Quietly, Mo Taylor is becoming a solid contributor. Mo is picking up cuts and bruises to his dome as he plays more inside than ever before. If the baby hook turns into his offensive move du jour, all the better. His mid-range jumper does not suck and he can bull inside with the best of them.

On defense, he is at least showing effort and tenacity. His rebounding and passing could use refinements but at this point, with Daviis hurting, playing him next to Lee could be fun. Lee handles the rebounding chores while Mo picks up the scoring void left wide open by Davis shooting under 30 per cent.

Frye gets next with the gazelles Crawford and Qyntel running the floor against overmatched second units. Jackie Butler plays next to Frye for rebounding assistance.

That makes nine.

Yep, it's looking like MoT is getting LB and LB likes his tenacity, he doesn't seem to pull him out when he has words with the refs or opposing players. he lets him play.

I still liked that trade for MoT...but please don't turn this into one of those bashing threads.

Keep it on the subject.

Start MoT, see what he can do.

I like the Frye/Craw/QWoods second unit as well.

[Edited by - rvhoss on 01-04-2006 12:53 PM]

The only problem I see in starting Mo is he was a nice sub for Curry to replace the low post presence. Now the 2nd unit would be lacking that, and we know LB likes to run stuff through the post first.

If Mo T started, it's purely b/c Brown doesn't want Frye starting yet, so that he improves his defense convincingly. It's that clear, b/c we can all see that Frye is a little more polished on the offensive end than Taylor is. But Taylor is doing more on the defensive end and Davis is out, so it's Fryes chance now.

I think LB is getting comfortable with Mo T's role as the inside post player when Curry is on the bench. He has become almost our instant offense. It's a good role for him because he doesn't have to worry about passing. Just get down low and score. I think we should keep it the way it is. Let's keep AD's stature elevated so the young guys can follow his lead.

that's too much bulk... having Curry & Lee starting is enough... put Frye running along w/Marbury, Nate & Lee & you have some good fastbreak balance to go along w/Curry & Steph's pick & roll game... Crawford & Mo T off the bench give you good instant offense when Curry & 1 of the G's gets into foul trouble early.

i just like the balance having Frye & Curry together on the floor creates... nothing against Mo T, i like how he's been playing... i just think the lane gets too clogged to have both Mo T & Curry posting up downlow... you need to have players like Frye playing along the perimeter for when Marbury drives to the hole to kick it out to for open shots.

good points, if we started Frye the team would suddenly be all kids and a 28 year young marbs. With Craw as his heir to the PG thrown, it looks as if we may have a future after all.

I bashed the Mo T trade. I thought it was stupid and still think it was stupid. I wanted to go with youth and we had like 5 PFs already, one of which was Sweetney whom I was a big fan off. That being said go back and read, I NEVER said Mo T wasnt a talented player. I just wanted to go in a different direction (young). I watched Mo a lot when he was with the Clippers and always liked his game. He got a little fat with Hou and it seemed he was happy to just score and collect a paycheck.

All thats over now. Mo T is our guy and I'm happy to say he's not just collecting a paycheck. He's playing hard, he's rebounding, he's physical and he's drawing charges. He's better and more skilled than AD and he deserves to play over AD and Rose. As for who starts it doesnt matter to me. I would be inclined to go with Mo to start and use Crawford, Woods and Frye in a very good 2nd unit.

I have been saying for some time now that off all the guys that have been screwed by LB's dumb rotations none have been hosed more than Mo. He's been great. Either he really wants to win or someone set a fire under his butt, because he's earned his minutes.

Chauncy Billups went from an undisplined scorer that didn't know the game to a possible MVP candidate. You can plug this guy in any system and he would flourish now that he has learned the game. This doesn't happen by just giving guys minutes and seeing what they can do.

>I would be inclined to go with Mo to start and use Crawford, Woods and Frye in a very good 2nd unit.

fishmike - you are a most honorable writer to confirm out your stance on a player and stick to your position. One of the things that has plagued the Knicks, patented SLOW offensive starts, is somewhat corrected by having Mo Taylor and Eddy Curry on the floor to establish the inside game and take point blank shots.

Open jump shots are nice, but how many of us really expect another 10-11 from the field from Lee?

Once Eddy and Mo improve their recognition and passing out of the post, THEN we will see some stylish basketball that could easily resemble the Sacramento Kings if not the vintage Knicks of Red Holzman.

I get the feeling THAT is precisely where Larry is trying to take the new team.

Having said that, if Marbury is happy with the latest rotation and rhythm, then dagnabbit - I'm happy too.

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