Deuce, I think the reason Taylor has not impressed in the limited number of starts is because he is still dealing with his achilles injury. It is loose one night and tight the next. The reason I would like to see Mo start is because of his defense and because even with his up and down offense he is still shooting 42% from the field. It doesn't sound like much but when you have two guys in Posey and Griffin on the floor at the same time shooting a less than 39% we really put a lot of pressure on the other 3 players to score. Taylor plays better defense and is a better offensive option than Eddie Griffin at this point in their careers. Mo should start IMO.
IMO, it doesn't matter who starts as long as you exploit the realtime game matchups to your advantage and feed who's hot. That said, this unit looks pretty weak from a scoring aspect: 1) Moochie 2) Cat / Steve / Hawk 3) Rice / TMo / Hawk 4) Griffin 5) Cato
There was never a better example of how wrong that statement is than last night. It is always better to start out hot than cold. Teams use a ton of energy when they have to dig themselves out of a 20-point hole. And as inconsistent as Mo's offense has been he is still shooting 42% for the season. This is a ton better than Eddie, who is only hitting 39% from the field and if we are going to continue with this ever failing Posey experiment then we need a 4th shooter on the floor. BTW, MoT is shooting .446 and .476 from the field in the months of January and February respectively. His field goal percentage has improved every single month of the year. I think Mo T should start and finish games.
Gosh darn it!!! Move Cat to the 6th man, move Posey to the 2. Start Rice & Mo. Bench Eddie Griffin. The main reason I want Mo to start is that 2 years ago, he was ALWAYS huge in the 1st. He'd score 10-12 points in the first, and then no one would look at him the rest of the game. I want that consistent output early this year as well. If his ACL is good to go, then put him in the starting line up IMMEDIATELY!
Mo has excellent defensive positioning, and uses his weight & strength to his advantage. He plays EXCELLENT pick & roll defense; I'd say he's the best big-man defender of the p&r on the team, although Yao's been improving dramatically in this area as well. How many times do I have to keep reminding people of the last time we played against the Spurs 2 years ago (before Mo's ACL injury) and ask them to watch Mo vs. Tim Duncan?! Yes, we all know Mo needs to work on his work on the boards. But heck, Eddie's only getting 5 or 6 a game anyway. If you're not complaining about Eddie's rebounding deficiencies, don't complain about Mo's either.
Thank you. Finally someone that does not think that shot blocking and rebounding are the only thing required to be a good defensive player. MoT is superior to Eddie on defense right now.
Mo had a nice game last night. He played his role, and played it well. But IMHO, with the way either is playing, PF will still be a problem, and yet it isn't THE problem(s), which is fiiting considering how weird & crazy this season's been. PF is the "...you have no chance..." position this year, as in if both of our PFs are on top of their games you have no chance. Think Kenny Smith 3s during the back-to-back era, if he was hitting his 3s you could just go ahead and mark up another Rocks victory.
Crash, is that you the other day compare Eddie Griffin to Wallace or something? Looks like you lost your cool on him Our young Wallace just need TONS of fundamental training, learn how to pass, how to shoot and how to defend. That is why I against so many high-schooler coming into NBA without playing in college. They should play in college for at least two years!
Why not play EG at the 3 and MoT at the 4? OR Boki at the 3 and TMo at the 4? Ok.....so that last one would be a bad idea, but hey, we did start Rice at the beginning of the season, what the hell was that?
Why not sit EG on the fricken bench until he can prove that he will HUSTLE and play ALL the time on the court. He is by far the weakest link on this team right now...by far ! EG has no business being on the court against first team players, put him in against the 2nd unit until he proves he can handle starters minutes. EG needs to develop....IN PRACTICE !! DD
The bottom line is your 5 best players should start the game. You don't keep talent on the bench just because you want to have a strong second unit. Hell, the way you develop a strong second unit is to have them go up against your best players...your starters. Beyond that there are many reason's why Mo should start and Griffin should not. Mo is a better offensive player around the basket and a better shooter than EG. Mo often comes out of the gate looking for his shot. EG only seems to look for 3's and/or simply has a flat shot. Mo finishes games stong and shows play-by-play interest. EG just seems to be there. Mo is a better all-around defender than EG, despite not being the shot blocker EG can be. Mo is a good teacher. Just watch how he and Yao play together. Mo is always communicating with the rookie and coaching him on aspect of the game. Yao listens to Mo and seems to learn quickly. IMO, this is the big reason why Mo should be a starter
No need for pinching here but J. Hawkins is the Rockets best defender. This is a sentiment I have held for a while now and yesterday's game just help to solidify my stance. But I still do not advocate him starting because of various other reasons. Now having said that, doesn't worry that our best defender is JHawk?
Another point, the last time Mo Taylor was a starter, we won 45 games and barely missed the playoffs. IMO our team as a whole is better than that team was. The way things are shaping up right now we might win 42 games if we are lucky.
Hell, the only reason Eddie's been given the opportunity to start in the first place was Mo's ACL injury. If his ACL is ready for starter minutes, give Mo his freaking job back.
I don't particularly agree with the "start the 5 best players" logic. The old Celtics managed to win plenty of games with Havlicek and later McHale coming off the bench. That said, there's some pretty strong arguments for starting Mo. Plus, the Rox are in a deep funk and may need a lineup shakeup. If MoT becomes a starter based in part for his notorious quick starts of 2 seasons ago...then move Cuttino to the 2nd unit. That way when Mo cools down in Q2 (which was his history), phase in Cuttino to give the offense a lift. If it means not losing to sub .500 teams, start Rice (he's already warmed up, don't sit him down to cool) and move Posey to SG. Starter or not, I will give MoT credit for two things. He is perhaps the best post entry passer to Yao and he hard doubles the dribbler on the PnR as well or better than any other Rocket.
I totally agree with you toast, MoT was a baller before we got him, and now that he's healthy and playing well, start the man!!
