Collier looks good The Collier supporters are winning thus far, and the bashers (myself included) aren't looking so hot. The reason Collier has looked so good out there is he is moving. He's swinging around picks and stepping back for 18-footers when the guy who penetrates is doubled. He's Matt Bullard on 'roids... he's big enough to be able to set picks, has shown a deft touch from the outside and hasn't been afraid to crash the boards. I'll be man enough to admit I was wrong about him if that is indeed the case (too early to tell right now).... I hope that is the case. Mo Taylor Do you watch this guy and get the feeling he's rebounding ability away from being one of the Top 5 power forwards in the game? Mo has a beautiful touch on his shot. 5 fouls in 12 minutes was pathetic however. Get Hakeem the ball more? Why? Man we can be so fickle.... so reactionary from one game to the next. If this team starts to revolve around Hakeem again we're in for a world of hurt. I agree Hakeem is starting to look better, but this team isn't winning a title anytime soon and has to grow to get to that level. It won't do that with the ball in the hands of a once great player who in all likelihood will be playing golf with the Chuckster this time next year. No Go-to guy Who gets the ball in crunch time? It should be Francis... more often than not it seems to be given to Mobley. Francis is guilty of not stepping up and being that guy. Lets hope this weekend was a mirage and he just slumped (I'm very confident that is the case)... otherwise we'll be talking about Steve Francis-Jason Williams comparisons from rookie to second seasons for point guards. Where is Carlos Rogers? Anyone? ------------------ NOTHING BUT .NET CLUTCHCITY.NET
Good points clutch, but I must take up my cause of getting Dream the ball. It is not about getting ONLY Dream the ball, but establishing a Post presence as well. KT, MO, Dream etc....let them get some easy shots for our jump shooters, add some diversity, when our penetration is not working. DaDakota ------------------ If Mankind evolved from Monkeys and Apes, then why are there still Monkeys and apes?
Dakota, adding diversity to the offense is very important I agree. However, this diversity is not going to come through getting Dream the ball a lot in the post. I feel the plan long term is to slowly but surely establish Mo Taylor in the post. This guy is just so incredibly gifted at the offensive end of the floor; he is simply the complete package at that end. Mo is the player that will add diversity to the offense once he starts learning how to defend w/o picking up a bunch of fouls. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
He also is not a very good defensive player. He gets beat often, which is the reason he is always in foul trouble. I noticed, more than a few times last night, that he catches passes fine, but on defense, his hands turn to stone. The guy couldn't catch a cold on defense. He also is not a good passer. Has anyone else noticed that when he gets the ball, everyone else stands around and watches him? No cutters? Hmmmmm...Could it be they know its not worth the effort? He often looks lost on defense. Maybe its just getting to know his new teamates. I hope thats what it is. He is a nice offensive threat, but a liability everywhere else. ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
I was wondering the exact same thing since this season began, especially since Cato went down. 'Los not only adds valuable energy and spark off the bench with his hustle, but he also is a decent defensive player with his long arms and active feet. Not to mention, he is one of the few vets on this team and his versatality enables Rudy T to play him in a variety of roles. There must be something wrong with Rogers (whats new). If he was completley healthy, he would have been playing more, no doubt. Rudy T loves these kind of players. Azim da Dream ------------------ We don't live for the destination. We live for the journey. http://www.clutchtown.com
Mo pretty much shut down Shareef the other night. He seems like a fairly good defender. He just needs work on the boards. Hakeem can contribute far more than he is being allowed. With Shaq fouled out, he should have gotten the ball every time. He would have crushed Greg Foster, but nooooo, we had to witness about 15 or so Mobley bricks. ------------------ 2000-2001 Rockets Game Formulas: End of 1st quarter: "They're playing so well!" 2nd: "What a great game!" 3rd: "Theres no way they can lose now!" 4th: "What the ******* **** happened?!!" Revote! Revote! Revote!...... Rocket's Championship 2001!!
Personally, I would rather the whole team take clutch shots and handle the ball down the stretch. The old Rockets seemed to thrive on the clutch play of every single member. Nobody was afraid. All were fearless. Limiting the ball control to Francis and Mobes hurts our development and our confidence. we need muliple weapons in crunch time. Even one passive player can hurt. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Are we watching the same player? That's one of the things I've been most impressed with Mo about. Looks very adept at passing from the post. Rudy isolates Mo often like he does with Cuttino or Steve, and therefore doesn't have many cutters. ------------------ REVOTE! REVOTE! REVOTE! Looking for next year's Dan Langhi? Draftsource.net ClutchTown.com
Can you say Rodrick Rhodes? ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
Cat, 7 assists in 8 games? You have to admit, that is not very good. ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know.
Assists don't tell the whole story. So many times it's the pass before the assist that sets it all up. But anyway, if you look at his game by game stats, the one game he was involved the most offensively and got a lot of touches (against Vancouver) he got 5 assists in that game alone. ------------------ President of the Jason Collier fan club! Looking for next year's Jason Collier or Dan Langhi? Draftsource.net ClutchTown.com
was i the only guy screamin at the tv becuz of mo taylors lack of rebounding effort/ability? he looks at the damn thing. on a free throw, he was the closest guy to the basket, and kobe misses it. lakers clear out, and mo taylor watches it fall to him, but wiz comes in to snatch it. wat kinda crap is that? ------------------ Lookin at a 75 year old man in a thong: NASTY Lookin at Shaq hit free throws: "O SH**!"
He's just a BAD rebounder. Rebounding isn't all about hustle and hard work, a fair bit of it is to do with instincts and a lot of it is inbuilt. Look at Danny Fortson or Dennis Rodman or Dikembe Mutombo, they just know where the ball is going and they get themselves there! If a player has spent his ENTIRE career being a poor rebounder (at college Mo didn't rebound either) then it's not going to magically turn around because he want's a big contract, he just can't rebound - if he could he would've got a whole stack last year in his final Clippers year (wasn't he playing to get a max contract last year??). Be happy with Mo if he starts bringing more than 5 rebounds per game to this team, but don't go being surprised because he's not getting any more than that - he can't! ------------------
Rebounding is like blocking shots its mostly timing and having the body to do it. Knowing where the ball is going to be is not really saying much as the ball is going to be around the hoop. Using ones body as a shield is the best way to do it as Shaq, Fortson, Chuck do/did so well. Others do it with sheer athleticism, for example Francis, Clyde, KG, Shareef. These guys don't have the ability to push others out of the lane so they just jump through the roof and get the ball. Mo T has an NBA body but does not use it as he should be. He needs to get a little lower while boxing out use his arms as a feeler for where the other players are and use his ASS as a wall where no one else can get around. ------------------ "We need to fockass".....Dream back in the day
Scarface, I agree with you about timing being a huge part of rebounding, but I think having the body is much less important. I'm about 5'10" tall and weigh 155 lbs with a thin frame, but I can consitently pull down more rebounds than most of the bigger and taller guys I play pick-up ball with. Part of that is due to good timing, part to good instincts, part to good fundamentals (boxing out, pushing my man under the basket, etc), and part (really most) of it is due to sheer desire. I take pride in pushing the guy who is 5" taller and 60 lbs heavier than I am out of position and keeping him from the basket. I think Mo either lacks the confidence to rebound or just doesn't share the "it's my ball" mentality to be able to pull them down. For all of the criticism I like to give Charles Barkely, he had the drive and desire to rebound, but didn't necessarily have the ideal body for it (6'4 1/2"). He rebounded well, because he took pride in it and hustled his @$$ off. If Mo could just practice his fundamentals and get in the right mind set, then there is no reason he couldn't average 7-8 rpg (10 rpg would be asking for a bit much though ). ------------------ [This message has been edited by Launch Pad (edited November 15, 2000).]
Has anyone else considered converting Mo to small forward, at least on offense? He seems to like playing out on the perimeter anyway, and has pretty good handles and a shooting touch for a forward. What I'm saying is that in the ideal world I'd like to let Mo do what he's best at, and I think he can be an asset on the floor. But no way I want a starting 4 next season who can't rebound, especially with Cato at the 5. Stevie would outrebound them both. But I could appreciate a lineup with Mo at the 3, and maybe a Donyell Marshall / Clarence Weatherspoon-type at the 4. They could switch on defense, with Mo guarding the bigger forward. [This message has been edited by SamCassell (edited November 15, 2000).]
mo has athleticism as well as power. think if he could combine these like duncan has. He could be a 10 rebound a game player. all he needs is the drive to get rebunds. he's a pretty good defender. i love having mo here, but jerome williams is awesome! not only is he a defensive stopper and excellent rebounder, but hes got some offense in him too. he put the ball on the floor and used his athleticism to cross both mo and 'los rogers over in the preseason game against the pistons.
(just started reading this thread) on 11/13, BobFinn* said: Did you see the alley-oop in last night's Bulls game? With about 1:30 left in the 1st Q, we ran a set play for Mo to throw an ally-oop to Francis. Francis throws the ball to Mo just outside the key, just above the free throw line. Now Bullard picks for Kenny's man; Kenny runs to the low post on Mo's side; Mo fakes a pass to Kenny. Bullard continues on to set a back-side pick for Francis, Francis around the pick for the rim, Mo lets go a beautiful ally-oop pass before Francis jumped, for a gorgeous allyoop slam. It was really a beautiful set play, watch the tape. Sure, this is just one instance where Mo threw a decent pass and I've seen some bad Mo passes. But it proves that RUDY thinks Mo can pass or he wouldn't run a set play where Mo throws an ally-oop to Francis. [This message has been edited by jamcracker (edited November 15, 2000).]
OK OK. Maybe it also means that Mo can't manage to throw a decent pass unless Rudy designs a play for him.
