So is Mo still the one left out of the 7 man rotation? I think the difference is, last year's bench without Mo would've been a bunch of chickens running around with their heads cut off. Mo would've probably made a better starter than Cato last year, but Cato's value off the bench was greatly diminished- no longer defending the premier 4s in the league, having a defensive juggernaut (termed loosely) for the Traylors and Madsens of the league just doesn't do much. Mo is a very good talent. His familiarity in the Rockets org. probably gave him an additional edge over Howard. Howard, unlike Cato, can lead a unit offensively off the bench.
I think that could be a very likely case. People on here are saying Mo is starting because of his range. Uh...didn't we start Cato, who has NO range, last year in front of Mo? Oh how quickly we forget. If we are indeed shopping Mo, then i would still be right. Deke will play every game, so he is definitely in the rotation. If Mo gets traded, he obviously not part of the 7.
I bet this move was due top mo taylor's defensive prowess and incredible rebounding skills, at times i don't think anyone can get a shot up against him and even is they do u just know that he will pull down the board! now where did my crack go....
True, but in this case you have the "same type" player in MoT & Howard, but MoT has longer range, thus JVG chooses MoT over Howard to spread the floor. Plus Cato was inserted over MoT because he a better rebounding / defensive abilities over MoT. Remember, we had Francis, Mobley, and Yao last year (3 scorers) and thus we most likely didn't need a fourth scorer in that lineup.
I don't think raising his value is the reason for this move. 1. MoT does have more range, giving the offense a lot more freedom to start games off. 2. Howard could be a very good 6th man. Add Deke/Boki/Lue and eventually Sura gives us a nice Vet/Young combo. 3. Or he is just trying to raise MoT's value. I just don't think this is the case, since getting this team rolling is more important right now.
Let me say this again. Mo Taylor was left exposed in the expansion draft. I agree with Oski, this is crazy. Howard has likely been the best Rocket player in the preseason. He’s everything this team needed in a power forward. As far as Cato starting last season, he brought shot-blocking and good interior defense. That’s why he started over Mo.
A lot of players were left exposed in the expansion draft, and MoT was one of the them, mainly because of his contract. But that doesn't say alot about us trading him. We left him exposed in an attempt to get rid of his contract, a trade would make us take back just as much contract as we are giving away. MoT brings a different style of game than Howard, and maybe that is what JVG is looking for. Maybe our slow starts on offense (10points-1st quarter, 12ponits-3rd quarter) triggered JVG to change something. MoT's range spreads the floor a lot more than Howard. I'm not saying that it is impossible that JVG is trying to raise his vaule. But I am saying that it is probably more important for JVG to get this team rolling early than worrying about one person.
The starting lineup with Juwan Howard has 1 player that Yao knows how to play off of, and where to pass out of double teams. I think you're right that starting Mo at least gives Yao 2 guys he has played with for an entire season which allows him a stronger comfort level when teams are running defenders at him.
Count me in the "hate this move" crowd. First off, Mo is sooooo much more effective as an offensive boost off the bench. Whenever he gets the ball, he always holds it for a couple seconds before he makes his move. That's okay when he's the main offensive option on the court, but when he's in the starting lineup with Yao and T-Mac it just bogs down the offense and keeps the ball out of our main guys' hands. And secondly, Mo is just a lousy passer. I don't think he's quite the black hole that others do, he is a willing passer sometimes. He's just not a capable passer. I can't count the number of times that he tries to make a pass to some guy that WAS open a second before he let it go. I've seen enough of Mo to know that he just doesn't have the vision or the instinct of even a competent passing big man. I sure hope this is a "show off" type move, because it just doesn't make any sense to me.
When Mo started last year, the defense suffered. However, the Rockets had to deal with numerous dribble drives by point guards running right past Steve. I think Ward will be at least be the equal of Steve from a defensive standpoint. TMac will be more effective than Mobley. This will reduce the breaches into the paint area that Yao has to deal with. Rockets will primarily use the bench for defensive purposes. The starters will be used to hopefully build up a big lead.
IMO, all of the above may be true, but I think early in the season, continuity is the deciding factor. Think of all the, "We're behind" and "It's like two teams thrown together" quotes. JVG wants players used to playing off Yao (Mo, JJ) to start. He wants the Orlando players coming off the bench when Yao sits and it's the TMac show (Howard, Lue). We really will have two teams going: Houston starting, Orlando off the bench.
I just feel that JVG might feel that we get off to a slow start offensively during games, i.e. Denver: 22points in the 1st and 3rd quarter combined. MoT stretches out the defense. Defenders won't want to play off of MoT as much as Howard, since MoT can hit the 10ft jumper with ease. Having JJ and MoT (good shooters) makes defense worry about how to stop Yao/TMac without giving wide open looks to Jackson/Taylor, and somewhat Ward.
i thought this was a showcase move at first, but now that I think about it, I think jvg is putting howard on the bench to be the strong point of our weak second team. When Mo is out, we don't really need him on offense while tmac and yao are on court, but when deke comes in, howard will be a better 4 on the floor than MoT, IMO. G2G LMFAO TTYL.
Don't know why everybody is so shocked. We have very few outside shooters and these low scoring first quarters has probably convinced JVG to crapshoot on more offense with Taylor in the first group. Then he can send the combo of Howard/Mutombo to defensively dominate the 2nd group. Rebounding in the first group should be a joke though.
I guess I'm OK with the move, but I wonder... We all hope Yao gets alot more touches this year, but what happens when MoT gets the ball in his hands and, instead of passing around or getting it inside to Yao, he does his usual "stand there for 15 seconds thinking about shooting it" routine? You have to admit, the offense stops once it gets in his possession and I'm not sure I like that when you have both Tmac and Yao on the floor.
