well like i said he has a big contract but i'm not paying for it but most teams has a big contract here and there and it's not like Mo taylor is preventing us from getting a KG or something.
It amazes me how some of you are so down on MoT. Even if JHow starts, I don't think he'll play more than MoT. I wonder if a lot of you guys even saw JHow and MoT play last year. The stats are comparable but I think to actually see them in action it's a different story. Granted I did not see the majority of Orlando Magic games but I did see some thanks to NBA TV. Juwan can pick up points but he does not have to array of moves that MoT has. I've seen MoT get hot and become unstoppable in a few games this year. In terms of defense and rebounding, neither is great at them but I think they're not bad either. Serviceable.
I think MoT is on the upswing.. he seems to have finally recovered from his injury and is doing a pretty decent job. its my opinion that JVG started Cato over MoT for a couple reasons. 1. Cato played better defense 2. JVG needed that spark of offense off the bench. to be honest it was a pretty good 3 man rotation. I think MoT brought instant offense, low post scoring, and a big body. He didnt rebound well for his size but was our best scorer off the bench. I think the problem people have w/ MoT and our other PF's (JHoward and Spoon) is money. Maybe not money as much as value for that money. I hope this season MoT earns that paycheck. J
I have always supported Mo taylor. When he hurt his achilles- he had come to camp in top shape- he was ready. He is an offensive threat- against almost any Western Conference power forward. You can't really ask for more off the bench. Everyone complains about his 8 to 9 mil $ contract. I do not know the exact cost this year, but when we signed him I felt like we had the power forward slot filled for years. More money is wasted on Clarence Witherspoon at more than $ 5.42 mil.... I thought the Glen Rice contract was far worse than Taylor's cost.... I hope that Mo Taylor breaks out with a vengeance this season -right from the get go. He could inspire Juwan Howard to play his best.. We need this as this was our weakest positiion last season. I think the Power forward spot is still very shaky and questionable. We are investing more than 14 mil per season already on Taylor and Witherspoon.
pgabriel is right about two things here: mo t is who he is, and he is a terrible passer. mo t has shown he can get rebounds in traffic? well eddie griffin showed he could hit a jump shot. but neither is good at either thing. mo is a poor rebounder. this isn't up for debate. he just is. i don't necessarily even think it's all an effort thing (though some of it is). he just isn't that good at it. mo is a terrible passer. this has much less to do with the number of assists as with the number of turnovers created from his passing. he turns the ball over an inordinate amount on passes because such a high % of his passes are forced. he'll think he sees someone under the hoop open and try to thread the needle. unfortunately there are usually 3 pairs of arms in the way and we lose the ball. mo being turnover prone is also not up for debate. comparing offensive scores created versus turnovers is the way to go. (FG + FT/2 + AST)/TO. if you aren't either scoring, getting to the line, or passing for a score, you shouldn't be turning it over. mo's ratio is a pathetic 3.6. francis and ming are at 3.8 and 4.1 i believe and jj was at 3.7 and all 3 of them are poor at this also. you should be looking at mid 4's in that stat to be around average (league average is right at 4.6). mo t throws far too many passes away. all that having been said. mo t has an amazing jump shot, a terrific hook shot, and a few other post moves. i tend to think he doesn't pass enough but every time he passes i ending thinking i don't ever want him to pass again. his scoring efficiency at the 4 is as good as anyone not named duncan, kg, or cwebb (when healthy) and that's a valuable thing, probably even about $6M a year valuable. he also draws charges on defense which are definitely nice. he's not going to become a solid rebounder or start blocking shots, he's not going to become a real smart passer, he's going to keep draining his jumpers and hook shots, he's going to keep being quite valuable off the bench and we're going to like him in that role. we'll continue to wish we were paying him less but we'll realize we at least get something for his $8M/yr and that's who he is.
The other problem I have with MoT is that he gets schooled by almost every PF he plays against. Yes easy basket against him.
I've never seen a power forward with his size body get so few rebounds. I don't like him and never will. I went ape sh*t the day CD signed to his long contract.
Mo and Yao have good post games. So, them being on the floor at different times makes sense. Mo's a 6th man on this team.
JH does not rebound or score that much more than MoT per 48MPG. Mo also blocks more shots and is a tad better outside shooter (both are excellent shooters for 4s though). I predict JH will carry 60% of the 4 load, and MoT about 40%. Yes JH is probably overall better, certainly more of a workhorse, but it is not a world of difference in their efficiency. Except for the PG spot, this is the position where "shared" responsibilities will most aptly be determined. Further, while Tmac, Yao and JJ will always be on the floor in crunch time, if MoT has the hot hand or an especially good mathc-up, and JH doesn't, don't be suprised if Mo finishes some games. Further if we don't get a defensive big, JH and MoT will not only "share" the 4 spot (Spoon may get minutes too in this case), but they will also share the back-up 5 spot. MoT is valuable player to the Rockets without a doubt. And pairing him with JH to nail down the 4 spot is MUCH superior than pairing only 1 of them with Spoon.
I like Mo, and think he's UNDERRATED. Mo Taylor has always impressed me as a team guy, who doesn't make unneeded waves. He definately can fill it up when hot, maybe coach Euwing will teach him some more block outs this upcoming camp. Why not? Howard and Mo give a solid feel to the 4 that I havent seem since OT. And I LOVED Otis Taylor's hardhat ways. So did Hakeem, and so will Yao. This team looks pretty neat, I really wanna see the preseason.
Any given year could be Mo Taylors year. It just never is. He makes me think of Robert Horry -- high expectation, all the potential... and never living up to either. As everyone says and knows, if he could rebound, he'd be a top ten forward... but he just never does. Barring a miracle, Maurice Talyor is what he is. He's a passable starter, and a well above average backup. As far as whether he starts or not, it doesn't matter. Remember, coaches do actually use their brains when they decide who starts; it's not always who is the best at any given thing, it's often who compliments each other best. The Cato/Taylor thing is a perfect example. Yes, Cato started, but does that make him a better power forward than Taylor, or just better suited to the other players on the team? Consider that Taylor's game is all about offense. He can score. He can't rebound, and his defense is ... much argued, but I'd say "ok". Consider Cato's game. He can't shoot; hell, he misses dunks with alarming frequency. However, he is a shot blocking fiend. Now consider the rest of the starting team for the Rockets last year. Francis. Cuttino. Yao. With all that offensive capability on the floor, Taylor would be wasted. Cato, however, compliments them nicely by shoring up defensive weaknesses. Now bench 2 of the 3; you have Francis plus Taylor or Cat plus Taylor, and you still have an offensive core greater than almost all other second teams in the league. I didn't watch a huge amount of games last year; I am not in Houston and I don't get League pass. But what I do remember is that in wins against better teams, often times it was the fact that our second line was so much better than the other team's that won the game for us; we'd get down against the first line, and then Maurice and whoever else was left on the floor would make up the deficit and sometimes even take the lead. So for all of you ragging on Taylor just because he's not the starter, ask yourself: Is that a product of him being inferior, or is it just JVG making the best use of his resources?
If we weren't so desperate for bench scoring, Clarence Weatherspoon would be a better fit as our number 2 PF. He's tougher than Mo, and is a much better technician in terms of establishing rebounding position. Not to mention he plays stronger defense and just flat our works harder on the boards. He'd be a better contrast off the bench to Howard. If Spoon comes to camp in shape, expect him to push Mo for the backup PF spot. And rightly so.
It was a little busy when I posted so I will say Weatherspoon is another OT style guy, and with THAT 3 headed Lizard the rocks have some very solid and flexible options, I mean really they do. We have some muscle, (W/T) we have scoring,(T/H) we have a ball chaser,(thank god, W), ok so none of them is the next big thing, butr really we don't NEED that right now, just JVG guys, and all three are that in some respects, ( who the hell has em all anyway, that we could ever afford?)....Yao and TMac and JJ will be POURING in the points, and when Sura goes off they could really run off some incredible streaks this year, count on it. I mean scoring 10-12 points in a flash that has the other team twisting...then add JVG's bootstraps defense and you've gotta contender here boys... and girls.....it may take a year but it sure won't take 5 to get to the damn first round ! Again, hats off to CD !
smuduffy you said ---Lets not get carried away here. Mo T......And, he's not starter material for a championship contender..... I will counter that in fact OT STARTED FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP rOXS, AND CONTEND THAT MT WHEN COMBINED WITH hOWARD AND wEAHTERSDPOON BRING ot AND MORE TO THE GAME.... ops hit the caps lock, sorry..happens when you sit in the backyard with yer laptop on yer belly...lol
I'm dyin' to see what Van Gundy will do with the Rockets this year. He really is going to have a revamped team... one that's still being overhauled, with some serious scoring potential. Can he do something creative and effective with it? I guess that's for another thread.
