There always seems to be a heated debate between MoT and KT in the BBS. I quess I don't get it. MoT plays with no intensity, doesn't use his size, averages about 4 pts in the second half, and is overpaid.........IMO. It seems like the guy always has 12 points in the first quarter but only has 17 when the final buzzer sounds. I don't mean to sound cruel or harsh but I'm just wondering what it is that has so many of you enamored with this guy. What are his attributes??????????
The fact that he's a very good offensive player, with a fantastic jumpshot, and a solid jump hook in the post. He can get his points within the flow of the offense, so he doesn't need the offense subverted to him to get points. He's acted like nothing more than a perfect gentleman with the Rockets, he was a starting PF on our last winning team - why the vitriol towards Mo?
17 points per game is still nice, no matter when the points are scored. He always seemed to get the Rockets off to good starts, something which they definitely missed last year. It's always nice to have a quality, pure scorer on the roster. And unlike Kenny, Mo doesn't need to go one-on-one in order to score. He can take passes from the guards and knock down the open jumper. Kenny needs the ball for the entire posession.
Mo is the shiznit.......doesnt matter how he uses his size--some of those dunks he threw down were NASTYYYYYYYY!
I don't think people are "enamored" with the guy, we just know he can contribute. You say he doesn't show intensity, what's to say he doesn't show intensity? He has a laid back demeanor so it appears he doesn't have intensity. You can't judge him on one season. He played one season where he was fitting in on a new team playing a different style and he was learning how to be the main offensive weapon in the post then he gets injured in the offseason. Heck I'll take 17 ppg from the PF position. The guy has a boatload of talent and the potential to be a very good PF, he is one of the few PFs who can create his own shot and take big men off the dribble, he can shoot from the outside, play an inside game, and is very fast for a big man. He needs to improve his rebounding, but he'll still give you about 6 or 7 boards per game. He's also very young. People are ready to call the guy overpaid and overrated, but how many times have we seen a young player blossom later then expected? Mo's only, what, something like 24 years old? As for being overpaid, everybody in the NBA is overpaid.
Ultimately, neither KT nor MoT will be the starter. In a couple years, that will be Griffin. The problem with KT is that he is the third best guy at that position on this team. Taylor has been killing him over the summer in practice and seems to have dedicated himself to getting stronger and better as a player. In a league where the PF is a dominant position, any team that gives the bulk of their minutes to Kenny Thomas probably isn't very good. Look at the Western teams: San Antonio: Duncan Minnesota: Garnett Dallas: Nowitzki Denver: Howard Memphis: Gasol Utah: Malone Seattle: ? Golden State: Fortson (unless Jamison moves over there) Portland: Wallace Sacramento: Webber Lakers: Horry Clippers: Brand Phoenix: Outlaw/Gugliota Other than Seattle, Golden State, Denver and Phoenix (and the Lakers if you discount Horry, which I wouldn't at this point), those are some of the toughest players, let alone power forwards, in the league. No matter which way you slice it, KT is overmatched against all of them. Taylor isn't much better, but his size and ability to hit the open shot are of much greater value than KT's abilities on the block or quickness off the dribble. Ultimately, Taylor just fits the position better until Griffin fully matures. Also, I think it is kinda pointless to write the guy off. He had a really terrific final couple of months of the 2000-01 season and then missed all of last season with an injury. It's pretty common to see a guy get railroaded while he is on the injured list and alternately praised when he comes back and plays well. That's why it is smarter to reserve judgement.
I think that Mo is better than KT. The only reason that Mo only scores in the first quarter is because once he gets in a groove, the Rockets stop feeding him the ball.
Mo is a great player, he can shoot, very talented offensively. needs a little work on the rebound. but hey we got ming now Mo will have a good season.
Thanx for the input peoples. I do agree with most of you that MoT is a better fit as a starter for this team than KT, BUT if Eddie is the future starting PF don't you believe that KT is better suited as the guy coming off the bench. Trading MoT now would allow Eddie to begin his growth into his true role on this team with Steve, Cat, and Yao. I don't dislike MoT, I just don't think he's a good fit for the direction of our team.
#1 Eg is not ready to start ...yet #2 If MoT is better suited for this team why would you trade him? #3 If you had to bench both MoT and KT who would complain more? ( MoT will play for ice water in hell for Rudy, KT whines when he doesn't start)
#1 Eg is not ready to start ...yet #2 If MoT is better suited for this team why would you trade him? #3 If you had to bench both MoT and KT who would complain more? ( MoT will play for ice water in hell for Rudy, KT whines when he doesn't start) If everyone is willing to toss Yao and Nachbar into the starting lineup then why not Eddie? He'll learn the game by playing the game. And IMHO I believe that MoT would complain much more than KT if he was forced to come off the bench. What leads you to believe that he'd "play for ice water in hell for Rudy" when he's never been asked to do anything other than start?
Our lineup next season should be Francis Mobley Griffin (I think that he can play the 3) Mo and Yao Nachbar isn't good enough to start out as our center, I think that Eddie is good enough now to play the 3, Mo is better then Kenny, and Yao is the best center we've got. I think that it would be good for Eddie to start. It will give him more experience, and help the team out.
eddie is not a 3. period. that should be established by now. that only works when putting these fantasy lineups together. both mo and kt have their positves but i prefer mo because his shots seem to be more in the flow of the offense. having all 3 is definitely a luxury though.
both mo and kt have their positves but i prefer mo because his shots seem to be more in the flow of the offense. having all 3 is definitely a luxury though. Please explain how having three guys playing the same position is a luxury. One of those guys won't get minutes and surely will become a malcontent. I say let's start the learning curve by starting Eddie and trading "1st quarter" Mo.
First, EG is not ready to start. He still needs to mature both physically and on the offensive end. He isn't strong enough to bang every night and has very few moves in the post, though that is improving. I expect him to be better this year, but I honestly don't see him maturing into a great player for a couple more seasons. He's only freakin' 20!!! The guy would normally be barely a junior in college. The other problem with your scenario is that you really have to look at the value of tradeable commodities. At the moment, KT has the greatest value. He's cheaper, in the last year of his contract, coming off a great year and un-injured. The other problem is that Taylor already is occupying cap space. To keep Thomas, he is going to want a deal very likely in between Moochie and Mo T, meaning he'd want probably 6 years, $40 million. Why would you pay that to a back up? With Taylor, you have a veteran who won't have a problem sharing minutes and understanding that Griffin is developing. There was quite a lot of talk last summer (and it has continued this offseason) that EG would pick up extra minutes on the floor with Taylor. It is likely that one of them would slide over to the 5. Honestly, I could easily see lineups of Taylor, Griffin, Nachbar, Mobley and Francis or small lineups with Norris, Francis, Mobley, Griffin and Taylor. I don't think that is at all a stretch considering the calliber of talent at the center position in the NBA. Taylor just makes more sense at the 4 than KT does, but I'm not sure they will unload KT. Because KT's value (in terms of salary) is so small, even if he were to demand a trade, the Rockets wouldn't have trouble getting value back. If he was a big dollar player, it might be tougher, but not with his cap figure and the lack of contract remaining. In fact, the Rockets may be content to let his contract run out and take what little cap relief it would bring them.
