Our "logjam" at the 4

What is the point comparison like between Garnett and Griffin? I have a feeling htat Garnett's was a little better. I think we should get rid of KT. I think he's a very good player and is going to be even better one day but this is not the team for him. We should reward him for his work by sending him to a team he would like to play for and would get minutes for. I think we should be able to get something pretty good in return for him. I also think that Mo Taylor will surpass everyone's expectations. I think he was poised for a breakout year before he got injured. He had been working really hard and was finally getting used to our system. I think he's going to show he's worth all that money we paid him and has the ability to become one of the top pf's in the league.

 

f2001, I tend to agree with you, but I think it is a mistake to look at all three of those guys splitting one position. All three have spent time at center (though often under duress) and I can see at least two playing some small forward. It all depends on how Rudy sees the match ups.

It's like trying to "divide" the time between Steve and Moochie. You would never get that many minutes for Mooch, but there he was, right or wrong.

If all three deserve to play, all three will get PT. My concern is that all seem good enough, but nobody has come out and demanded the position. Each has strong points, but also noticable weaknesses. That is our deepest position, but not our strongest.

 

Griffin on 4, KT coming of the bench or play him at SF position and Taylor coming of the bench.

But if you're gonna asked me, who should I get rid off from the 3? That will be MoT and with identical injury that Grant Hill's got, we are totally gmbling with Taylor!!!Sorry, but I have to lay it down Thick!!!

 

we all want griff playing 30+ minutes per game this year. and most uf us like kt as a back-up, but feel that moT is untradable or has little value.

i think we need to wait for the season to reach 20 games with moT playing and starting in all of them. kt can be shelved or moved to another position.

once taylor proves he is back we ship him off for a vet center to mold ming + a future #1.

 

I'm all for sending MO T elsewhere, but FYI, Mo's injury is a torn achilles...Grant Hill has a bum ankle.

 

Mo Taylor is not a 3 as is neither of the three. W/Boki and a healthy Rice to go w/Morris, I think we're set at SF so none of PF will probably play there. As much as I like Kenny's play, he should go so we can get a good backup SG and even our team out a bit.

 

I think we're forgetting that Maurice Taylor and Eddie Griffin can both play the center positions at a regular basis. Dont tell me there not capable, the center position in this league is severely depleted and weak....i think those guys could definitley hack it. Take Cato out of the rotation and have Maurice, Ming, Griffin, and Thomas rotate at the power foward and center spots. If thats still not enough minutes for them, then trade Thomas. And later we'll just have to plug Catos defeated ego back into the mix.

 

Booster...with all due repect....neither Mo nor EG(at least not yet for Eddie) is anywhere near capable of playing center.

 

NJ Rocket: You really think so. Im not too sure. From a defensive standpoint, who out there beside Shaq do you think would make the task too great?


And remember where talking about them rotating in and out behind Ming of course...

 

As a backup behind Ming, perhaps they could somewhat hold their own. But even the bad centers and backups rebound and block an occasional shot...Eddie could do both against a smaller center but I dont see Mo being able to outrebound or block anyone.

 

NJRocket, I see where your coming from, thats a legit concern, especially when it comes to Mo playing center. But from a coaches perspective, I want my most talented and effective players out on the floor, so Cato is the odd man out. And if I have to slide Eddie or Mo over to the center positon so KT can get his share of minutes then thats what I do. Sorry about that Cato...hehe.

 

I'm with Booster on this. In the past, we've seen Rudy play at center: Mo Taylor, Eddie Griffin, Kenny Thomas and even Walt Williams and Matt Bullard. I won't argue that putting a small forward is ideal. But, when the other team has a weakness at the center position, we can take advantage of it by replacing size with speed and talent. When O'Neal is in the game, we probably want a legit center there too. But, when Santiago is in the game, we can probably profit from playing a power forward there.

It seems like Rudy's recent strategy is to sacrifice individual defense for the sake of applying offensive pressure. Playing a Taylor/Griffin combo would do that.

 

Mo Taylor has played center before and will probably do so again. He doesn't block shots, and he doesn't really rebound...but in the case of the latter, Rik Smits averaged about 5 or 6 rebounds because he shot from near the perimeter (although Smits did block the occasional shot).

Mo will play center when we want that versatility in the lineup. He can put it on the floor (for a big guy), and does well getting the backdoor lob (sounds kinky, but I think that's what it's called) to The Franchise.

 

Listen, if we play Cato for 22 minutes, and Ming for 20 minutes, that's 42 minutes. Let's say Collier gets 5. That leaves 1 minutes. So let's discount the C position.

If we play Glen Rice for 20 minutes, and Nachbar for 20 minutes, and T Mo for 8 minutes ONLY at SF, that leaves no minutes.


Now, what do we have left? First off, T-Mo WILL get some minutes at PF, let's say 4 minutes, so he can have 12 a game. This leaves 44 minutes a game at PF. Divided by 3? Less than 15 minutes each. We definitely want Griffin playing 25 minutes at the very least. Mo Taylor will be playing 24 (let's say) since he's coming off an injury. Which leaves no minutes for KT.

Also, consider the fact that Griffin is a part of the core. So he's not going anywhere. No one will take Mo T since he's coming off an injury and has a very long contract. KT has a short contract, is coming off his best year, and won't get the minutes he thinks he deserves or we think he deserves.


I say we use him to get rid of one of our big contracts. Cato, Rice, or even Mo (if possible). If we can't get rid of any of those, then I'm even open to trading Mooch and KT for a Defensive minded PG and a defensive minded (big) SG.

 

I like our depth at the PF in case of injuries. You do not expect all the players to play 82 games. What will happend if Griff or Mo T or both go down.

 

Need to add in Cat's small ball 3 minutes.

 

I dont think we'll go to small ball now that we're loaded at SF and PG, as well as PF and C. We have a not-so-great backup SG position, so, more than likely, Cat will do nothing else but play 40 minutes at SG. But then again, Rudy always finds a way...

 

Lets not discount the center position. Your names not Rudy T. and its way too early too start discounting anything. So lets leave it open to discussion. It much funner that way.

My solution to the over abundant crop of good power fowards we have is this: make them interchangeable, and take Cato out of the equation, who seems to be least talented of the bunch. Catos would be minutes are then divided into the four man rotation of Kenny, Griffin, Mo, and Ming. Im not saying count on it, or this is how it will be, Im just offering one solution to a good problem...but dont go completely discounting it like some basketball know-it-all!

 

MoT, KT, & EG can't and will not play the 3. We don't need a another backup C, so we get rid of a 4. Trade KT for a SG (which is needed)

Ming-Cato-Collier
Taylor-Griffin
Rice-Nachbar-TMo
Mobley-??-Torres
Francis-Norris-Maddox

KT could score us a nice 12 ppg SG, and that is what we need, somone who can backup Mobley and not lose too much.