Well, it looks like everyone has finally agreed that Mo is not a great stopper at PF....this was also said when he signed with us....he is a good 6th man, because he can be instant offence... Don't get me wrong...I like the guy...and think he has a place on this team....But we do need a better starter, and neither he nor Cato are it...one of them will be traded, and it's prolly Cato, cause centers are harder to come by.....
I've been a Mo supporter, but I've soured on him as well. He's settling for the outside shot too much and hasn't shown the desire to grab any boards despite finally having a couple of healthy seasons now. He has the bad contract, but we can't help that now. He is healthy and had a pretty good showing this year. This is the time to trade him, unless you want to wait til he has an expiring contract.
I agree with most of this, There will never, ever be another Olajuwon. He was just unbelievable and I am lucky to have been able to see him win this city two championships. True, Okafor is not even half the offensive player Yao is but, Yao is not even a quarter of the Defensive player and Rebounder that Okafor is. Defense wins championships. If one of the big three does go it would more than likely by Steve and that would be a huge mistake. To build a team around an enigma like Yao is a mistake. Steve has consistently put up good numbers and he has shown he is a prime time player in the post season. We have to build around what we already have instead of trading away.
You can not build around a Guard. The only problem with Yao this past season was his stamina. Had he been able to play 37 minutes rather than 33 minutes, he'd be putting up 20/10. which is not enigmatic. All Yao needs is rest and wind sprints. Yao pulled down 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. That's better than average. WAY better than average. Yao is easily more than half the defensive player Okafor is. Just his presence takes him a long way, and as his stamina increases, he will continue to improve. Look at opposing 's stats against the Rockets, how many times did the opponent C beat us this year? 10 times max. Yao's defense is above average and has room for improvement. I'd rather take my chance with Yao than Francis. We know exactly what Francis will bring for the rest of his career. For a Guard to carry a team, he needs to be Micheal Jordan calibre, or have an unbelievably well-assembled supporting cast. Francis will not reach T-Mac and Kobe level, much less Micheal Jordan. Yao on the other hand is clearly capable of 20/10, which is TREMENDOUS for someone who is also a good defender, is 7'6, and can pass the ball well. Yao averaged 18 and 9 in 33 minutes. I'm more than satisfied with that.
Me too...and there's no way I would trade him for Okafor. What's depressing is that he ran out of gas (mentally or physically, or both) down the stretch for the second year in a row. Last year wasn't as worrisome because of the "rookie wall" factor, but the fact that it happened again this year it is more troubling. With the Olympics this offseason...I coul d happen again. You're never going to win a championship if your best player doesn't show up after March.
Please enlighten us how you detect a champion's heart. You can start with examples of players with champion's heart but hasn't won anything yet. And please also let us know how you justify your claim that player X has a champion's heart but can't win. Of course, if you give us names like TD, Shaq, or Kobe, they are champions, and it doesn't even matter whether they have champion's hearts. So please quit those empty statements that you can never back up with facts.
I understand that this team cannot be built around SF but what I am saying is that instead of trading him away we should just add more pieces to the puzzle. The Rockets have shown they don't have the Go-To player, the franchise player on team yet so in the meantime you have to build with what you already have. Unless you have Jordan or Kobe no team can successfully be built around a guard. The same logic applies to Yao, Unless you have Dream, O'neal, Chamberlain, or Russell you cannot build your team around a Center like Yao either. If you want to be build this team around Yao and are happy with 20 and 10 then the only place that would lead to is the lottery. If you want Yao to be your center piece then he needs to average 25 and 14 with 3 blocks a night and Yao simply can't do it. Yao can average 20 and 10 but at what cost? This season he averaged 18 and 9 but everyone else suffered career low in points. Yao is a good role player just not the Franchise player everyone wants him to be. Yao's defense is pathetic so I'm not even going to argue that.
As much as it pains me to say because these are the two players I hate the most but IMO do have a champion's heart are Malone and Stockton. These two played through injuries on team that had no talent besides them and they made everyone take thier game to another level. Malone at 40 dropped 30 and 14 on the Rox and Stockton at 42 took the Jazz to the playoffs. They just didn't have the talent around them but they still took the Jazz to the Finals. Another player with Championship heat is Charles Barkely. This guy at 6'5 was getting 20-25 rebounds in playoff games. He did everything to win. He played all out through injuries and still was effective. These guys do have the Championship heart but like in all sports there has to be a loser and just casue you lose doesn't mean you don't have heart. Heart is leaving everything out on the floor, it effort and determination. Heart is something that some of the players on this current Rocket team have.( SF,JJ,MJ,JVg)
Agreed. I think he did much better than last year even as far as stamina is concerned. Remember he didn't even start really playing until what? 15 or so games in. And he performed better this year when he ran out of gas as opposed to last year. But he still ran out of gas. He needs to figure out how to maintain, and I don't think it has anything to do with heart.
If you want to judge something, please give us some reference of your criteria, so that we can judge from the same angel. Please don't just say that you think so, that doesn't prove or justify anything. What's your facts that those players you mentioned (basically everyone except Yao) has more heart than Yao? The distance they ran over the court? Well, Yao is normally the one who goes the deepest in both ends. The sweat poured on the court? Well, a big man with 300 lbs easily sweat more than smaller players. The assignment they got and accomplished? Well, Yao has to bang with the most dominant center even played in this game. The relative production? Well, Yao and Shaq cancelled each other out pretty much. The expression on face? Well, Yao is probably the least excited one on face expression, he doesn't have any designed gesture or moves to celebrate, although there is nothing to celebrate last night. If you consider that as heart, maybe you are right. Sure, Yao has to play better to grant Rockets a real chance to against the Lakers. He not only has to even out Shaq, he but also has to beat Shaq so to speak to even out the demage Malone put on Rockets. He has to improve to really become "the man". You can always argue about his rebound technique, his decison making, his aggressiveness. But he has no heart? Come on, that's getting old.
I am all for trading Mo Taylor. I have been disappointed this year that he has abandoned his low post game for more jump shots. Last year his jump hook was deadly. He was important to the team when Yao goes out of the game to have a low post player to keep defenses honest. But he just isnt doing that enough this year. Basically I dont think he wants or accepts the contact that is required. Mo's contract his horrible. I dont think we will be able to move him. But if we can, and if we can somehow replace him with someone that can play more of a low post game then I am all for it.
I agree that we need to trade Mo, but with his contract, I think the only way we can move him is if we package him with Mobley. Anyone know if Mo+Cat can get us a solid 4?
Here's my take on what's gonna happen next year. Mobley's gone. Jim Jackson slides over as our starting 2. We'll package Cat with either MoT or Cato, whoever we get a better deal for. If it's a Cat & Cato package, MoT takes over the starting PF position and we trade for a 3. If it's Cat & MoT, we trade for a PF and then the 3 is yet again our weakest link. Of course other players may be involved to even up salaries or whatever, but look for a Cat + MoT or Cato package to firm up our starting forwards.
Questions: 1. Will the Rockets leave MoT unprotected in the expansion draft? 2. If so, will Charlotte be interested? 3. If so, would we receive an additional trade exception if they take his contract off our hands?
Only KG and Duncan are close to these numbers this season. Not Shaq though. According to your criteria, only two of the 29 teams have a decent centerpiece on their teams and the rest of 27 teams should just break their teams to rebuild. Or maybe the league should be reduced to two teams right now: Spurs and Wolves. Let them play each other 82 times a year and go for a best of 20 for the postseason series.
