Ok not another Taylor thread...right? Some of us are down at the possibility of gaining Maurice Taylor to the Rox. Citing his lack of rebounding, defense, ect. ect. ect. Most people are ok with what Cato is being paid and his production or "potential" to improve those numbers Cato averaged: 24.3 mpg .537 FG% .649 FT% 6.0 Reb 8.7 PPG His rebound per minute stats per year, starting with his most recent year are: 1:4, 1:3.6, 1 4.0 Maurice Taylor numbers 35 mpg .464 FG% .711 FT% 6.5 Reb 17.1 PPG rebounds per minute for the career: 1:5.7, 1:6.2, 1:5.0 Both players have been in the league for the same amount of time, What intrigues me is that Cato plays a position the should Garner many more rebounds, but isnt exactly blowing Maurice out of the water with his bounding skills. Most people are assuming Cato is going to improve his game. And his rebounding. Why is it then that Maurice is soft? Is he not also capable of working on his game. Has Cato proven to be a harder worker than Taylor? Wasnt it Cato, who said after he signed his big contract, that he would rather come off the bench than start, that he doesnt like to start? That is soft. Now Im not bashing Cato. Ill wait to see what he does this year first. But for as "soft" as Maurice is on the boards, Cato is on the offensive side. Cato cant even hold on to a decent pass yet. All in all, guess Im saying that Id take Maurice at the 2.3 million exception. Im mean if Cato is worth 7 million a season to some of you, why isnt Taylor worth 2.3? Im not a big Taylor fan, but his production isnt all that bad. And his numbers have been increasing the longer he plays. Give it a shot. Not to mention Maurice at PF is ten times better than anyone else the Rox would play at PF this year. ------------------ "I have amazing, powers of observation"...Pink [This message has been edited by Dreamshake (edited August 09, 2000).]
I think that Taylor has a bigger character issues than Cato. Cato was traded from Portland where he never played at the end of last offseason. He was out of shape and never really prepared for the season the way you have to. We've all heard that Cato has apparently worked hard to "change the appearance of his body." If we hadn't heard about this we would still be trashing him in every thread. Maurice however has shown himself to be less than committed to the game. I would just as soon not take the chance. Get me a player that can't stay away the gym. Get me a player that hits the summer leagues for fun. We need people that want to work hard. That's the only way to get a championship. When I was watching the playoofs, I couldn't help but think that Glenn Rice was holding the Lakers back. They probably would've been a lot more dominant if they had a high-energy SF to start in place of Glenn. I know I'm belaboring the point, but I think that chemistry is the only way we'll be able to get past the big boys. ------------------ "Stranger things have happened, but none stranger than this" - Commentator after a parachutist landed in the ring of a Holyfield fight
You have a good point but i dont think cato is soft just because he said he would rather come off the bench.He thought he was better coming off the bench and really wasent ready yet.The only times i seen Mo play since college is when he plays the rockets and he does not look like he is afraid of contact at all,i remember him dunkin on cato aggressivly a few times.I dont remember how many rebounds he got though,but everyone cant be lieing.Also both of these guys are still young.Still this could be a big pick up or maybe we could use him in some kind of sign and trade to get webber next season. ------------------
Using your numbers, Cato averages .25 reb/min , while Taylor averages .19 reb/min. That means Cato's rebounding/minute is 31% better than Taylor's. Since most people thought that Cato didn't rebound very well, I sure don't want a guy who's only producing at 70% of what Cato did. ------------------
Great calculations allieott. If this Taylor guy is gonna be so good, why has no one else signed him? ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
Actually 0.19/0.25 = 76% not 70%. Secondly, the more minutes you play the more tired you get so it is hard to measure it that way. Example, if somone is averaging 5 reb/game and averaging 10 min/game then his average is 0.5 reb/min and you can not translate that to 17.5/game for a 35 min/game because of the fatigue factor and other factors. ------------------
REASONS WHY NOBODY HAS SIGNED MO TAYLOR: 1) Most teams have a 4 under contract (do the names 'Sheed, Duncan, Garnett, Baker, Malone, Outlaw, Amechi, PJ, Kenyon, Brand, Gugliotta, Croshere, Walker, A&D Davis, Oakley, Camby and McDyess ring a bell?). 2) There are only a handful of teams with enough cap $ to make an offer. 3) Those with cap room would rather try for Brian Grant first. I don't think the lack of a feeding frenzy indicates anything. ------------------ GATER
Why aren't the Knicks after him? They were hot after Grant until Portland wanted Spree. ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
If your team X and your power foward is rebounding at a .76 clip of your Center. Assuming your Center is rebounding decently, then youd be in fair shape. The point is guys, Cato is a center...he should get more boards, neither one does a particularly good job of it, but people seem intent of believing Cato is going to upgrade this aspect of his game, all the while believing that Mo isnt. Now if you guys think Mo plays bad, D. Then your going to have to change your story on Kenny T's D. It was flat out horrible 98 percent of the time last year. Id much rather see Mo out there scoring 17 and grabbing 7 boards than Kenny T winging 3's all night long. Not as long as KT is playing the 4 spot at least. Mo is a bargain at 2.3 million. Let me say this. If Mo were to sign for the 2.3 million exception, Id consider the Rox damn lucky. What do they have to lose. Cap space...nope. A worse record...nope. Rebounding...not really being that Francis almost led this team in it last year. Defense...Nope. Bring him on. Let him try to prove why he is deserving of a big contract. Its a win win situation. ------------------ "I have amazing, powers of observation"...Pink
Cato plays defense Mo watches the defense play. ------------------ please venture to atheistalliance and rocketsonline I AM SPARTACUS
I dislike Kenny as much as the next fan, but at least he tries to play basketball SOMETIMES.... Mo plays "me-ball" and if he's coming here so that he can rack up some nice numbers and get a big contract for '01-02 then we could be in trouble. As long as the coaching staff is hard on him and doesn't let him play if he's not going to play "with the team" then it may well work out. What have we got to lose? Sure I hate Taylor, but I couldn't care less if we sign him (there's no other option really...) - and if he's not producing, just make him 12th man. ------------------
Secondly, the more minutes you play the more tired you get so it is hard to measure it that way. Example, if somone is averaging 5 reb/game and averaging 10 min/game then his average is 0.5 reb/min and you can not ranslate that to 17.5/game for a 35 min/game because of the fatigue factor and other factors. A couple of points: 1. I'm not the one that first compared their per minute stats. I just commented on the fact that Cato and Taylor's numbers weren't all that close. 2. Your point about projecting stats/minute is valid for the case you quote, but that is an extreme (projecting a 5 minute/game performance over 35 minutes). If the difference is only 11 minutes a game, as it is here, then that is not that much of a factor. If your team X and your power foward is rebounding at a .76 clip of your Center. Assuming your Center is rebounding decently, then youd be in fair shape. That's a fair statement but it isn't our situation. Cato wasn't rebounding decently last year. Here's another true statement that is more applicable to our situation: If your center's rebounding is poor and your power forward is only rebounding at .76 of your center, then you're in trouble. Is there a PF in the league that plays close to 35min/game and averages less rebounds than Taylor? I really haven't looked, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. Factor in that Taylor plays no defense and he has a bad attitude and I don't see the benefit in adding Taylor. If we sign Taylor he's going to get plenty of shots (he likes to shoot)or he's going to pout. Neither one of those options is appealing to me. ------------------ [This message has been edited by aelliott (edited August 10, 2000).]
Where have you been man? Cato is the most maligned Rocket on this BBS. ------------------ Current Rocket's Salary & Contract Info
Now, here's the X Factor on Cato. During the preseason, he was a rabid dog, shotblocking like crazy (wasn't he averaging around 6 per game?) and being very vicious down low. This year, he looked disinterested. IF he has really gotten a lot stronger, I think we can expect to see the Cato of the preseason.....and his rebounding increase. How much? I dunno. But with that and more minutes, he'll be able to get 8 or more per game IMO. Then, on Mo. Over the last 14 games (2 months), Mo averaged 7.4 rebounds a game. Suppose he kicks that to 7.5, would that not be ok to live with? ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
It would be a good fight. I think Cato might have the reach advantage though. ------------------ Doink!
guys, Cato always had it, he's just gonna show it.....I'm not sure Mo HAS the rebounding skills...BUT, if Taylor gets 7.5, Cato gets 8, Walt gets 4, and we have the best rebounding backcourt in the league i think.......sounds good to me...... ------------------
Maurice Taylor averaged 35.9 mins/game last year. There were 25 PF's last year that averaged 30 or more minutes per game. All of them except 3 averaged more rebs/game than Maurice. The 3 are Juwan Howard, Larry Johnson, and Cliff Robinson. Juwan and Larry averaged almost identical minutes to Maurice, while Robinson averaged about 3.5 minutes less per game. There are several small forwards that outrebounded Maurice last year, some of them played FAR fewer minutes per game. Face it... for his size and athletic ability, his rebounding just sucks. I think BoboFinn said it best : Why aren't other NBA teams dying to get him? His attitude and his rebounding both stunk it up last year. For those of you saying that it's just because it was the Clips, then don't complain when others say that Scottie did nothing wrong because it was Rudy's stupid system that he was forced to adapt to. That's not my opinion, of course, but just throwing it out there... ------------------ Just shut up and post
Maurice Taylor averaged 35.9 mins/game last year. There were 25 PF's last year that averaged 30 or more minutes per game. All of them except 3 averaged more rebs/game than Maurice. The 3 are Juwan Howard, Larry Johnson, and Cliff Robinson. Juwan and Larry averaged almost identical minutes to Maurice, while Robinson averaged about 3.5 minutes less per game. There are several small forwards that outrebounded Maurice last year, some of them played FAR fewer minutes per game. Face it... for his size and athletic ability, his rebounding just sucks. I think BoboFinn said it best : Why aren't other NBA teams dying to get him? His attitude and his rebounding both stunk it up last year. For those of you saying that it's just because it was the Clips, then don't complain when others say that Scottie did nothing wrong because it was Rudy's stupid system that he was forced to adapt to. That's not my opinion, of course, but just throwing it out there... ------------------ Just shut up and post
