Taylor's addition could be essential
August 30

By: The Cat

After waiting for what seemed an eternity, we Rockets fans have something to cheer about this offseason. The Rockets signed Maurice Taylor last week for the 2.25 million dollar exception, and while he does have his doubters, expect he and the Rockets to prove many wrong next season.

They say he has no defense, and that he can't rebound. They also say he isn't a team player, and is only looking for a big deal next offseason, after which his play will decline again. And there are definitely reasons to support these arguments. However, the reasons to bring in Taylor far overshadow those against.

On the subject of defense and rebounding, he clearly is not the top PF in the game in that area. But he has gotten better, and I see no reason why he can't improve. Every year in the league Taylor has improved his rebounding average, and upped it last year to almost 7 a game. He had one game of 20+ rebounds. Furthermore, a very large part of defense and rebounding is motivation. As a Clipper with no chance of winning, broken promises, and his own crowd against him, what did he have to go out and push him to give 100% every night? Absolutely nothing. If being a Rocket doesn't motivate him, I don't know what will. He will have a chance to win every night, will be on a mission to prove the NBA GM's who passed on him wrong, and will have the support of a whole city and team. By all means I expect Taylor to come out and play inspired basketball next season, and 8-9 rebounds is not out of the question.

As previously stated, other concerns include Mo not being a team player and just wanting the money for next offseason. Again, both these arguments are very flawed. Remember one fact- Mo was a Clipper. The team that wouldn't resign him prior to the season, and refused to trade him at the deadline. This also was a team with no other legit offensive low post threat. With these factors surrounding him, and the fact that he was certainly gone from the team at season's end, it is hard to imagine him being a team player. Carroll Dawson mentioned at the press conference that Taylor was an excellent passer under review of game tapes, and this part of his game should make him a great fit in the Rockets team play.

Here he'll have Hakeem to take some of the low-post load off, and about the most exciting backcourt in the league to get him involved.

On the contract issue, it is of small concern that Mo is a free agent at season's end. However, I don't see why he would want to leave. He fills the one glaring weakness for this team, and is with the type of team and players that ideally suit a young person in Taylor. In addition, with Olajuwon's impending retirement the Rockets can offer as much as almost any team.

Could he slack off once resigned? Yes, but so can any other player in the NBA. It shouldn't be of any greater risk here than with all the other free agents on the market. After you examine the negatives of what people have to say and the ways they are flawed, it becomes clear the upside is tremendous. Mo is one of the top offensive PF's in the game, with an arsenal that can almost compare with those elite PF's like Chris Webber. He can take his jump shot out to 20 feet and nail it consistently. He has the athletism to run the floor. He has the quickness to blow by slower defenders, and a great array of post moves that can confuse the best of defenders.

When you look at the Rockets future prior to Taylor, the Rockets had three main big men: Kelvin Cato, Kenny Thomas, and Jason Collier. Each has a solid future from my perspective. But the Rockets were missing one thing- that big time offensive post man. While we potentially have the best backcourt in the NBA, a team cannot win consistently, especially in the playoffs, by relying on jump shots. Some nights the shots won't be falling. It is vital for any team that wants to win to have a post man with an offensive game, no matter what guards they have. When things are going downhill, it's the big man's job to go down low and get a basket when needed. But when Steve and Cuttino are having a bad quarter, who was there to go to? Kenny Thomas and Kelvin Cato are not players I trust to go down on the low block and score a bucket. Maurice Taylor is. He can get you the scoring from the post, space the floor for the guards, create double teams, and do almost whatever is asked.

Looking at all of this, it's hard to imagine how we are the lucky team to sign him for 2.25 million. Last year we got the steal of the free agent period, Shandon Anderson, with our exception. Now Maurice Taylor. With Taylor in the fold and Mobley resigned, there is no reason the Rockets should not be in the playoffs this upcoming season. They are young and inconsistent at times, but they do have an abundance of young talent, coaching, and chemistry. One can only marvel at the job Carrell Dawson and Rudy Tomjanovich have done over the past year rebuilding this team for the future. We've gone from an aging team on the decline to one of the youngest teams in > the NBA (with great upside) in one year. It is certainly a good time to be a Rocket fan.

> > -- The Cat