Shorter Kirk Snyder, Kelenna Azubiuke type. Rotation player Like a Shannon Brown/Smush Parker type. He needs a more polish to his game for those positions. Lot more command of his dribble and passing. He could be a more explosive Marcus Thornton type if he learned to shoot off screens and develop consistent shooting form. Or of course, Von Wafer... Or, he'll just always be a 13th man athletic filler.
The thing I love about JT is that he is athletic. This Rockets team needs as much as that as possible. Tracy, before worst of injuries, was the only athletic guy on the team. Everyone else seems to rely more on hustle and just pure want. Scola for example, watching him run and jump makes me laugh...but he works his ass off and most of the time gets the job done. But still.....hopefully JT can develop into a disciplined athletic player....though I don't expect anything special.
We do have some athletic players, like Brooks, Budinger, Hill, and Ariza. It's true about guys like Scola, Lowry, Battier, etc, though... they're not too athletic.
Where are you getting that he's a great passer? The first time I have ever saw him pass the ball willingly was on that fast break to Bud. Other than that, even when he's in traffic on halfcourt sets he almost refuses to pass it back it out and just forces up the shot. Did you guys not see him get stuffed by one the LA defender near the end of the 1st half??? He never averaged even 2 assists/game in college in 4 years and has been noted as a below-average passer and has a reputation for being a ballhog. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jermaine-Taylor-5670/stats/ Here's a quote that says it all, (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jermaine-Taylor-5670/ ) There's no doubt that based on physical tools alone he is out of this world good (although he does seem a bit stiff in the hips), but his mental game leaves a lot to be desired. There were a lot of mental lapses last night and Kobe blew right by him a couple of times too.
Flip Murray, Von Wafer ('09), Kelenna Azubuike, Mo Evans -type players are all good examples. Scoring punch off the bench but little else for a 2-4 million $ a year. If that shall come true, it should be considered a success.
He had a couple of very impressive passes in the game last night, jasonemilio, and he said recently in an interview that he has been working hard on improving that area of his game in the D-League. I think the problem in the past has been that he was so unwilling to pass, not necessarily that he's naturally bad at it.
i posted about his impressive vision and passing skills several times after the summer league games.....yesterday wasn't the first time he showed it in a rockets jersey.... but what was really notable from last nite was his D on kobe.....i'm not sure how injured kobe was, but taylor pretty much stifled him the entire game with great lateral quickness and anticipation
Way too early to know, as shown by the disparities in the poll. But kudos to Jermaine; he had an excellent game, and showed more court presence and especially defense than what I expected. I sure hope he aspires to be an all-star and not just a role player.
I'll be the first to say it. Von Wafer was better than this guy will every be. Reasons: 1. Von Wafer hit clutch shots, translating to wins for the Rockets. 2. Last night was JT's first big game in the NBA, Wafer has proven himself and earned his keep on the court. JT will never do this. 3. With how many guards we have, especially since we don't really run the point, JT will never get enough chances to develop. I say that he'll stay in the D-League. Unless we miss the playoffs and go for lottery again.
This is not a very smart post. Your second reason explains away the first reason in JT's favor. And the second and third reasons both have nothing to do with Jermaine and everything to do with unpredictable future situations. Basically, what you proved is not what you were trying to prove. So I fixed it for you. Now your post is not wrong, just irrelevant.
Rather than asking what is Jermaine Taylor's potential WITH US, you should ask if other team think he has potential...as long as buddinger, martin, ariza are here, the SG/ SF position is taken....so maybe taylor's minutes right now are used to show lure trade bait...
Lowry is an athlete. I don't know what makes you think he is not. But to the OP, Taylor, to me, has a higher potential that C-Bud. I know C-bud came in NBA ready. I remember when he started college he was supposed to be the next best thing for them. He kind of faded away into a 2nd-round draft pick. Taylor has some things that you just can not teach. I think other people thinks he has a huge ego, as well; but, the dude is passionate about playing and wants to become a player. To go against Kobe the way he did without fear is great. You want a player like that. You want a player that has a way to get the ball in the hole. He is the kind of player that will hit a hard shot and make you think it was lucky -- then, continue to hit that same hard shot and make you reconsider whether it was/is skill. He still has a long way to go; but, not nearly as far as his minutes per game would suggest in my opinion.
He reminds me of a Jason Richardson- type. Any possibility he is being "showcased" now that the games are meaningless, much like Joey Dorsey was prior to the all-star break?
Every player is tradeable, with exception to Yao and perhaps Martin (unless for a large price). Morey spent a couple mil on the kid. Now that the season is over, it's smart to get some PT for JT. Whether to be showcased or not, it's important to see where he stands and try to make him a more valuable asset -- for a trade or for production.
Dude needs to stop fighting his own teammates for rebounds. I've seen that at least twice from him. Also ditch the shooting sleeve, his arm isn't hurt and he's a rookie. If Aaron Brooks can ditch the headband during his rookie year then JT can ditch the shooting sleeve.
Well i was at the LA game last night, he was all over kobe and was raining threes and driving to the hoop, he could be an all star eventually
