Which of these, if any, is the answer as the backup PF?? Taylor is the incumbent and has put up decent numbers in the past. He is not playing badly, but appears to be too small to compete inside. His inside moves routinely get blocked and his rebounding is sub par for a PF. His only plus is his midrange shot and decent offensive all around game. Braggs is like Otis Thorpe, with a worse outside shot. But the man can get rough, play defense, hustle and rebound. He fits the JVG mold and during the times that Cato is not in the game, Braggs is a good compliment for Yao. Padgett is an unknown to me. He has a reputation for being a shooter but I don't think he can play at a level to command many minutes. Right now, it appears that Taylor will be on the floor with Cato, and Braggs with Yao. As Yao's minutes increase, so should Braggs minutes increase over Taylor's. That is acceptable temporarily, and is not the greatest of our concerns. But we would significantly benefit from a legitimate frontcourt rotation player. (Please do not mention Griffin on this thread. I have not given up on him, but until he demonstrates otherwise, he cannot be counted on to contribute this year.)
None of these are the answer at backup PF. This last sentence pretty much sums up what will happen at PF. If Yao is out, Taylor is in. If Yao is in, Braggs will proably be in, as long as CM or SF are on the floor. I think JVG wants a low post threat in at all times and if Yao is in, he prefers someone in there who can do the dirty work. I think it will always be Mo Taylor off the bench first as Yao seems to have an established rotation pattern at the three minute mark of the first period. He will probably get more minutes too as his combined skills are better than Braggs albeit not by much. I don't know much about Padgett either. Is he a Bullard type or do we have a Bullard here with some attitude and banging.
Mo-T will get it because of him being with the rockets the longest. Padgett will get time at SF too. and Braggs will be last years HawKins
Mo-T is the most talented player of that bunch. End of story. As long as he shows the work ethic, he's the man. Now what about Cato? He's our starter...unless the backup center position proves too weak for us.
Braaags............ moT is too selfish and still plays like a KID braags knows his role and HUSTLES, hes got mo MUSCLE id go w/Braags, padgett, then MoT for garbage time
I think Mo Taylor will eventually take over the starting PF position. Cato's play is great, but we need a little more scoring and a little more quickness. Not that MoT is cat-like, but he's certainly quicker than Cato. I don't think ti matters who starts though, especially now that Cato can play both positions. Yao/Cato MoT/Cato That's excellent IMO. I think MoT is feeling out his new (lighter) body, and trying to shake some rust off still. He's rebounding betetr than he has in the past judging by his per-minute stats, and his scoring will eventually catch on. He seems to be playing VERY hard, and I think he can eventually be a VERY efficient 12ppg/6reb player. I would also like to see him take some of Cat's shots away (in fact, I'd like to see Cat come off the bench). We all know MoT can hit 50% of his shots, he shoots a very high %. Couple that with Yao Ming shooting 50% or more, Francis slicing through defenses, and Pike nailing 3-pters, this team can be SUPERB offensively if they learn how to work it properly.
Taylor is has been umimpresive so far. He, Mobley, and Moochie seem to resort to iso ball when they are on the court together. Mo seems really concerned with personal scoring stats or something. I definitely like the workhorse type game that you get with Braggs and Padgett; they both box out better than Taylor, work within the offense better by setting screens, and they just seem to play with a more rugged style and greater energy than Taylor does. But I guess the player with the fatter contract will probably get the most minutes.
Actually from what I've seen of him I think Braggs has a decent shot. OT on the other hand had NO range whatsoever if I remember correctly, which I usually do. -Nick-
Please bring Eddie back!. MoT is limited and I piss my pants when he has to guard any of the PF in the west. Based on the situation I will bring in one of them although I do not see Pad as a PF. I like Braggs' hustle.
Good post! I've also noticed MoT's effort. Let's give him some time to get back into playing mode after missing all of camp. We had patience for Yao last year and that worked out pretty well.
I agree with the fact that Mo Taylor will eventually start. The people posting here saying that MoT is not impressive are obviously not up to speed on the Rockets and their players. If you were present through training camp and preseason you would know that Mo Taylor has reported in the best shape of his career and then had an unfortunate injury and was out. He is still shaking off the rust considering he just came back a few days ago. For those that were not Rockets fans last year, then it is obvious that you don't know what Mo Taylor is capable of doing when healthy. He is a potent offensive force. He single handedly carried our offense for long stretches during games last year. ISO and ugly... Yes, but effective. Mo Taylor is a great asset for this team no matter whether you think he 'fits' into this offense or not. I believe he is coachabe and will be just fine under JVG. Let's give it a few weeks. Only teenagers and the ignorant are impatient.
I think that they will split the minutes. Whoever is doing well will play the most that particular game.
I think Padgett played mroe small forward in his days with the Jazz - having said that, the guy is 6'9 240 and is very physical. I wouldn't think of him as a Bullard - he's not that good of a shooter, but he's got better size and is quicker, and he's a solid defenisve player. I like having him in the lineup - he gives us options as a 3/4 and it'd be a shame to see A. Griffin take his roster spot when he returns from injury! Perhaps he'd be a good guy to have in the lineup with Ming so that he can create the spacing the big fella needs!
While I think that MoT is the more talented of the two. I believe Cato should get the start. We used to use MoT as quick early offense in the game which he supplied successfully. But with Yao on the team you need to get the ball to him first in the post and no MoT. Cato is much better at cleaning up around the basket band and cutting to the basket for easy feeds and slams. MoT does not work well w/o the ball which is why he does not get the rebounds or the easy slams or layups Cato does. I like Taylor as the offensive option in the post off the bench. Too many times I see Taylor fighting for the same block that Yao is supposed to be getting. Reminiscent of Hakeem and Barkley except those 2 HOF'ers were a little bit better at sharing.
All 3 player give the Rockets something different- scoring, toughness, & outside shooting. How did the Rockets acquire Braggs? He is a bruiser in the paint. I have a friend in Denver and he asked me about Braggs and when/how did we get him. And I had no answer b/c I wasn't sure. He definitely is getting notice on his play thus far.
