Back before Taylor was injured last summer, I remember Francis on 2 different occaisions mentioning that Taylor was really a 3 ... obviously, when he went out before the season started, it was all mute... So, do you think Mo will play at the 3, backed up by Rice and Nachbar, or do you think he'll start at the 4, backed up by Griffin and Thomas... Actually, I would like to see him at the 3, especially with his offense in the first quarter. (of course, after he gets past his 5 game suspension) And since last week Rudy said that Ming would be starting, I think it might look like this, unless somehow Lewis signs on: Ming/Cato Griffin/Thomas/TMo Taylor/Rice/Nachbar Mobely/Maddox/(maybe Torres) Francis/Norris
Taylor plays the 4...but I'm thinking he won't be around this season since we have KT and EG playin there already..
I haven't heard that bit about Taylor being a 3 before. The man has played more center in his professional career than three. I could see Francis saying that he plays like a three, but being a three is different. If you have resources I wouldn't mind seeing them. I'm not attacking you, so please don't take it that way, but I am a bit surprised.
I don't have time right now to look that up Don, but it was reported here on the BBS at the time, and I referenced it a few times in my past posts. Perhaps someone else can do a search to verify that. But Francis did say that Taylor was really a natural 3 playing at a 4 position, back before last season, right before and right after our drafting of Griffin.
Mo T's not quick enough to guard the other 3s around the league. He has the body of a 4 and the skills, he just doesnt have a defined post-up game. He has a nice jump shot, but there is no way Mo is a small forward.
Mo is the only 6'10" 290 pound tweener in the league because he cant defend a 3 (or a 4 for that matter) and he cant bang with a 4...hopefully Grif steps up soon!
I agree with y'all about Mo at the 3. How about Mo at the 2? He could, um, shoot over people. edit: this is completely a joke, but I like imagining Mo as the slowest 2 ever. Like a 280-pound Craig Ehlo.
Considering that he just came off a season ending injury, I would surmise that the last thing you want to do it make him guard someone fast enough who might literally "break his ankles."
Mo is a 4. He is not a defensive liability. He has always been in systems that capitalized on his outside shooting. That is one of the primary reasons his rebounds are lower than they should be. Also, reports here on the board indicate he has been working on his defensive game. With Griffin and Taylor at the 4, we are solid. Even though I like K.T. as a player and a "dogface" in the trenches, he is the odd man out. I hope we can get a high draft choice for him.
Yes Steve did say Mo is really a 3,but only in limited minutes! Again guys who starts doesn't really matter it all depends on machups.We are working on having a atleast 10 man deep team so that we can have the kind running team rudy wants(like sac-twon or maybe better in time and for sure better then Dallas,we think we a little experience we are already better then Dallas!!) And don't worry too much about back up two,Steve,boki and T-rock are going to cover that very well. Himself Good luck to us!!
Don't you love it? We have a "natural 3" (Taylor) w/ a PF's body. And we have a "natural 4" (Thomas) w/ a SF's body. Two tweeners complementing each other.
i think if mo would lose a lot of weight he could play 3, i he could be like a jamal mashburn to us. But he has to drop his weight down to 240 in order to do that. Mo could be valuable, because i think he can play 5 if he really tried. As of him being traded i don't know. If we are trying to land lewis thats the only way i see him being traded. But would lewis take 6yr 48million contract from us?.....I think he would. 1000 posts!
To me, it depends on who we're playing and if we want to match up with them or if we want them to match up with us. Basically, MoT is a mismatch.
I followed Mo alot as a rookie with the Clippers and back then he was more a 3 than a 4, in fact that's mostly what the Clippers played him at, the 3, esp. with lorenzen Wright at the 4. And then when they played him at the four a few times as a rookie I thought he was out of position and better suited for the 3, but now I think he would be out of position at the 3 and better suited at the 4. It could be the weight thing but he doesn't look as mobile as he did when he was a rookie. When he was with the Clippers he was slashing at the basket, driving in for monster dunks, dribbling and taking it full court a few times, his game some what resembled a young Robert Horry. That could explain why Mo never has been a strong rebounder as a PF since he plays more like a SF then. But now he looks much more bigger like a Karl Malone and he's posting up almost all the time. I don't think he can hang on the defensive side with SFs these days but if he really did loose much wieght to where he's 240 again and played like he did when he was young there is no question in my mind that he can't play SF(he had some real quickness back then). Unlike Mo, Griffin has never really looked to me like a SF ever. He doesn't have that latteral quickness or the speed to drive in or the ballhandling, his game is more a PF/C with a outside touch like Duncan. But if Griffin and Taylor played together on offense their games would really complement each other with Mo inside and Griffin outside and could be major(unlike when the rockets had Willis and Olajuwon both comanding on the inside). And with Yao Ming at C they might all be able to get by on the defensive side. Just my thought on it.
KT at 3 is not much better than TMo, mainly b/c he doesn't have an perimeter offense. It's OK to put him at 3 for a few minutes. But KT is more effective as a PF.
I think Griffin makes a better 3 than Mo. Griffin could almost be like the Houston version of KG. Mo at the 3 would be like any other 4 playing a 3. At least that's my opinion. Has Griffin added any weight this off season? Kinda off subject, I know, but just curious.
They can all (Griffin, Ming, MoT) play in limited action together, if the defense calls for Griffin and Ming to be help defense or weakside erasers and MoT to provide the initial inside block. Knife and Fork. Mo T sets them up and Ming or Griffin swats it away or forces the to. Doesn't matter whether they drive right or left, nothing goes inside. The problem for the Rox is defending the mid range jumper and the 3. I'm hoping Steve and Cat can play closer to their man. I'd prefer to clog the middle and let opposing 3s shoot, personally. The further out you go the lower your percentage, as a rule. There's no perfect defense, and I like our odds on the other end. On offense, Ming, Taylor, Griffin is a frontcourt force. All can go inside with the open lane or hit from outside on the swing pass. There would be too many weapons to defend with that group. You could never double, so Steve, Cuttino and Ming should tear up the man coverage.
