Really is rather simple, first you have to think on who the rockets are, and that is a guard oriented team so that right there tells us that we want spacing on the floor and with big man clogging up the middle then that would be nearly imposible, in Rudy's system we have to have big man that can hit that 15-18 ft shots (see Mo T. and Collier) that right there draws the big guys away from the basket and gives us the room needed for our guards to do their thing. ------------------ If you are a positive thinking person but yet you listen to country music, isn't that odd?
"I want to see him work his man for the high percentage shot and also draw a foul. Since he doesn't like the physical play, this will not happen." -BobFinn* While Mo has not done it consistently, I wouldn't say it won't happen. It's not as if he's fragile-bodied, so certainly physically, he can do it. He's shown small flashes of it (hustling on the offensive glass to snare a rebound and put it back in), and I thought he got inside fairly well tonight to grab some boards. Even if he chooses not to play too physical, he'll still have his face up moves at his disposal. A random thought of mine: Why don't we let Mo bring the ball up every now and then, like Boston was doing with Walker? Mo is every bit as good a ball handler as Walker, and it'd allow Francis to play off the ball, as well as maybe keep Mo in more plays. heyparty, if you drop by, what would you think of that? Mo has shown enough of a low post game for me to think he can be that threat. Like in the preseason, he's blown a few shots that he knows he shouldn't have, and to really judge that part of his game, it needs more time. The Rockets would benefit from a rugged rebounder who can play the 4, and maybe spot at the 5. Our future could in fact hinge upon how Cato plays. If he becomes a good/great rebounder (8-9 a game with 2.5 blocked shots is fine, no need to lead the league). If he's only getting 4-5 a game, which I'd hope not, then we might have a problem with Mo and his current board job. But if you have a PG getting 5.5 boards, an SG pulling down 4, and a backup SG pulling down 4, if you get 8-9 out of your starting center, and another 4 or so out of Collier, 5-6 rebounds for your starting PF is no problem, ESPECIALLY if you bring in a decent board guy off the bench. If we draft/acquire a good rebounding SF (it looks like Cato/Collier will be our center combo, sink or swim, and if Mo stays, what's the point of picking a starting caliber PF if we could trade our backup PF, cough ahem, for a boarder), and guys like Morris (7.5 this year) and Battier (6.5) are in fact good rebounders, we'd be in business. While we all want the perfect player, you usually can't get them. A guy with one big defect thus(rebounding), and one fairly minor one (defense is average) with through the roof ability on the other side of the ball, for 2.25 million is NOT bad at all. Wasn't Randy Brown also signed for 2.25 million? ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
Bob, I have not noticed Mo cowering away at contact in Houston. I have actually seen him make a solid all around effort here, but he has just been sidelined like crazy with foul trouble. To just out and say that he cant get it in the playoffs even tho he's getting it now is a very sweeping statement. Ive noticed that in the first 10 games, foul trouble or not, rebounding or not, Mo has been able to get into high percentage areas on the floor. I have very little doubt about Mo not being a 50% scorer. He is just way too skilled on offense not to be that. 3pointer, the name of the game is variety. The Rockets are not going to go to guard drives everytime down the floor. They need to throw it inside sometimes to get variety. While Mo has been on the floor, they have done that. However, tonight against the Celtics was a complete debacle as there was zero ball movement and the guards esp Mobley were trying to repeatedly split traps instead of making the defense commit and moving the ball. It was by far the most painful game I have watched this season, even moreso than the Clips one. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
In theory, I'd rather the Rockets blocked all opponents' shots, so we didn't have to worry about rebounding at all.
I would rather have a more traditional lineup where the powerforward rebounds and the guards get out on the break.There is however no doubt that if Mo would get some boards Francis,Anderson,and Mobley could finish on the break if given the oppurtunities but so far it just isn't happening.Last year when we had Barkley Anderson was one of our best finishers on the team.I remember the long outlet passes from Charles and O.T. and I haven't seen one this year.This is not the guards fault I fully believe that given the oppurtunity they would love to get out and run but the oppurtunities just aren't there.As far as Mo's offensive ability that's fine just give the same effort on the boardsand I think if/when he does this and the guards get some easy transition buckets our team will improve greatly until then we will only win when we can overwhelm our opponnents with our outside shooting.Tonights game against Boston was the perfect example Walker and Battie were hitting the defensive boards and immediately looking downcourt for Stith and Pierce for easy layins,the Rockets never get easy buckets and on a back to back night when the legs are a little tired from having to work so hard for every shot the jumper is not going to be there so easy buckets are the only answer.Also Steve hits the boards so well and is instictively such a good rebounder asking him not to and run more may not be the answer a small forward who runs the floor and finishes on the break might be. ------------------ I'm not the type to eat it up but the type to hit it raw dog and seed it up. [This message has been edited by Summer Song Giver (edited November 23, 2000).]
I know what would solve this problem. CATO!!! Since he can't rebound either, we should send him to the U.S. volleyball team so that they can teach him how to tip the ball out to the guards & forwards. That way, they can spot up & shoot 3's all night long or drive to the hole. After all, Cato can leap with the best of them, so all he would have to focus on is swatting & tipping balls away from the basket. On a more serious note. Could Othella help us? He can score down low & rebound. He hates Canada & Rudy loves him (or did). Let's bring back the "Big O". ------------------
If anyone watched last nights game, Mo recieved a pass outside the lane. Pierce was guarding him. Mismatch. Mo spun and went right to the hole. Of course he went right through Pierce and got an offensive foul. NOT ONE FREAKIN TIME FOR THE REST OF THE GAME DID WE GO BACK TO THIS, WHY? We were down by 17 early on. Had plenty of time to establish a low post game to mount a comeback. Instead we took terrible percentage shots, settling for outside jumpers. Bullard wasn't on, yet Rudy stuck with him. Mo was 1-9. Mobley got most of his points in garbage time. The Celtics were very physical in the low post, that is why we got our butt's kicked. How many layups did the Celtics have? How many times did Mo fail to come from the weak side to help out? Answers: Many Twice, that I can remember. ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
Amen, Bob. While it is hard to remember him cowering from contact on offense, (KIND of hard) you never see him go into a situation that is going to be physical offensively. Like Finn* said, there are times when he has a mismatch in the post, and instead of taking the ball to the rack, he'll shoot his turnaround or his jumper or whatever. When that's going in, there's rarely a complaint. However, when he's missing everything he's throwing up (last night), WHY NOT TAKE THE BALL INSIDE, especially if you have a smaller man on you? The man is soft. And I must agree with MManal, when speaking of Jerome Williams ------------------ Jazzkiller
I really think that Mo Taylor is an excellent addition because once he finds his groove and consistently hits that 15-18 ft. jump shot that we've all seen him take time in and time out, then the other powerfowards in the league will be forced to step outside of their camping in the paint to guard him, thus opening up the lanes of penetration for Steve and the Cat to either score off the pass or get those rebounds that Mo is losing when he steps outside. Also, I really think, and alot of people may disagree with me, but Mo is alot like the Dream in his game moves. Bob Finn made the comment that hes not willing to go in and get physical, Hakeem never really did that either, it was all footwork and finesse. Mo has alot to learn from Dream this season but from what I've seen he definately has alot of the same potential to be an offensive player ala the Dream in how he plays his game, like Jeff mentioned if he rotates we will also get some good shot blocking help. A majority of the games I have to listen to the radio for since I deliver pizzas but listening to the 5th quarter the other night, the guy hosting said that the Rockets organization, chances high or not are still heavily pursuing Chris Webber. I think that if the Rockets can get to the second round of the playoffs, play well, lose, and Sacremento either a)gets eliminated in the 1st round, or b) gets anhilated in the second round, then we have a good chance of having Charles Barkley, Hakeem, Stevie, Cuttino calling him up and convinving him of what the potential of this team could be if we could play Cato/Webber/Walt/Shandon/Stevie, resign Mo, and have the bodies of him and Collier coming off the bench to bash with the Power Forwards of the west, and also take care of a lot of our rebounding problems with Cwebb. That team would be a dynasty considering the youth and longevity of having the support of a new arena, some #1 draft picks, Rudy T, and hopefully some kickas$ new jerseys.... awww... Clutch City... ya gotta love it. ------------------ -jbond77
slcrocket, that quote of mine was a misquote basically. Let me re-copy the whole sentence b/c what you quoted gives a totally different meaning. "Getting a guy like Jerome Williams instead of MO WILL NOT WORK LONGTERM, getting someone like him IN ADDITION TO MO WILL." That means something very different than Mo isnt a longterm solution get Williams. Thats actually a direct opposite of what you spliced out of my post and that was the whole pt I was trying to shoot down. Bob, am I missing something? I noticed the Rockets go to Mo Taylor in the post 3-4 times in the Boston game. The problem was that he was missing badly, but he did not just run away from it after 1 miss. Just b/c he doesnt back his man in and dunk it in his face does not make him bad. The guy still gets to high pct areas on the court to score. In no way am I worried about Mo Taylor's offensive game b/c the guy is just so gifted at that end of the floor. He is a skilled inside/outside player. The question to ask is can Mo Taylor be a high pct scorer for his position meaning around 50% efficiency? I think yes. Also, one bright spot in the horrific game was that Mo was really making an effort on the glass. He was hustling for and actually getting the rebounds. 7 rebounds in 28 mins is very acceptable from Mo. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
jbond, it would be basically impossible to fit Webber under the cap and re-sign Mo and Shandon. If the Rockets can get Webber, that would mean the end of Mo in Houston. In any case, I doubt its up for debate tho. I think it will come to New York or Sacramento for Webber. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
Prior to the Boston game, Mo had a FG% over 48% (and a sweet 54.4% at home). For a high post player, that is definitely an acceptable percentage, and one of the fundamental reasons he is much more of a PF answer than the 36.2% shooting Kenny Thomas. I unfortunately missed the first quarter, and the beginning of the 2nd, where a large chunk of Mo's shots came. the shots he took from what I saw were shots he normally makes, but just didn't. Now, the question is: If Mo had established a post game and made maybe 4 of those 8 bricks (5/9), would that subsequently open up more of a game for the guards, make Walker work more, and perhaps change the outcome of the game? Mo has only played this radically different offense for 13 games. It took Shandon a lot longer to get in the groove. Mo may never be a great rebounder, BUT has his defense been terrible? I think it's been fairly decent and is a fair weakside rebounder, and will only become more effective in that dept. when Cato is back. PFs with his offensive ability are not too easy to come by, and isn't it easier to fill in one side of the ball's shortcomings, than both? ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
Nike, Yes, had Mo established a post game, it would have been a much closer game. We need someone who can score in the post as well as draw the foul. Boston did not respect our post game (see Battie jumping at every shot) ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
"(see Battie jumping at every shot)" The main reason for that imho was that the guards kept trying to take it the hole and not hitting the open big men on the perimeter. The interior of the defense got packed like a sardine can as I was saying before. When the defense knows there will be zero ball movement and that big men capable of hitting from the perimeter wont get a shot, they will pack the middle. Had the Rockets established Collier's perimeter game early, Battie would have had to step out and honor him. If one part breaks down, it begins to snowball and then the whole offense looks like crap. This is why basketball is such an intriguing game; there are so many suttlties that affect the outcome of the game. Its really a beautiful game to watch. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
You are, as usual, 100% right MManal. Had they passed to a wide open Collier, Battie would have to go out and cover him. However, I did notice the Celtics switching defense was near perfect. It seemed like they had 6 guys on the court. Also, Dream wasn't hitting his jumper, so Battie could camp out in the lane. When the hell is the next game? ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
I like Mo Taylor, cause he can score and shoot. ------------------ I have NBA League Pass. And when the Rockets played the Suns at home, the Suns broadcasters were saying how Kidd is so much better then Francis. Francis schooled Kidd! [This message has been edited by franciscanschoolkidd (edited November 24, 2000).]
