I have been harping on KT's shortcomings all year. But with the exception of three bone-headed plays in a row during last night's game (those two travels and the and-one foul killed me ) he has been playing well. His assist totals have increased and he deserves the credit he is getting. The question is, can he keep it up? I still worry about KT's lack of size and the lack of shotblocking from the 4, but if he can cut down on the "black hole experience," which he seems to be doing, then we'll gain some much needed consistency. I'm just tired of the power forward merry-go-round. If KT, can make it stop, then more power to him - as the article says. I, for one, will be happy enough to eat a little crow.
Once EG developes a post game or MoT starts shooting better, we will see KT play the 3 more often and there is not a 3 in this league that can cover KT in the post. What you see right now is that the opposing team will put there 3 on EG and their four on KT.
Heypee answered this pretty well, but piling on is kind of my style. Well actually my style is to argue for something that we have already agreen on...but anyway Taylor did get chances to start, he just didn't maximize them. Now he does have a "clue whether or not he will start games" as he won't. I am also guessing that he now has a pretty good idea about minutes. Take advantage of them when you get them, because they are valuable. I live in Austin and watch the Rox on the NBA package and so far have seen mostly other announcers. I can't remember who, but one summed up Taylor by saying "he has been a disapointment his entire career. First with the Clippers, then the injury after that big contract". (That does leave the door open about the year that he "earned" the big contract - but I suspect that was a wink wink, or probably more accurately I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine with one of the most powerful agents in the game.) Still, back on track, "dissapointment" and "career" is never a good combination. Further getting busted for pot is bush league. I have no moral problem with that, but when he takes five games off, he is being irresponsible to his teammates. Still further, in the Michigan payola scandal he made statements saying that he was entitled to it. What a spoiled brat. KT, who has his flaws, deserves the playing time he has gotten.
Not much to explain,,it didnt happen..... Van Horne 6 for 15 shooting ...15pts 1 assist KT ,,,,,,,,,,,,, 5 for 10 shooting ....14pts 6 assist What school did you go to ? Brigham Young ????
The only think I'm worried about is that the Rockets will get rid of Kenny Thomas at the end of the season. I believe the Rockets do have the right to keep him for an extra year, so he could be stuck here through next year even if he doesn't like it, is that correct?
KT will be a restricted free agent. If the Rockets want to keep KT, all they have to do is sign him, or match any offer he gets. He cannot sign with any other team if the Rockets want him.
When I saw Robertson's article, I expected HP to come out to have a big "I told you so" post. It's good to see KT playing well on offense. But I'm still holding my breath on him. Just two game (and we still see some lingering boneheadedness there, not to be overly pickly). Let's see if he can do that consistently. The "black hole" argument is not just some Kenny hating stuff. It's based on the track-record of his game. And I don't buy that "Kenny is going to force Griffin and Mo to play better" argument. Of course he is. But you don't keep THREE talented players at one position just so that they will force each other to play well. All you need is two talented guys for the competition to work. This is true especially when Kenny is going to demand a pretty fat contract at the end of the season, and so will Griffin when his rookie contract expires. Ever since the summer, I've been saying that the Rockets have to make up their mind sooner or later this season who they want to keep at the 4. Griffin is not going anywhere. So it's really between Kenny and Mo. Moving KT to the 3 only shifts the problem to another position. The 3 is already crowded as of now. Like the 4, none of the 3s are playing consistently. But even HP agrees that KT is not much of a perimeter threat. And the Rockets need a lot of outside shooting to keep Ming effective inside. So it's not good to start KT at the 3. And you also want to give Morris a chance since he is showing some good things lately. My conclusion is that we need to get rid of one of the forwards. They'll probably want to keep the young guys. So it's Taylor, Thomas or Rice. And get a quality backup guard.
Easy, I usually agree with most of your posts , but on the following we disagree. First KT is probably our best 3 or 4 with some shortcomings. But the only way I know of rating players is ..are they championship caliber. For instance, who do we have at the 3 & 4 spots that could have competed against the 93=94 Knicks..My opinion KT, MoT. and Rice. In the playoffs, potential wont cut it, weaknesses are exposed and it takes players who can compensate for that with will or skill, but, they have to be confident. I know, RudyTs blueprint for success will include the lessons learned against the Knicks and Magic,,and the barometer will be the same as I mentioned. As funny as it may sound, every coach plans to go all the way, with every team, every year..you just dont think about your chances, you prepare to win it all ..or at least winners do and RudyT is a winner. We need all three of our vet forewards to win in the playoffs.
This is going to be hard...so listen carefully. PFFFT...SFFT....PFFTT.... HeyPartner is right !. There I said it......(yucky taste go away). KT is the best PF right now, he is playing very well and IMHO is a great passer. The fact that he DID not pass earlier may have been predicated on his lack of time. He got the message, he is passing, and the Rocks are better for it. Play KT, let Mo sit and earn his time in practice. We talkin bout PRACTICE MO !! DD
What am I right about? All I really said was Kenny didn't suck and is a smart player. I am not really the right one. Rudy is for his player management. What did I ever say? All I said was don't trade Kenny until you know for sure what you have in EG, Rice and MoT. Everything else was about defending Rudy and trying to understand why Kenny was getting all the minutes, certainly more minutes than any of us expected to see. I certainly never predicted Eddie and MoT to play their way out of the starting lineups. If Eddie was stronger and MoT was back, KT very well might not be getting the minutes, and be the odd man out like everyone else said.
The logjam at pf will be solved this offseason when Kenny leaves. No way the ROX will pony up another 50 mil for pf, especially with Grif on this team. Forget about a trade involving Mo, there are more power forwards that can score but not take care of D or boards, than there is ganja in Rasheeds escalade. Lets face it the best scenerio would be KT to be the role player on this team providing consistant offense, D, and boards while Grif figures things out. Oh well, I guess it is too much to ask for a number one overall and KT production at discount fare. Hopefully KT will go to the Knicks, where he is fed to the New York media like twinkies to Shawn Kemp, so that he can come limping back home to his beloved ROX.
