How come no one here is complaining about Cato not getting enough minutes?! The man has been playing fantastic ball as of late, but he's been shown the backside of the bench. It's very easy for people to say he's overpaid when he doesn't get the playing time necessary to showcase his great defense, rebounding ability, and overall hustle. Really, what the hell is wrong with you people.
How many minutes is "enough minutes"? I mean, after all, he is Yao Ming's BACKUP. And I'm sure Rudy will never play him at PF alongside Yao because that will take time away from the true PF's on the team. Plus, Yao is only averaging 26-27 minutes a game anyways, so Cato is getting exactly what he should be expecting as a backup center. He will become extra important come playoff time though.
Cato's doing well, but playing all 48 min.? That's too much. Why don't you give us a choice of, say, 15 - 30 minutes?
This is a loaded thread if Ive ever seen one. Cato had time to showcase what he had to offer. It was called 1999, 2000, 2001 and half of 2002. Is that not enough?
cato played good at the beginning of the season, and i think he deserve more playin time. in fact, i don't think starting yao is such good idea since he is still learning, plus we don't wanna yao get injured in his rookie year.
All rookies learn in their first year. Has there ever been a rookie who came into the league and didn't need to learn or adjust? If that's your logic...ALL rookies should come off the bench and ALL rookies should get limited PT because we fear they might get hurt in their rookie year. The fastest way a rookie learns is to let him play big minutes and put the offense around him. Look at Dajuan Wagner...He's getting 40+ minutes a game and taking 20+ shots. I bet next year, he will be ready to put up Iverson-like numbers night in and night out...all because Lucas gave him a chance to learn in his rookie year by letting him play big minutes. Watch.
The issue for cato, unfortunately, is timing. If, as his play this year suggests, he's primed for bigger things ... tough. Mightah worked last year, but this year we entertain Cato's "potential" at Yao Ming expense. Really tough 'cause this is the best Cato's looked since that pre season game when he blocked everything.
Since our power forwards have been largely ineffective, I would like to see Cato spend some time at the four. Having him on the floor at the same time as Yao should keep everyone out of the lane, especially if you throw Griffin in the mix. Could you run a 2-3 zone with these guys? That would be a LOT of shotblcoking potential on the floor at one time.
Cato is nothing more than a good back-up center. If you take away the first 5 games, Yao has out scored, out-rebounded, out-blocked Cato in a similar # of minutes, overall. Give the minutes to the player who performs better. If anything, the edge goes to the rookie, since the rookie is more likely to improve with increased playing time. Cato is in his 6th year. He's not gonna get all that much better. Can't believe I just heard this suggestion. I wouldn't be horrified if Yao and Cato played together a bit... but there's a log jam at PF, too.
Edit function won't work. Oh, yeah... I wouldn't play Cato at the 4 because he has no range. You need at least a bit of range at the 4. And Yao is by far best utilized in the low post.
Am I hearing the question right? not only one person voted for 48 min, simply amazing. More amazing than Ming's swept pass.
Cato is a good defender, however that's just not enough. Yao can do whatever Cato is capable of doing, rebounding, blocking, you name it. But Cato can not pass like Yao,score like Yao, or draw double team to create oppurtunity for other teammates. Don't get me wrong, I like Cato too, but in order for us to win the game, Yao has to play at least 25-30 mins. The flow of the game is just so different when Yao is on the court. If you've seen tonight's game you would understand. Yao has so many ways to help the team and energize both teammates and the crowd. He is on his way to all star. As for Cato, he will be a good backup center. It's just the reality.
I think the trouble is what "squad" Cato would fit in? Naturally, with Yao's late arrival, a lot of the Rockets preseason sets had to be readjusted. But honestly, I think it's OK that Cato be ready off the bench. If you look at many other NBA teams, their backups aren't really there to "time-share" minutes in each game. Rather, they are to fill in in times of serious injury... which is a regular facet of this game. To get Cato more minutes, I think we'd have to look for new sets. For example. Cato and Yao plus a three guard set. Another idea would be to have Cato play when matched against quicker teams. Given Yao's rise, I do feel like Cato is getting shortchanged a bit. And while we try to keep everyone happy, we're still out there to win. RudyT does not have an easy job. One other remark is that I think Cato is a great "clubhouse" guy. Based on the early reports of him helping out and practicing with Yao, I think Cato is a class act. While I can't say for certain he is unhappy with his minutes, nothing has come to my attention in the press that he is angry. That alone shows maturity and I respect that greatly. I can totally see Cato and Yao working side by side. Why not? theSAGE
amazing. right after yao got 4 double-doubles in a row, won the rookie power rankings, and still there's people wanting cato to play all 48 minutes. if that's the case, why not let moochie play all 48 as well? (etc, etc)
Yao Ming is clearly the Rockets center. Kelvin Cato is clearly the backup -- and a very good backup. If Ming plays too few or too many minutes, he might be ineffective during the playoffs. We need Cato and we need a Cato who plays without the rust of inaction. I have faith in Rudy to allot the PT -- and I see Cato getting 15 to 25 minutes per game -- minutes he can play hard and really pound on the opposing team.
I thought cato would play most of the game as a PF.I heared cato was a PF before. So, we have twin-towers. Maybe it's more power than now. But we must change some players 1st. Is this a good idea?
Agreed, Cato is playing much better of lates. But he should only play close to 20 minutes. Of late with the pt he gets, he's rebounding like crazy, and getting blocks as well. This is exactly what we need from a backup center.. a good rebounder and defender. Not necessarily someone who can score, but someone who does a decent job at keeping the opponent from scoring, and Cato has good defense. I was opposed to the Cato at pf thing... but now that I think about it... it might not be so bad. Should try it out for one game.. maybe against grizzlies? This team is great!
uh.. huh? Cato's a center.. always been a center. Cato at pf is just an experiment ppl are willing to try out, to put an enforcer type (well as close to an enforcer as the rox have) next to Yao to help him out... boy... Cato, Griffin, and Yao on the floor at the same time would be interesting.... Not that it'll ever happen, but yikes. Who'd want to drive on that threesome?? And we don't need to change any players yet.. this team is doing good.
