I don't think anybody is happy with what Mo Taylor has shown us so far. So obviously, he cannot be our answer. There are also questions about Kenny Thomas' future and abilities and I don't think anyone feels that he can step in and challenge the All-Stars. So the question now arises - Who are the available PFs next year, via free agency and the draft, that can improve this team? No need to mention Chris Webber, we know that. Now, if there isn't a better player avaible, should we keep Mo? Is this going to be something is better than nothing? ------------------
In the draft-- Zac Randolph--we might have to package something together for him--if he goes he'll probably be lottery...A guy I really like even though he's short like KT is Michael Wright of Arizona--dude is a man, can really board. Free Agency--Well, Joe Smith (wouldn't mind him over Taylor--he runs the floor better, rebounds better, defends better, but he doesn't have near the post up game as Mo, even though he can hit the 18 footer like Mo)...I think Jerome Williams can opt out of his contract after this season...Tyrone Hill, but he's old...damn...other than Webber, there's not much out there--unless I looked over somebody, which I very well might have... ------------------
free agents Chris Gatling Christian Laettner Gary Trent Joe Smith Anthony Mason Chris Webber Jelani McCoy
I don't think anybody is happy with what Mo Taylor has shown us so far. So obviously, he cannot be our answer. -Tariq You're judgin him too quickly. Remember Shandon last year? He took forever to find his niche on the team. MoTay is doing the same thing right now... the entire offense isnt even in place yet either. Jeff said that it would take the Rockets about 1/2 the season to install the complete offense. Once Mo gets fully accustomed to this offense, he'll be playing a lot better... at least on offense. Even if his rebounding doesnt improve much, his scoring definately will. With a valuable backup in KT, we dont have to expect Taylor to do everything... mainly his job will be to score well, and hopefully he'll get some boards and defend well in the process. ------------------ da ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence - alaskanSnowman
Yes, but Shandon had built up a reputation of being a good player who could score points and could shut down his man on defense. Mo has a repuation for getting pushed out of the way by fellow defenders and not getting rebounds. ------------------ Francis out top, 9 seconds on the clock, he gives a no look pass to Cuttino Mobley, 4 seconds left, Mobley passes to an open Langhi in the corner with 1 second left! Langhi at the buzzer.......YES!!! How Sweet It Is!!
Anderson never had a rep as a guy who could score. He had a rep as a guy who hustled and played good D but he was never considered a serious scoring threat with Utah. Last year, he took a ton of heat most of the year for his lack of scoring. Same story again this year. Taylor NEVER had a rep for rebounding and to think he will suddenly develop those skills after putting on a Rockets uni is unrealistic at best. I prefer to reserve my judgement until March. If the guy is still as soft as cotton candy and rebounding like Spud Webb, then we'll know for sure. Until then, none of us has the insight to know that he is a flop and, even if he is, so what. He only cost us an exemption. It's not like we were on some run for the finals this year and he was supposed to be the last piece of the puzzle. At best, we are a first round spoiler. At worst, we are back in the lottery. Allow it to be what it is - an experiment. If it works, great. If not, we gave up nothing for him. ------------------ Mmmmmmm. Sacrelicious.
I may be wrong about this, but I have always considered rebounding a skill that players really can't improve much. A good rebounder is instinctive and energetic. Those things are tough to improve through practice. I'm sure that it is possible that he will improve some, but I doubt it. Improving his rebounding average by 2 might happen (doubt it), but we need 5 or 6 more. It may be not be right to say that we expect certain things from Mo that he hasn't ever shown he can do, but I don't think that matters. All NBA teams need rebounding from their two starting big men to be successful on a consistent basis. If you don't have it, you will get abused. The Rockets can make up for it by shooting the lights out every other game, but not every night. When things aren't clicking, scrappy second chance points and defense keep you in the game. The Rockets won two championships while they were a very poor rebounding team, BUT they made up for it by having one of the best defenses in the NBA. If I remember right the key stat those years was preventing shots from being taken (steals, blocks, run clock out, etc.) If a shot isn't taken, no rebound is necessary. Also, we had a very good offense in crunch time. Make the first shot and you don't need a rebound. Now that our team is built around stars that don't block shots and have a lower shooting percentage than a good center or PF I don't believe that we can get around not having good rebounding.
In general, I agree. However, what is the harm in bringing the guy in for the exception for one year? We are not close to being a title contender. ------------------ Mmmmmmm. Sacrelicious.
Because he was given the starting spot that KT or Carlos should have had a shot at. I am not saying that Carlos or KT at the 4 puts Houston in the Western Conference Finals, but would have preferred to give them a shot rather than waste time with Mo. Mango ------------------ Lets get the Mo Go working! Test Your NBA Trade Ideas 1. Put new topics in the proper forum. Things happening in the rest of the NBA 2. Use clear wording for new threads. 3. No duplicate threads 4. Conduct yourself as an adult. The Serious Police are watching. Donate Blood or be assimilated! [This message has been edited by Mango (edited December 02, 2000).]
Jeff, in his last playoffs with Utah, after malone he was the main scorer. i wouldnt call him a scoring threat, but he was a good scorer back then too.
To make up for the lack of rebounding from Mo, I feel the Rockets need to acquire a big time energy guy off the bench like Jerome Williams. I disagree with Mango that Carlos or Kenny should have been given the starting spot, and the Mo experiment not taken on. Neither of these guys could become the Rockets starting PF for the next 5-7 yrs so it really makes no sense. If Mo can be a somewhat adequate rebounder which I think he will, he'll be able to be a solid starter imho. Starting KT or Los is basically a waste of time b/c that is not the future of this team. Also, to the list of draft PFs add Brian Cook and Carlos Boozer. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
I think if Rudy can get Mo to play a lot more inside, closer to the basket on offense, then he will rebound more. The reason why he doesn't rebound that much is because he is never close enough to the basket to get rebounds. If he concentrated closer to the basket, then he will be there for the caroms. If Mo can redefine his game, like Rasheed and Garnett, then will be set at power forward for years to come. ------------------ http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/houstonrockets2000
MManal, If Mo's game is still lacking in the hustle/rebounding department at the All-Star break, would you consider the experiment a failure? When the Rockets got their game on track in the second half of the 1999-2000 season, it wasn't Mo who was playing. There is an article in the Monday Chronicle about the Rockets being unable to get significant amounts of easy points via the fastbreak. A team needs defensive rebounds to start a break and prevent the other team from getting second chance baskets. They need rebounding help in the front line and Mo probably has the worst rebounds per minute average among Los, KT and Mo. If they pickup a high energy PF to create havoc on defense and rebound to fuel the break, Mo will be on the bench because he would be out of place at the 3 spot. I have been a Mo basher from last winter and will continue to be one. Mango ------------------ Lets get the Mo Go working! Test Your NBA Trade Ideas 1. Put new topics in the proper forum. Things happening in the rest of the NBA 2. Use clear wording for new threads. 3. No duplicate threads 4. Conduct yourself as an adult. The Serious Police are watching. Donate Blood or be assimilated! [This message has been edited by Mango (edited December 04, 2000).]
Mango-I maintain that I am a Mo "supporter", perhaps out of default as a full-fledged KT basher. What is your opinion of KT? Mo never had a rep as a good boarder. My support of Mo come the All-Star break/later, will be based partly upon Cato's play: If Cato is a big board guy/defender, that he claimed he'd be, Mo in effect would be our ideal PF short of a Garnett, Webber, Duncan, etc. He may be the worst rebounder of the 3, but he is EASILY the best offensive player, and I'd give him a slight edge defensively over KT, Rogers being #1. ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
I think tariq's original post posed the concern of a real presence down low. Right now, nobody in the league respects the Rockets' inside game...for good reason. It's S-O-F-T, soft. There's no one on the team that can post-up with authority over 6'5" (aka K.T.), leaving a giant hole offensively. Who on this team can provide that offensive muscle? I'd agree with tariq and say nobody. So the question becomes, who can we get to provide such offensive muscle. As for the defensive end, Kelvin should help with the blocks and boards, but to what extent. He's still a very skinny, but very tall Shawn Bradley-type player. I liked it when Othella or Kevin Willis could come in to provide bits of muscle in the paint. This, back when Dream and Barkley were starters to still be feared for their defensive abilities (not so much Charles, but for snagging loose boards, no one did it better). We don't even have a starter that can provide such muscle down low. So, who do we look to as our hired gun, enforcer type. Yeah, CWebb would be a dream, but if he's leaving, he's not leaving to continue his career as a cog to a rebuilding effort. He'll be going to a playoff contender, not just a team happy to make the playoffs. I saw Joe Smith play while he was still with Golden State. His game has not progressed since his rookie season. He'd be another Mo. Laetner? Yeah, I didn't think so either. None of the rest of free agents that outlaw mentioned are starters, in my mind. So, it looks like were stuck with Mo. I'd like to see Barkley come back as a special assistant coach to give Mo some tips on rebounding. I'd also like to see Dream take more of a coaching role and give Mo some guidance, much like Moses Malone did for Dream back in the early '80s. ------------------
driver8, you better take a closer look next time Kelvin Cato and Shawn Bradley are standing next to each other - Cato is NO Bradley stick insect! ------------------
Hoop-T, those might have been his numbers, but other than malone he got the ball second most. they went to him in the post numberus numbers of times.
Try again.... In the last playoffs that Anderson was with Utah: Malone - 21.8 Hornacek - 12.2 Russell - 12.1 Stockton - 11.1 Anderson - 9.5 Anderson was the 5th leading scorer in the playoffs for the Jazz that year and 5th the regular season as well. ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
NIKEstrad, KT is adequate and has a future as a career backup, but lacks the "special" something that a short PF needs like CB4 had. If the Rockets want to fastbreak, then they need somebody to do the dirty work inside. Depending on the guards to board means they aren't going to be out on the break. Some people say that Mo has a postup game and others say he doesn't. If the standards for a postup game are those set by Dream and CB4 over the years, then Mo doesn't have a postup game. An old CB4 was still able to drive younger players such as B Grant and R Wallace crazy with his various moves and get to the foul line for a three point play. How often does Mo get himself into a situation for a three point play and drive other players crazy? When the situation called for CB4 to play Shaq for several minutes, he did it. He gave up height and pounds to Shaq, but he had enough fight/spirit to accept the challenge. Try imagining Mo down there on the block against Shaq. I don't see him as the type to take on that challenge. Can you honestly say that Mo has it in him to take that much physical contact? Currently, the main way that the Rockets ae getting out on the break is through steals. Getting out and running off a defensive rebound isn't that often. The shame is that the Rockets have the quicker guards that can get out and run as opposed to the ones that they had several years ago. If Mo's strength is hitting open jumpers and his weakness is rebounding, then the quick guards are not being utilized to their fullest. Mango ------------------ Lets get the Mo Go working! Test Your NBA Trade Ideas 1. Put new topics in the proper forum. Things happening in the rest of the NBA 2. Use clear wording for new threads. 3. No duplicate threads 4. Conduct yourself as an adult. The Serious Police are watching. Donate Blood or be assimilated! [This message has been edited by Mango (edited December 05, 2000).]
Perhaps I was confused, but you said he was the main scorer behind Malone. All you have to do is look at the field goal attempts. He may have gotten more touches than some of the others, but he definitely was not the second scoring option. ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
