according to Rudy... Mobley relishes starring role By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle <font face="Verdana" size="2" color="#003366">The music is cued, and the NBA star-maker machinery rolls. The league's most familiar and -- in the NBA's most fervent hopes -- beloved faces flash across the screen. Bob Marley asks if he has found true love as Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter and Shaquille O'Neal celebrate to the beat. There, with the most decorated and celebrated stars of the game, Cuttino Mobley exults joyously. "I love it," Mobley said of the company the NBA's image makers believe he keeps. "That's what I want." Mobley is clear. He believes he belongs. He is, he has said, one of the Rockets' "go-to" guys, a "leader," a player his teammates should look up to. He wants not only to be among the league's best, he wants to be recognized that way, and by more than the NBA or Nike marketers. "I think about it all the time," he said. "I don't think it's selfish to think about personal goals. I do. One is to be one of the best players in the league. Two is to be an All-Star. And three is to take my team to the playoffs. But that's not putting a team goal after personal goals. I feel if I play well, we'll win." Mobley is not alone. Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich has labeled the 6-4 guard one of the best players in the game and built much of his offensive system to exploit that kind of talent. There have been times Tomjanovich has been rewarded for his confidence. Mobley, 26, is the Rockets' second-leading scorer, averaging 17.8 points per game. Besides that, Rockets coaches said plays run for Mobley have worked for someone else to score or go to the line, rivaling the efficiency of Hakeem Olajuwon or Charles Barkley's best days as the heart of the offense. "He can score on anybody," Rockets veteran forward Matt Bullard said. "You can make it in this league if you can do one thing well. I'm living proof of that. But what he does draws the focus of the other team. Michael Jordan was like that. He could score on anybody. That created openings for guys like John Paxson. Cuttino can do that, but he is still learning." In his second season with that role, Mobley has at times struggled with the balance between being the swaggering scorer and cocksure shooter the Rockets need and a veteran judicious enough to make the right decisions and passes, especially in the final minutes. Against the Jazz on Saturday, he made four of 16 shots, failing to adjust to Olden Polynice's defensive presence inside and missing a 3-pointer with five seconds left. But there is little question Mobley has been cast in an unusual starring role. Few teams isolate individuals on the perimeter as often as the Rockets isolate Mobley, although most cite that as the team's greatest strength. The Raptors, with the prototype of the art form in Carter, believed Mobley could be a high-scoring star to replace Tracy McGrady and tried to sign him as a free agent. On Tuesday, Mobley makes his first trip to Toronto since the Raptors tried to make Mobley their shoot-on-the-move Sundance Kid to Carter's Butch Cassidy. "He's an excellent player," Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald said. "He's athletic, and he has the ability to put the ball on the floor and get around people. That's a very valuable talent to have on your team, especially now that the defense has to guard people without a hand check. You don't see a lot of players like that, that can create on their own and make passes to create for other guys. The guy is a very, very good player." Mobley said he was close to signing with the Raptors before accepting a six-year, $30.9 million deal with the Rockets. "I haven't thought about it, but I hope they don't boo me," Mobley said of Toronto's fans. "I haven't ever had that. I love Vince. Vince is my boy, a genuine guy. (Raptors coach) Lenny Wilkens was saying he would open up the floor like Rudy does, not take any of that away. I felt very comfortable with him. My childhood best friend is (Raptors guard) Alvin Williams. I still love him to death. Hopefully, they'll understand it wasn't anything personal. "It was very, very close. But I have family here with Steve (Francis), and Rudy is my man." The feeling is more than mutual. When Mobley scored 30 points against the Timberwolves, including 24 after a halftime session of Cast Away dental torture, Tomjanovich rejoiced: "He is just a great player, one of the best in the league. He is just a tremendous player." A week later, Tomjanovich made sure his point was clear. He was not exaggerating, he insisted, somewhat incredulous at the mere suggestion. He said what he meant. "He is one of the best players in the league," Tomjanovich said Saturday. "It's a fact. Ask the other teams. Ask what they have to do to stop him. They have to shift their whole defense." Most prove it every game, switching into double teams to force Mobley to give up the ball. He scores every 1.88 minutes, bringing a constant threat. But the measure that drives so much of the Rockets' strategy is the offense created by plays called for Mobley, the statistic that inspired the post-up game built around Olajuwon and Barkley. Rockets assistant coach Jim Boylen said the Rockets have scored more than 60 percent of the time Mobley's plays are called. "Anything more than 50 percent is outstanding," Boylen said. In a four-game stretch before Saturday's game, Mobley's plays led to points or free throws for him or a teammate on 40 of the 65 occasions Tomjanovich called his number. Mobley averaged 22.3 points. And though he had just seven assists in those four games, his passing led to more scoring than the assist total would indicate. "What people have to understand is he doesn't get the hockey assist (which can include two passes that lead to a goal)," Boylen said. "If he got those, like Charles should have or Dream should have, his numbers would be outrageous. "Rudy talks about accountability. He (Mobley) has really taken that to heart. He's matured in that respect, to where now it's, `Rudy is calling my number; I've got to make something happen.' And he knows it doesn't have to be his shot. How many guys can create plays in the fourth quarter? Kobe is unbelievable at it. Cuttino is unbelievable at it. Vince can do that. Sam Cassell. A few others." Mobley's 3-point shooting and free-throw shooting have fallen off since he suffered a hyperextended left elbow Dec. 16 against the Nuggets. He is averaging 17.6 points per game on 43 percent shooting. But his free-throw shooting (78.9 percent) and 3-point shooting (30.2 percent) have dipped to career lows. "He's scoring almost 18 points per game without taking those crazy shots," Boylen said. "Last year at this time, his shooting was much worse, and we were really on him. But he's very coachable. He's very good about wanting to know when he makes mistakes. He's been great that way." Said Tomjanovich: "He's growing. He's getting it done. He wasn't real happy with me when I used to tell him big-time players make big plays. Already, I've heard him this year make comments: `I had my opportunity at the end of the game. It's my job to get us good shots. That doesn't mean I have to score.' " Tomjanovich is aware of criticism of his use of isolation plays. And he knew fans might disagree with his assessment of Mobley as among the league's best. "When I hear people say, `Why do they do that?' it's just ridiculous," Tomjanovich said. "You watch some of the other games, it's ridiculous. Watch what he does. The whole arena knows he's got it. They know he's got to do something, and he still gets it to the basket." But when given a choice between passing out of a double team to a teammate who scores or beating a good defender off the dribble, Mobley said he prefers the former. "It means their coach is giving me that much respect," he said. "It's hard to beat somebody all the way at 26 feet out. That's where I'm at. So it means something if they have to send a double team." Similarly, Mobley loves Tomjanovich's praise. He said he was not hungry for approval to make up for a college career hidden at Rhode Island or an NBA draft that let him slip to the second round. But when Tomjanovich calls him one of the best, "I get goose bumps," Mobley said. "I always want to be noticed as that." He has been noticed. The NBA lets him run with the fastest company. Nike has made him one of just 10 NBA pitchmen for its most recent product line, featuring him in a magazine ad blitz. He will go to Toronto on Tuesday with the ball and blossoming stardom in his hands. "I love it. That's so flattering," Mobley said of the surge of attention and responsibility. "I worked so hard to get where I'm at. I'm having fun with what I'm doing." </font> The first qtr of the Jazz game was painful to watch (and made me grateful that the Rockets don't have too many national games )... but Mobley at 60%??? Sheez. ------------------ We're going to stay together until something happens, if something happens. - Sidney Lowe on Shareef's career in Vancouver. [This message has been edited by Achebe (edited January 07, 2001).]
Yeah baby! I saw this, too. Feigan delivers the quotes. I love reading quotes. Thanks so much Jonathan for asking these questions. Did you read what Lenny Wilkens said! Lenny WILKINS!!! He would do the same thing as Rudy, ie, design an offense around Mobley and open the court up for him. And Jim Boylen finally gives up the chart on the Mobley 2 Shakes and 24 High plays. Jamcracker....they are measuring in at a <font size="6">60% Success Rate</font> <h3>40 for 65 in the last 4 games</h3> That is utterly amazing! No wonder we see so many ISOs. That's pretty much what I was counting from mid-January on last year. But to actually see Boylen confirm it is thrilling! It makes all the charting worth it, doesn't it! To put this is perspective, I read once where Rudy said Barkley was clocking at 53%. Mobley is delivering the goods, alright. And I think he will improve. He said he looks first to pass out of the double, not attack it. That is what I see. Sure, he dribbles into the lane and faces several players at the rim, but that is not being double teamed unless two guys are out front on him. I still look forward to less ISOs. I think there are some other ways to utilize his talent...this is just the easiest way for the team as a whole to learn. [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited January 08, 2001).]
True that is amazing. Now as for the defensive numbers....lol DaDakota ------------------ If Mankind evolved from Monkeys and Apes, then why are there still Monkeys and apes?
A 60% sucess rate is outrageously outstanding. I still can´t help but wonder how people can sometimes suggest that we should trade cuttino for dickerson. I just don´t get it. When you have talent like Cuttino has, you help him grow. I would seem that a lot of people like Francis so much that they feel jealous about Cuttino´s sucess. They want that spotlight on Francis and not on him. Now, might i humbly ask, if Francis himself doesn´t feel that way about the subject, WHY THE HELL SHOULD YOU? Sure the kid is a bit rough around the edges. But give it time. ------------------ "I have posted so much that what I say must be true"
Cuttino's the man. Im sure many other rockets fans, like me, were pissed at that shot and overreacted a tad, but he is a good player and is vital to the success of this team. Love him or hate him, he's gonna be with this team for the long haul, and for the crazy posters who sat trade mobley. NO MOBLEY= NO FRANCIS... think about it ------------------
