The amazingly sucky Darius Songaila Thread TM

[Pass_The_Sticks]

McGuire needs to replace Songaila. There both 6'9" and McGuire is obviously the better rebounder, defender, quicker. Heck hes just more athletic and needs to be on the floor. Let Songaila ride the bench now.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

^ I dunno, CCJ. The guy played better coming off of back surgery. He was effective in the post, he ran the pick-n-roll flawlessly with AD, passed well, and made open shots.

Now, after having an entire offseason to get fully healthy and learn the system, he all of a sudden reeks of suckiness? Maybe he's just done. Otherwise how do you explain him losing ALL of his abilities at the same time?

Chronic injury? Stressed out mind, body and spirit?

It can't be much fun practicing against Pecherov, Blatche, Jamison, and Haywood yet EJ plays the guy a lot of minutes.

Maybe DS9 doesn't even think he should be playing and in addition to being still injured the dude's lost his confidence.

I think Darius should be a pick and pop player who feeds the post or scores an occasional backdoor cut. EJ's over using him and putting him in at C a lot or against really big PFs.

Darius should play PF-SF with only an occasional stint at C IMO. Too often he's in the paint with no Blatche or Haywood to protect the rim and with no break down scoring guard in the game.

I think with him laboring to the point I think he's injured DS should sit a while and only come back to fulfill a role.

Best of all worlds would be to find him a GOOD trade.

[hands11]

-= original quote snipped =-



This reminds me SO MUCH of DeShawn Stevenson's playoff slump and his CRAP shooting the first few games this season.

I for one am going to be the one to say Songaila's got talent or EG wouldn't have signed him.

Darius is IMO injured and laboring up and down the court. He probably has been out of so many games he's trying to go now, regardless. That and being floor bound and slow would tend to hold the guy down a bit.

Blatche is a better option and probably Pecherov, too, but, hopefully, Songaila bounces back just like DeShawn.

I have faith in EG and in what Darius showed glimpses of in the past.

Where are you coming up with the idea that he is injured. I hadn't heard that.

I know AD is dinged but he still plays well. AB has been dinged all year with a ankle. He still manages. CB has been dinged. ALL Star. Haywood went to the locker room. He plays well.

At this point in the year, most players have something. If Songaila can't get it done when dinged, he isn't NBA quality and has to go. Again, he just isn't the right fit for the system. He is a spot up shooter. If that is all we asked of him, I'm sure he would start hitting.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Pure speculation, hands. I said I think.

I could be wrong about him being injured, but that's how he's playing.

[hands11]

McGuire needs to replace Songaila. There both 6'9" and McGuire is obviously the better rebounder, defender, quicker. Heck hes just more athletic and needs to be on the floor. Let Songaila ride the bench now.

29 year old dude with no leaps who had a back injury.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/s ... atsId=3647

Chicago sold us damaged goods. Not sure how this kind of thing gets past the experts. EG may have be had on this one. You win some, you loss some. CB for Kwame was the win. I don't often think of it that way but we had a lottery pick and we got Tough Juice. We hardly missed on that opportunity. 1st round, 10th pick

He is the player this team will be built around. He has twice been picked as an All Star by the coaches, not the fans. Also he was picked over other quality players.

I didn't really think AJ deserved it the first time but this time he defiantly does. 2 All Stars.

GA is a great talent but he could easily have no All Star appearances to date. The year he went AI was the sure pick but he moved out West just before the AS break.

I hoping the to see GA play his best all around games once he returns.

[FreeBalling]

DSong is having a tough time in the NBA, I thought he might have some trade value, he's still better than Ruffin.

[nate33]

it's the disappearance of his jump shot that's been the main problem this year. he'll never win any awards for athleticism but he's always shot at least 48% from the field; he shot 52% last year. down to 44% this year is simply unacceptable. you'd like to think that the law of averages will balance that out over the second half. actually, you'd like to think it won't because he won't get enough attempts to make a difference because he won't be seeing more than 10 mpg.

dude's been a solid role player for his entire career but it's just not happening these days. him and AD seemed to be clicking earlier in the year but that's not the case anymore. he really needs to be parked on the bench for now.

Good point. It's been so long that I had forgotten about his money jumper last year. That was why we all liked him. When AD ran the pick and pop with him, an 18 footer was like a layup. He never missed.

Songaila shot 42.6% on jumpers last year (he shot 43.7 the year before with Chicago). That's an excellent percentage for a big man. This year, he shoots 33.6%, which is a hair above Jared freaking Jeffries (28.1%).

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Something's wrong with his back and/or his legs and that's why he's missing his jumpers.

Just a hunch.

[crackhed]

i think ccj nailed it earlier.. he's not playing great, and how he's being used isnt helping much either. he shouldnt be getting these minutes.

[no D in Hibachi]

Thanks for making this thread, but just to let you know it's 1 year over-due.

[Zerocious]

crackhed, what is your avatar from, hilarious.

on the dsong issue, gdamn, he lost us the jazz game, i couldn't believe ej was keeping him in WITH domMcG. Very winnable game IMO. Get on the bus DS or else under. i almost turned the tv of watching him shuffling up and down the court, he runs as if he was just punched in the stomach

[Soup's Uncle]

We have to trade him for something...we need ot make a trade or we're going to continue to lose.

[Zerocious]

get rid of him, in the sixers game he was setting up for a huge rebound and with all his might he didn't even get his toes of the floor, obviously conceding to an actual jumping member of the sixers. I could win the jump ball against mr leadfoot

[fishercob]

I thought Songaila looked a little better tonight. He should never play center. He had a few nice sequences when he was at F next to BTH or Andray.

[tkunit]

I thought Songaila looked a little better tonight. He should never play center. He had a few nice sequences when he was at F next to BTH or Andray.

yes sometimes he makes some nice passing with the other big men. problem is he is just so so so slow on defense.

[hands11]

He gives to little to infrequently in the positions he is played.

He is consistently out matched under the hoop.

The only way he should be used is as a spot up shooter at the SF. On this team, he is a back up at that positions and that is it. If that is all he did, he would shoot better and have some value.

He should never play PF or Center given we have BH, AB, OP and AJ. When Etan comes back that will be even more true.

The problem is what it has always been, EJ doesn't use players in the positions we need them to maximize our roster for both today and the future.

20 mins to Songaila 1-4 1 rb 2 assist 2 pts

10 mins to OP 2-5 2 rb 1 blk 4 pts

OP can actually get better. Songaila will never be more then he is.

You invest in OP.

Songaila is a 3rd string PF. A 5th string center.

[Donkey McDonkerton]

Songs is really hurting the wiz, especially when he is played at the C position. Last year, his 15 footer was so nice, but this year his shot is off and his passes are lazy.

[Wizards2Lottery]

and hes a terrible rebounder.

I really have no complaints about this years roster except him. Hes awful. I don't understand what Eddie sees in him. Maybe hes waiting for Pech to get more experience. Songaila really is our only true option at backup PF since Blatche is backing up Wood.

[miller31time]

If Wood played 32 minutes per game, that leaves 16 available minutes at center.

If Jamison plays about 32 of his 40 minutes per game at power forward, that leaves 16 available minutes at power forward.

So between the two positions Blatche is able to play, there are 32 total minutes available.

We're not going to be unrealistic. Songaila, no matter how unbelievably horrible he is, will get a few minutes. For fun, let's say about 7 per game (roughly what Ruffin was getting, IIRC). That leaves 25 minutes for Blatche. Now factor in Pesh. He needs some time too. Let's say about 5 minutes per game. That leaves 20 minutes for Blatche. That's basically what he's getting now (19.4 minutes per game).

But this is in a perfect world. We already know Haywood won't get 32 minutes per game, and we all know Songaila won't get just 7. But if this were to happen, I think we'd be much better for it.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Great stat line for our hero last night. 20 minutes, 1 rebound, 2pts, countless futile matador swipes on D.