyone on the team plays defense they won't mind the scorer shooting the ball because every guy knows they made it possible to earn that opportunity for a posession and create scoring runs. But if the guy is giving no effort or is just jacking up shots it gets people pissed. Dunleavy was just one of these guys that really bothered me in that way where he got scored on a lot of times or his scoring couldn't help his team if he wasn't stopping the opposing forward on the other end. I guess i'm overexaggerating how bad Dunleavy is because defense is a team thing where you're never going to be able to guard someone completely because of the disadvantage of only being able to react to the first move. If you don't know the first move or can't react quickly, you lost. So you need help defenders. A solid nba player is like a martial arts expert, a gunslinger in the wild west and a winner of a strong man contest. Ideally, you want to have a mix of all 3 (the moves, the quickness, and the strength) You won't be good at all 3 but you have to be able to at least compete and rely on others to back up your weaknesses. And Jrich isn't good enough in the defensive awareness department to cover Dunleavy's weakness of being slow to react on defense a lot of times. Just watch last year's games and see what I mean. So I guess in response to your last question will Dunleavy be successful? I smell a Mitch Richmond part II trade coming up where Jrich gets moved so that Dunleavy can thrive even further and get the help he needs where he is the most weak. I won't like this at all, but I feel something coming.
Me being optimistic about Dunleavy: Dunleavy is 6-10 who can handle the ball, has a big height advantage to see the court very well, and his shot isn't bad. And he is, or can be, very versatle and can play a few positions given the right matchups. And he can be a real mismatch or matchup problem for several teams. If he develops he can be an inside and outside player, knocking down threes and posting up, taking advantage of his tools. And he can make a few good moves without the ball. And he's tall enough to get some boards. And at some points in the season he showed some ability to take it to the hoop; something that will bring both his perimeter and post games together, or at least take the pressure of having a great perimeter and post game. Me being pessimistic about Dunleavy: He has no true position. He isn't good unless he has the ball in his hands a lot. So it can be difficult to expect a ton of production since he's probably the 3rd or 4th offensive option on the team. And when he's not having the ball in his hands he seems to fall asleep a lot, and he doesn't even look like he wants to be out there. His competitive spirit is poor, as he seems to give up a lot. His defense is horrible. I have seen him give up open three after open three, and he'd still not even hustle to get a hand in his face, showing poor motivation and poor defense. And I have seen Dunleavy get pushed around in the middle by play-ground players from the TV, along with being pushed around in the NBA as well. He let anybody and everybody score on him almost everygame. Keith Van Horn, Prince, Johnson, etc. His rebounding was so high because he played off his man so far, and Dampier and Cliff manned the middle so well, it was easy for the perimeter players like Dunleavy to snatch loose boards. And now without Dampier his rebounding total could decrease. He is terrible at taking advantage of his mismatch that he could create from his height. His release near the basket is too slow, and accurately it isn't that great either. And like Custodian was saying, he misses a lot of open shots from the outside(especially from a player that is supposed to be a good shooter). Dunleavy is just a player who was pulled along in the game of basketball by his dad, and Dunleavy had some tools, and worked on his shot and game from his father, who is a very good basketball coach, and is now playing professionally, since it's not really what he wants to do, but because it's the only thing he knows how to do. Thus you see a lack of motivation or competitive spirit from Dunleavy(yeah that's the big pessimistic thought. It's not something that i truely believe, just thought about it at a few times before). Also with being the PG, I've seen him crap his pants some times and really look bad when he was given some pressure by the defense. Showing that even though he has good ball handling abilities, it's not like he's some type of superb playmaker or PG or the likes. Trying to be real about Dunleavy: Dunleavy is a player with a lot of tools and ability. He can pass, shoot, handle the ball, and rebound. Offensivly he has the tools to be able to score from almost every spot on the court. However his lack of defense, athleticism, and motivation I believe can really hurt him. I think he has potential like a Peja Stojacovic or Dirk Nowitzki. But he can also just be another player with a lot of tools, that just never really brings it all together. Future of Dunleavy: I've read people say that Dunleavy is closer to being untradeable than anyother player on the Warriors. I've read people loving Dunleavy and his skills and tools(which he has a lot of, I agree) and they wouldn't even trade Dampier and Dunleavy for Artest and Pollard because it was too lopsided and it favored the Pacers too much because Dunleavy was that valuable. I've read people say Dunleavy will be a star. But I think Dunleavy's future will depend on his shooting and his ability to exploit mismatches. If that can come along, then who knows what he will become. Maybe a Peja or Dirk. But as of right now, I guess Dunleavy would start for the Warriors this season. But I still believe Pietrus should start since he's better and more valuable. And I believe that Dunleavy is, and should be very expendable. I think this season will be a big showing of what Dunleavy's all about and his future with this team. But if there's a Damp and Dunleavy for Artest or Marion or even Carter deal out there, i'd hope the Warriors would do it. But I don't want to predict his future too much right now. Maybe during this season I'll give it a shot.
