article link Dorsey making an impact with Vipers January 5, 2009 - 5:26 PM Todd Mavreles The Monitor HIDALGO - Joey Dorsey isn't trying to impress anybody at this week's NBA Development League showcase in Orem, Utah. He's just happy to be back to playing basketball again. After helping Memphis reach the NCAA tournament championship game last April, the 6-foot-9, 268-pound power forward was selected in the second round (No. 33 overall) by Portland, who traded his right to Houston. Unfortunately for Dorsey, he injured his ankle in summer league, and then played just two minutes in three games for the Rockets because of a logjam of big men in Houston and a painful case of plantar fasciitis. He was assigned to the Vipers the day after Christmas. Sent to the Valley with Rockets assistant strength coach James Scott, Dorsey is averaging 11.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in four games with the Vipers. His minutes are being monitored to approximately 30 per game (he's averaging 30.5), which of course is much more than he was logging in Houston. "It's been great playing a lot of minutes," Dorsey said. "The foot still hurts. It hurts after the games are over. It's getting better, but after the game I have to ice it for 15, 20 minutes because it hurts really bad." Dorsey appeared to be laboring during Saturday's 116-105 loss to Albuquerque. He admitted before the game that when fatigue sets in he is more cognizant of his foot. "Once I start feeling it, I start to favor it and begin running on my tippy-toes a lot and that makes the inflammation build up," Dorsey said. "(Scott) told me to keep running on my heels." The Vipers (7-9 heading into Monday's game) expect to have Dorsey at least through this weekend's games at Albuquerque. "We're sure glad to have him," Vipers coach Clay Moser said. "We don't have to limit him. They just asked that we get him 30 (minutes) a night."
well thats good to hear. i watched the last game they had and he played extremely well. i guess they are keeping their word about only a few games. we need to see this guy play more..... i had no idea smush parker was in the d-league. boy was i shocked!!
"and then played just two minutes in three games for the Rockets because of a logjam of big men in Houston" what? did I miss something?
I am with you. Except I watched him in college and preseason. He isn't an NBA player IMO. Doesn't play above the rim and can't step out. Doesn't block shots. Best bet is Charles Oakley without the shot. And in this era, that kind of player no longer exists.
Poor guy. If he went to D league instead of playing for Rockets, he might be able to dodge the huge Houston injury bug.
I agree on his lack of skills, but what I was really taken aback by was his sheer lack of NBA talent. He just doesn't seem to have the hands, coordination, or reaction time to play at this level regardless of how much he works on his skills.
Does this writer know something we don't? I was under the impression the 6'7" in shoes measurement might have even been generous.
his first game sucked but the last 1 was good. he needs more work. i think going to the d-league was good for him.. he should be able to develop into someone we might need.
I didn't see the games but I saw the box scores and his numbers looked better in the second game. I'm curious to know when is the next game. Does anyone know right off the top of their heads?
Except that Landry was a more polished offensive player and his all around potential is greater then Dorsey. Dorsey is offensively the equal of Chuck Hayes except he can dunk. It's his defense and improvement on it that will determine if he has a place in the NBA. His lack of apparent progress at this point is not really surprising, he doesn't seem the kind to improve his game on his own or take mental notes and learn from others while on the bench. Chuck Hayes begs to differ.
While being regulated to benchwarmer and practice fodder for Yao at the still very young age of 25. At least he hasn't talked about shutting it down to heal the foot.
Landry's rebounding was worse, I think, was also 4.5 inches shorter than Dorsey. Both were old for rookies. Neither showed much at pro level. Landry even ordinary in summer league. We shall see. 2nd round picks don't usually amount to much. Dorsey would consider himself success if he has a Popeye Jones career. Perhaps he can beat the odds and be more. Strong and fairly atheletic. Jason Maxiell, now fairly useful, was useless as rookie.
Landry isn't 6'4. I hate all this height talk like every millimeter needs to be confirmed. It's apparent why Landry got minutes later in the season last year and why Dorsey is going to struggle to any minutes this year. Landry was just a more polished player then Dorsey coming out of college. Dorsey needs to grow up real fast and take everything seriously cause he doesn't have polished offensive skills like Scola and Landry to make the coaches overlook his mistakes. He'd be best suited to emulate Hayes' work ethic and use his superior athletic skills to give another dimension to what Hayes brought.
That was my first thought, too. During many of our games, it seems like I keep hearing that the Rockets "just don't have enough size", yet now we have a logjam of big men?
