Assuming we get Mutombo, i think the #1 problem for the rockets IMHO is the defense at the PF position. So i assume, whoeever plays better defense between those 2 will eventually get the starting position. Do you guys think either of these guys will learn how to play defense? Taylor is really big and strong and should be able to play good defense. Which one of these will play better defense?
First off, <font size="+2"><font color="blue">WELCOME TO JBB!!!</font></font> Personally, I think Howard will be the better defender. As evident last season when Cato started at power forward, Mo Taylor cannot play defense. He has never been one to defend throughout his career, and I think it's too late into his career to change his style now. Howard, on the other hand, is a pretty good low-post defender, although his tag of overpaid overshadowed his abilities. He also has the veteran edge over Taylor, and can rebound better than Mo too, so he will start incumbently.
One of the reasons why Howard didn't play well last season on the Magics was because he had to play center position rather than his natural position of power forward. So I believe that Howard will play well this season with Yao and McGrady on his team. With that said, Howard will definitely start at power forward because he is a better defender and can rebound much better than Taylor.
IMO, Taylor is best suited as the sixth man for our team. He can put up 12 points each night in minimum minutes, so he is a time-efficient player. Together with Lue and maybe Sura, Taylor will be part of a very important bench as we look to go far this coming season.
I like Marcus Taylor a lot he has always been questioned and tried to be tossed out of the starting lineup. First when the team aquired Weatherspoon last season and also before it waived Eddie Griffen. Yet he always manages to show he deserves the spot. I know that Howard is a good player and all, but I dont think he should start. His body is older now although he was part of one of the highest scoring duo's in the league last year with Tracy Mcgrady (mostly mcgrady's points) I think that with the constant physical contact he would face in the Western Conferense from players that are young like Kenyon Martin, Elton Brand, Lamar Odam, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett would cause his body to break down.
Taylor doesn't really do much other than score points. We'll have plenty of fire power in the starting lineup with McGrady and Yao. I think he's better suited leading the bench.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">Taylor doesn't really do much other than score points. We'll have plenty of fire power in the starting lineup with McGrady and Yao. I think he's better suited leading the bench.</div> Exactly. Last year, Taylor was our only scorer off the bench, and although we'd have Lue and Sura coming off of it this season, we could still use Taylor in the lineup.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting The Franchise 3:</div><div class="quote_post">I like Marcus Taylor a lot he has always been questioned and tried to be tossed out of the starting lineup. First when the team aquired Weatherspoon last season and also before it waived Eddie Griffen. Yet he always manages to show he deserves the spot. I know that Howard is a good player and all, but I dont think he should start. His body is older now although he was part of one of the highest scoring duo's in the league last year with Tracy Mcgrady (mostly mcgrady's points) I think that with the constant physical contact he would face in the Western Conferense from players that are young like Kenyon Martin, Elton Brand, Lamar Odam, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett would cause his body to break down.</div> If you like him so much, you'd know his name is Maurice not Marcus. He doesn't deserve the spot on a Van Gundy coached team because he doesn't play D and doesn't rebound. This has been the knock on him his entire career. The Rockets don't need another scorer in the starting lineup, they need one when Yao and/or T-Mac sit on the bench. If he was in the starting lineup last season he wouldn't have averaged as many points as he did. That's because he'd have to share the ball with the other starters instead of being the 1st or 2nd option when the starters are on the bench. While he may not be able to stop KG or Duncan, he'll at least do a better job of keeping up with the quicker PF's in the West (include Dirk and CWebb in that list) better than Cato did last season. And if the Rockets do pick up Mutombo, I wouldn't be surprised if he played alongside Yao against teams like San Antonio with the 2 7 footers in the frontcourt.
In my honest opinion, the Rockets dont need stellar defense at every position. As long as their some helping defense and weak side defense on breaks and low post play, we should be ok. Not a lot of teams have 5 starters that dump over 15 ppg, and that's where team defense comes in. As long as we are guarding the whole team, as a team, than we will be ok. The Pistons did this, and it really showed against the Lakers. They had adjusted their team defense to fit up against the Lakers. Even though Shaq did ok, the rest of the Lakers didnt do so well. Rip/Prince really outplayed Kobe, Billups/Hunter outplayed Payton/Fisher, Rasheed and Malone is one that was somewhat equal, though 'Sheed won. Devean George was non-existent, and Kareem Rush wasnt THAT good. Since George was not a big part of the game, it allowed Prince to help around in places that needed help. Back on what you guys are talking about, Mo Taylor should not start over Howard. He doesnt rebound, or defend. Cato was our main defender for the big man, and got a bulk of the rebounds. We cant expect Yao to make up for Cato, himself, and improve.. can we? With that being said, Howard isnt that stellar at defending, but he is a veteran, which is worth a lot more than people take it for. He can draw fouls, he can play weak side defense, and he knows what to do in certain situations. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">And if the Rockets do pick up Mutombo, I wouldn't be surprised if he played alongside Yao against teams like San Antonio with the 2 7 footers in the frontcourt</div> I dont think JVG would let Mutumbo start, he is slow as it already is. That is, if we do get him. He is already slow, old, and has lost a lot of the strength he used to have. We cant afford putting Deke up, and letting him foul out. Then we wouldnt have a backup C, and that would force either: A) Yao to play a lot more minutes, and risk fouling out. or One of our PFs has to play C, when Yao sits, making us really under-sized. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I think that with the constant physical contact he would face in the Western Conferense from players that are young like Kenyon Martin, Elton Brand, Lamar Odam, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett would cause his body to break down.</div> All I gotta say to that is, If Karl Malone can do it, so can Howard.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting magnomonkey:</div><div class="quote_post"> All I gotta say to that is, If Karl Malone can do it, so can Howard.</div>That's true, but I don't think Howard will face that task for 82 games in a season. Even though Malone did good against the aforementioned players, he also missed half the season due to injury, so it doesn't mean that an iron-man veteran will not get injured when they get old. I still expect Taylor to start when Howard is not avaliable, which I presume will be around 10 games next season.
Karl Malone has a much better and stronger body than Howard does. Malone also knows much more tricks than howard does. I don't think Howard can defend as well as Karl Malone. It might just come down to having to double team the Duncans, Garnett's, Brands, and other star power forwards.
Howard is the much better defender at PF...hes a strong rebounder, having averaged around 8 a game for his career...Taylor is ideal as our sixth man because he is so versatile offensively and is a great scorer...he can give you nice production in 20-25 minutes, but not 30-35 minutes...
