I think that know that we have Taylor our offense will take a whole new turn, for the best of course. Let's say our starting 5 is: Cato-5 Thomas-4 Taylor-3 Anderson-2 Francis-1 Now Kenny has the quicker feet and is smaller but he plays the 4 he can use his quickness to go by a taller forward, while on the other hand Big Mo is pretty quick also and bigger than your average small forward he could use his size to post up on small 3's making their center have to come over and help leaving Cato open to do what he does best ROCK RIM !!! But of course Steve would still be the go to guy. ------------------
I suspect that you will see Taylor starting at the 4 (PF) and Thomas coming off the bench. The 3 (SF) will more than likely be Williams unless another transaction takes place. ------------------
mo at the 3???? it does not make sense for me - please tell me, why you would put taylor instead of walt/langhi at the sf position... ------------------ "the question isn´t who am i, the question is WHERE am I"
Hakeem will be the starting 5..... Hakeem-5 Taylor-4 Williams-3 Anderson-2 Francis-1 Bench: Cuttino, Moochie, Langhi, Collier, Cato, Thomas, Rogers, Drew (so far)...... It's clear we won't use our exception unless we go for someone with only a year left, and won't be re-signed........I say, let it expire, Trade KT and Drew for another PF..... ------------------
Yeah, Sane's got it right. Hakeem will prolly start, but he'll come out fairly quick in order for Cato to come in and run with the younger people. ------------------ president of the dan langhi fan club.
Hoopingtall: Taylor isn't nearly quick enough to start at the 3, nor does he have enough range. ------------------ Shandon Anderson rocks. The lottery sucks. Playoffs 2001.
Take a 6'9 260 pounder - where do you play him... hmmm... SF is NOT my first thought.... ------------------
Of course with the starting lineup mentioned originally, how bad would we be defensively?? The opposition SF's would score thousands!! ------------------
As long as we score thousands +1 we will be ok. DaDakota Just once when asked about the keys to a game, I want to hear a coach say..."If we can just outscore them by one we will be ok" ------------------ All you MO-FO's better stop ripping off my lines !!
I still dont understand why everyone is so adamant about trading KT. He was a rookie last year and did a pretty damn good job for a rook. I dont believe that he is our starting PF on a champ team, but he is a pretty good back up. We are going to have to have some bangers at C to compete in the West so I think that they will try to go after a C more than a SF. If we are going to go after anything I believe that it will be a C or SF. I hope that Cato doesnt suck so bad this year because then we are going to be stuck with that contract. I think if Cato can live up to his potential we can live with Walt and Langhi at SF. ------------------ Build it and they will STAY!
Not sure anyone talked about trading KT here... but as for the center position; could be worse - we've got Cato (let's hope he plays hard) and Collier (can rebound well and stretches defense with his shooting range) for next season - if they both work out to be decent value then all we need is a Walt with defense to play SF for us ------------------
Yeah - and those bigger PFs that KT is using his quickness to get around will post him up and shoot over his head, muscle him out of rebounds, and back him down to the basket. Just like those SFs will use their pace quickness against Mo. We aren't the only team that will be advantaged by mis-matches, Hoopingtall. Starting 5 will be:- Hakeem Taylor Williams Anderson Francis ------------------ Current Rocket's Salary & Contract Info
I'd be shocked if the starting 5 (barring injury) doesn't consist of: C Hakeem PF Mo' SF Walt SG Shandon PG Stevie Franchise Our bench has the potential to be as deep as it has ever been, albeit young as well. ------------------ Up high in the air, Burning, churning, The unstoppable Red Glare
Actually the platooning system that RT likes and has tried to instill for several years will finally be a reality this year. 5. Hakeem - He will be getting his shots and his minutes this year, barring any "major" injury. The scoring threat of MoTay at the four will help Hakeem enormously this season. The inside outside game will have a whole new meaning, and I can't wait to see the first high pick set by either guy(Hakeem or Taylor) for the otrher! Cato will get slightly less overall five spot minutes than Hakeem (again unless Hakeem loses the wheels or his breath). But look for Cato to get some time at the "double five" with both he and Hakeem during key matchups. 4. MoTay - They didn't go through all this s**t (and neither did Mr.Taylor) to get relegated to the second string. He will play big minutes and my guess is he will play his butt off, especially when the perimeter shooting and the drives of the #1, #2 and #3 positions start running rings around the opposition. KT will have his minutes as the first option off the bench at the PF spot. He may play too loose at times, but KT is strong, has good footwork, can find the basket in a crowd and frankly, CD passed up a lot of trade offers with KT's name attached, not to let him play at first sub. I see Carlos Rogers coming for key team opponents, especially when the Timberwolves have their long tall drink of water wandering around the basket. But it is Maurice then Kenny. Everyone else is an afterthought. 3. Williams - As much as I hate saying this, Walt will have the job from the get-go. And, it will stay his to lose if he chooses to do so. But Langhi has been impressing the socks off the guys, and he will have ample minutes to show his stuff too. Shandon will be spotted in here, and in a weird angle on the three guard set (Playbook: Trifecta) .... Steve, Shandon and Mobley will occupy enough shifts together that some teams will have to have special defenses to support their defenses. But overall watch for a Walt (30 minutes), Langhi (10 minutes), others (8 minutes) sort of thing. 2. Shandon - He has it sewn up. His defense and pursuit coverage will earn him the lion share(24-30 minutes). Mobley will back him of course (15 -20 minutes), and in those games when Shandon has run all night, watch for Cuttino to spark in the late second and the last half of the fourth for some offensive punch. 1. Little Stevie - The only time he will need relief is when he has been run down on every possession. That's how they got him last year. Wear is butt out on every possession. But RT will make sure Moochie will get about 12 - 15 minutes a game, if only to keep the team speed up, AND to keep Steve healthy and strong at the end of the game (and the season). The option to throw both him and Mooch out there at the same time to upset the defensive coverage will be tempting and RT will in fact do that to keep everyone honest. Prediction: Assists(for everyone, but especially for Francis and Norris) will go up, way, way up this year. ------------------ Okay. There are enough inequalities and paradoxes that defy logic, but just answer me this: (1) Why did Kamikaze Pilots wear protective helmets? (2) Why is it that when you transport something by truck it is called a shipment, and when it goes by ship it is called a cargo? (3) Who was the first person to say .... "Gee, I bet if I took this fungus and brushed it off a little, it would taste real good." Mushrooms anyone? (4) How about the first guy to say ..... "Gee, I bet if I took this large insect scavenger, and boiled the satan out of him, I could sell him to someone for around $9 a pound." Lobster anyone? ....... Huh? Huh??????????? When did all this stuff start? Was I sleeping? Did I miss that day in class? Was my memo recycled prematurely?
really why does everyone knock kenny t. he really is pretty talented and a pretty good rebounder the only disadvantage is that hes only 6'7. if he was 6'10 he would be awesome. does shandon seem happy? because it seemed like he didnt play with QUITE as much passion as when he played with utah
oeilpere, I think Cuttino will play more than 15 to 20 min. I think 30 to 40 min is more like it. He play more than 30 min a game this past year. We are paying Cat 6 mil a year and he is one of our go to guys in the crunch time. I think he will play more than 15 to 20 min. ------------------ "See they pick and pick and pick. Man they picked me to death." -Steve Francis on the Utah Jazz
Mobley: I agree. The numbers I used above were specific to the two spot. Mobley will also catch some minutes at the 3 guard set ("Trifecta"), and at PG. I also have a sneaking suspicion he will be used to threat at the three spot in some games, especially when covered by a weak defending SG. Cato vs Hakeem: (You didn't mention this but ..... ) The five position remains Hakeem's to keep or lose, IMHO. Cato is ineffective at the 4 unless a dominant five (Hakeem) is present. But we will see the two playing a sort-of-double-five set. But as far as Hakeem is concerned, if he is healthy he has to be first option.
The shake might not be so dreamy anymore, but if Hakeem is healthy and in a rhythm, he's gonna score 20 off his fadeaway and face up jumpers. ------------------ Up high in the air, Burning, churning, The unstoppable Red Glare
H'Town Can you imagine how effective he will be if MoTay starts bang and popping inside also? The two of them will cause some problems, that is for sure. One will make the other even that much more effective.
But, who is gonna guard the Admiral's and Duncan's and Sabonis's and Sheed,s of the west. I can see us scoring with ease, but I don't see us as a very good defensive team. ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
