What would make me even more frustrated aif I were a Sixers fan is that you have a great well-rounded player in Anthony Petrie stuck behind him.

Sixers would probably be better off without DJ and Marty.

But hey, it could be worse: you could have Ben Allen as your "young, perimeter-focused, defensively-challenged big man of the future"

I like what DJ brings to the table offensively but defensively he just doesnt put in the effort coupled with no f'n idea. Most games he will only accumalate 1 foul, he should be using a couple more coming across and hammering the guards who get into the lane for a lay up. I'm not asking him to be a great defender, I just want him to put in some effort and make those guards think twice before they go in the paint again!

Pledger/DJ

OP goes way too far, but yeah, his D has been pathetic since he got here. He's a complete softcock on the court but still offensively talented enough to be worthwhile IMO.

Having said that, I have thought his D this year has improved from the last two - probably because he isn't forced to guard the monster Cs quite as often.

Mystro what does Pledger/DJ mean? Or did you mean Pledger > DJ?

Would much rather see Petrie start and bring DJ off the bench for some instant offense.

Haters will always hate.

"or is he more interested in his stats?"

His points per game average has gone down as has his shot attempts indicating he is playing more of a team game.

"You can be certain that if DJ hasn't shot for two minutes he will force the next three shots (which usually will be some off balance trash)."

You bring his apparent bad shooting up in a game he shoots over 50% 9/17 with the team only shooting at 37% (21-56) without him. Sorry for letting facts get in the way of your story.

You are right though he does shoot a couple of bad shots each game but so does Weigh, Gibson, Schenscher and Cadee. However don't mention that as it will detract from your story.

"Everyone knows his defense is a disgrace and his effort levels on anything that doesn't involve him getting a shot is pathetic."

His defense has actually improved this season. As x said it is probably because he is guarding PF's instead of Centers now but the fact remains he has improved.

He is second in the league in total rebounds per game and second in the league in defensive rebounds per game (even with Schenscher and Petrie in his team). Yes that sounds pretty pathetic to me.

One game he had 7 assist which was crucial in a win against Sydney.

Actually the worst thing about DJ which you failed to mention is his turnovers. He had 6 last game which took his average out to 2.9 per game. I would put that down to trying too much as well as sometimes lazyness which all players are guilty of.

Rebounding isn't defense, KingJames...

Jacob Holmes, for example, is a fantastic rebounder but not a great defender by any stretch.

I think Holmes is a reasonable defender.

And rebounding counts towards D. Any defensive board you get (however easy) obviously denies the other team an offensive rebound. If any given team got all their defensive boards, they'd be on their way to winning, IMO.

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Panther, or start DJ with Petrie, but bring Schenscher off the bench as an X factor.

Agree that Jacob is an OK defender, his deficiency is either height or athleticism. Not quick enough to guard smaller 4's ala Redhage not big enough to guard the bigger ones like DJ or Ballinger.

Holmes is an average defender. Reasonable even, sure.

Being a rebounder definitely counts towards defense as you said, but guys like Holmes, or Kevin Love in the NBA for example, are absolutely amazing rebounders while only remaining average/reasonable on defense as a whole.

Mick, my point on that matter was that the OP said that anything DJ does other then shoot is pathetic. Being second in the league in total and defensive rebounds is not pathetic.

As for his defense he has improved.

Obviously the guy can rebound and put the ball in the hole. There are worse big men out there, believe me, my Crocs have plenty of them...

Playing alongside Peach and Schenscher he should only get better, but at the same time, it is a damn shame seeing Petrie come off the bench when he would start on most NBL teams.

In a word, no.

But put it in perspective: he has only ever played on bad teams (except for this year) and under bad coaches.

The priorities on a young, losing team are different: working on your game, week-to-week improvement, setting small personal goals. The team stuff can fly out the window pretty quick. The team-first stuff can become seemingly irrelevant because a young guy will think "we are going to lose whether everyone plays together or not, so I may as well get mine".

Now that he is on a proper team it's up the older guys to take him under their wing and teach him how to win at the pro level. It would be foolish to rely on the coaching staff for such direction because they have maturity issues of their own to overcome...

In a word, no.

But put it in perspective: he has only ever played on bad teams (except for this year) and under bad coaches.

The priorities on a young, losing team are different: working on your game, week-to-week improvement, setting small personal goals. The team stuff can fly out the window pretty quick. The team-first stuff can become seemingly irrelevant because a young guy will think "we are going to lose whether everyone plays together or not, so I may as well get mine".

Now that he is on a proper team it's up the older guys to take him under their wing and teach him how to win at the pro level. It would be foolish to rely on the coaching staff for such direction because they have maturity issues of their own to overcome...

Anon, people could argue the same of Marty sometimes...

If you want to shed a tear sometime, look up the blocks per game list and check out who's ahead of DJ there. A lot of people. 0.2 BPG.

He gives that appearance : he couldn't play this or that , he played whatever he wanted and embellished what he pleased .
The same at training , but at 7 foot there are restrictions.

Generally I agree that DJ has improved his D and rebounding. I thought he was a bit lazy a few times yesterday tho. There was one play where he was pickpocketed as he went to his move and loafed back down court, getting there just in time to hammer the guy who got the offensive rebound when if he'd hustled he would almost certainly have grabbed the first rebound.

Overall tho it was the usual problem for this team, which is collectively too slow to cover quick guards, and continually results in missed rotations and open shots. That is why Sydney is a challenge for us: Henry, Bruce and Madgen create havoc with their speed!

This team needs to continue to work hard at sending drivers to the help and to get smarter at recovering to their man. Until that happens they are a 4th placed team at best.

Marty's W/L Ratio in the prior 2 seasons was 33%.

So far this year it is 50%.

The trend is going the right way...the team is improving.

Was improving. Over the weekend, it was 0-2 in games it definitely should've won. 0%! ;)

DJ could and should be a better player. He doesn't have the best attitude but this is something that can be changed. Clark hasn't done anything to help this along. Bring in Mark Davis as a mentor to him and watch him improve.

How do people know what is going on inside of DJ.
His body movement posture and short tugging may not
be a real indication of how he is feeling internally.
You could always have a player that looks to be giving his all and putting up less than half what DJ is doing. Player of week just recently, MVP last year
r/up MVP year before. Just 24, still years off maxing out as a 7footer. Will continue to get better. Shot selection and defense priorities. Compare him to other 4 men in comp. His problem is that he has great talent so he is "a victim" of our alive and well very tall poppy system.