I like Mo T, but it's not like he's the last piece of the puzzle. I'd like to see him back before the end of the year to see what he does with the team especially since Griff, KT and Cato have played well. Also last year he was getting into his rythm in the second half of the season and was playing better than his season numbers. I never understood why we'd exclusively go to him in the first and let him disappear down the stretch.
If you ask me, he is a little better than mediocre. But even besides that I think the Rockets missed his mid-range game. If you ask me he is the best mid-range shooter we have on the team. He makes his open shots which is what we have missed this year. We havent had any pure shooter this year ala Matt Bullard. And his inside game is probably the best that we have as well as I havent seen anything from Eddie or Thomas. Thomas' game starts at the perimeter and then drives to the basket. I have yet to see Eddie in the post or dribble the basketball for more than 3 bounces. Right now I dont think Eddie is the answer and until he get some handles and learns how to play with his back to basket instead of raining 3s. And until then our best 4 is Mo Taylor, period.
He generally tookhimself out of the flow by getting into foul trouble. NJRocket - Just curious as to how many Rocket games you saw last year? Trying to get a better understanding of where you draw your conclusions from. In all reality, his skill leve is probably in the middle of what myself,HOOP-T think (I agree that offensively Mo is just as good as everyone listed in the east except Walker) and what you think. You have to remember that Mo worked his scoring average up each year on the Clippers to 17.1 points a game. To take J' Oneal, for example, this is the first year he's even sniffed an average above above 13. Of course, you could give me the "Yeah, but it was for the Clippers argument" but Rahim's never been on a good team and you listed Gasol in the West as well.
JayZ..last year I probably watched at least 90% of the Rocket games that were broadcast on directv...im not sure how many that would come to but I cn assure you while it was less than 82...it was more than 45-50. This year I have watched considerably less...whether thats because I cant stand watching them lose or maybe because I have triplets now and have no free time...who knows!!!!!! I also watched plenty of Clipper games the year before that on Directv (im a hoops junkie and ive spent many a night staying up until 1 or 2 am eastern time watching west coast meaningless games) and I am basing my opinion of MoT on his past performance. While Rahim hasn't played for very good teams, he was still able to dominate some games at his position. Im not sure but I believe he was a 20-10 guy for his last couple of years in Vancouver (i could be wrong). He also filled the stat category in assists, blks and even steals on occasion. MoT , while on a similarly poor team averaged 17 pts and not much else. As far as Gasol, ok, fine...just my opinion but the guy IS averaging 17, 9 and 2 blks as a rook,,,not too shabby...and that is taking into account the 1st month of the season when he didnt play very much. As for O Neal...since he was unhandcuffed from the Portland bench ...he has become a serious force in the east..as weak as it may be. Again...I hope I'm wrong
Maurice Taylor is an integral part of the Rockets. I have some tapes of games last year, and Mo just changed the entire game. He is a shooting threat and he is treated like one. He can also take the ball strong to the hole and either lay it up or dunk it. He has the power to turn a game the Rocket's way. Before all of you rip Mo, just remember: We lose many games in the first quarter. Who was the man that kept us IN the first quarter? Ahh, that's right. FIRST QUARTER MO
Come on my man. We aren't saying he is Karl Malone, but he is a solid ball player. Don't be bashing someone that can help lead us back to the playoffs. All you gotta do is get there and seventh seeds prevail!
Gasol played over 33 minutes a game his first month, hardly "not playing much". Your double team argument is incredibly weak. A.) When Mo posted, he did get doubled. Mo's scoring came mostly in the flow of the offense-it makes little sense to double a person shooting an 18 footer. B.) If you're guarding the Rockets, when you double Mo, who do you leave? Cato or Olajuwon, wide open around the basket? Williams in the corner for 3? Or, most likely one of the Rockets 20 PPG guards. Kobe Bryant doesn't get many double teams, either. Fact is, he shot a VERY high percentage, and his scoring increased as he got familiar with his teammates, and vice versa. He averaged close to 15 ppg over the last 2 months, as a 3rd/4th option behind Steve, Cat, and sometimes Hakeem. He also was forced to playing center, which helped get him into foul trouble. Maurice Taylor Splits A VERY telling stat-When he started at PF (58 games), he averaged 28.6 MPG, and 2.9 PF. When he started at C, he averaged 28.5 MPG, and 3.7 PF. Rudy did not have a capable center for large chunks of the season, and forced Mo to play a pseudo center, fairly admirably IMO. Mo will never be a great rebounder, but I think he'll be able to push his average to a respectable level (a little over 7).
The suspension this year or next year thing - why jerk with the league office? Let him practice with the team, but not play, unless they give it the thumbs up. There's the whole summer to go, big man camp, training camp with griff, cato, mo t and whoever, exhibition games, still. I don't know what you get from letting him run for 13 lame-duck games. What if he blows out a knee ? I'd cut Steve and Cat's minutes, too, now. I don't want to see an ankle turn 'cause they're trying to do too much, or just land on someone else's foot, at this point. I don't see anyone trading for him, so, it's sort of like Cato, I think. Yeah, we overpaid, but get whatever you can. Don't turn down something better. He can start if Eddie can't earn it or he earns it or we don't have a better option, but certainly he can contribute as a hot scorer from the bench. I like him as instant offensive and pick me up - getting a lot of minutes at a couple of positions, but not on defensive against the other teams starter or rebounding. I don't see a lack of effort on the boards, really, it just seems like he tries, but can't jump or time it or get his arms up like the other guys. So when he plays, we either need someone else to cover for him or him to go against lesser talent. I don't think Cato can erase Taylor's shortcomings, - hence the bench idea, or a rebounding, defending 3. It would have to be a pretty darn good rebounding 3.
So maybe we should have a poll topic like: are we better with Taylor or with Thomas starting at PF? Then where does Griffin go in the rotation?
Waaaaaay off topic, but I never thought I'd see a Strictly Ballroom quote on a B-ball website Good movie though.
Mo T is a servicable PF, and may yet develop into a good one if he shows HEART !!! Freak is SOOOOOO WRONG about him being the best Frontcourt player, KT is better then Mo already. Mo is a decent player.....and the Rockets do miss his midrange game, but anyone who is 6'9" and 260 pounds and averages 5.48 rebounds a game for the ENTIRE season is NOT..I REPEAT....NOT trying hard enough, and is severly lacking in passion. Can he turn that around....well I hope so, but his career rebounding average is only....5.3, and that is over 4 years, not exactly turning it on. DaDakota
I have to agree with Dakota on this one. When I think of a PF and one that has the size of Mo Taylor, the last thing that I would ever think about is him averaging less than 6 rebounds a game. I honestly think that Mo is a SF trapped in a PF's body and that Kenny Thomas is a PF trapped in a SF's body. Yea, I know that KT likes to penetrate to the basket like cato13 said, but he will battle for a rebound. I don't know if I can say that Mo would do the same. Plus, you got to remember that Mo is coming off a devastating injury...one that usually finishes other players or at least it did in the past. It's great that he is close to coming back, but I think it would be unrealistic to expect him to be even as good as he was last season. I hope he can bounce back since we invested so much money in him, but I have my doubts. And, I definitely feel that KT deserves to start over Mo. I know that Mo would have been the starter if he hadn't gotten hurt, but KT is definitely our unsung hero of what has been a nightmare season.
You guys keep arguing about Rice and Taylor and Moochie. You can't have all-stars at every position. Jesus, you want more than 13/5.5 on 50% shooting from your 3rd option? That's on less than 30min/game. He would be averaging 6 or more with increased playing time. His fouls went down at the end of the year. His minutes went up. We have 2 incredibly high-scoring guards, then we have the now rebound-happy Cato. Then, alongside Taylor, we have Griffin, who can get 10 rebounds at any given time too. The rebounding won't be such a big issue because we also, ON TOP OF THAT, have a league-best 7reb/game average from our PG. Common. When we get Rice back, and Mo back, the only thing that will matter is for us to score 100pts every night at least. Steve - 20pts Cat - 20 pts Rice - 12 pts Mo - 15 pts Cato - 9 pts Let's say we get 12 from Griff, and 8 from Mooch. That's already 96pts. That team can easily average 100pts/game. We really don't have an Artest type. We just don't have that defensive instinct. But if we can play some good scrapping, hustle defense, just give a good effort, we can outscore opponents every night. BTW, Mo's offense does rank among the best. If we're talking strictly OFFENSE. Oh, and if we're not talking strictly offense, take Rahim out of that mix. AWFUL defense from him.
How is Maurice Taylor going to fit in with our 24-7 iso offense? Will we have new plays or just the same ones with a different cast? I'm afraid of the same old same old, but hoping for something new.
Yes by all means start Mo 13-5 over KT and his 14-7. Woah...wait a minute, KT is a better defender, better rebounder, better passer, and plays with more passion...hmmm...scratch that, put Mo's butt on the bench and let him come in to spell KT. DaDakota
What Mo T can do well: 1. Shoot 2. Pass 3. Drugs (or at least get busted by the NBA) What Mo T can't Do well: 1. Play D 2. Rebound 3. Play for a winning team Any questions?
Well Steve seems to be good at getting arrested and I don't think he's played for a winning team yet. Also he's good at quiting on teams. He quit Maryland after saying he'd come back another year, and we all know what happened in Vancouver... Any questions? Yeah, Mo Taylor's really had a chance to show that he can play for a winner with his career involving the Clippers and the Rockets, what a loser...
