The Rockets Report By Bill "The Rocket Guy" 07/24/01 BAPTISM BY FIRE - IT'S TIME TO START CATO He's the highest paid Rocket. He is the biggest body we have on the bench. He thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. OK, let's start Kelvin Cato. <GASP> Kelvin Cato came to Houston in the Scottie Pippen trade and made all kind of noise about how the Blazers didn't appreciate him and how he was going to show them what they had been missing. He came out and backed his words up with a phenomenal preseason, in which he recorded a triple-double in points, rebounds and blocks, averaged a double-double, and looked like the second coming of Hakeem Olajuwon. The Rockets quickly extended Cato's contract, which would have expired after his first season here. BIG MISTAKE. Cato, it seems, was more upset by the amount of money the Blazers were paying him than the playing time he got. As soon as he had his 7 year, $6 million contract in hand, he forgot how to contribute and became the laziest player in the NBA. Cato was so bad last year that Mo Taylor and Matt Bullard were frequently in front of him in Rudy T's substitution pattern. Well, it's time for that to stop. I don't think the Rockets should pursue Hakeem. The Raptors, who, according to Peter Vecsey, have offered Hakeem 2 years, $20 million, want him a lot more than we do. Let THEM pay his social security (since we all know he won't play more than 50 games). I think the Rockets should . . . START KELVIN CATO!!!!!!! Start the worthless pile of steaming, stinking T-rex excrement. Let him play until he fouls out. Put him out there and let him commit his silly slap fouls against the point guards he should be intimidating the hell out of. If he gets 6 fouls in 5 minutes, OK. He wasn't going to play the rest of the game, anyway. Let the opposition trash talk him into the ground. Let his teammates see what Cato is doing with his $42 million contract. SOMEBODY has to apply some pressure to this guy and make him earn his pay check. If you can't shame him into playing, let Steve kick his ass until he gets it in gear. We need some extreme measures here! Rudy has taken the approach that would have worked 10 years ago. He just lets Cato watch from the very end of the bench. Any other player would be going crazy sitting down there not playing. Not Cato. He doesn't care about playing - he cares only about getting paid and getting laid. He gets what he really wants whether he plays or not. I say don't let him off the hook so easily. Give him all the minutes he can stand. The Rockets don't need him for points, not with Steve, Cuttino, and Eddie Griffin. He doesn't hurt the team any more on the floor than he does on the bench. I say it's time to hold Kelvin Cato accountable for his oversized contract and matching ego. It's time to start him. RAPTORS GETTING CRAZY IN PURSUIT OF HAKEEM The Toronto Raptors have lost their minds. If you can believe Peter Vecsey (which you usually can't), they have increased their offer to Hakeem to a 2 year, $20 million contract. I guess they don't get TV up there and they think it's still 1994. Hey, go for it, guys. He's all yours. PLEASE don't check his stats until after you sign him, though. If you do he'll be right back here in Houston riding our injured list for 30 games and getting paid millions to do it. We wouldn't want that. Also in pursuit are Indiana and New York. Neither team could afford Hakeem without a sign-and-trade, and neither team is willing to give up to Houston what it would take to agree to do that. The Rockets are overloaded at forward and guard, so there would have to be a center involved for the Rockets to even hold a conference call. The Rockets are better off renouncing Hakeem, and thus clearing 24.5 million in cap space for next summer, signing their own free agents, and looking at centers in the draft and free agency next year. Now on The Rocket Guy: Eddie Griffin finally found his shot in Utah at the Rocky Mountain Revue! --------------------------------------------- Start Cato just to prove how bad he sucks? wouldn't we be throwing away our season? ------------------ Reactions after The Rockets got Eddie Griffin for 3 draft picks "Eddie For 3 ... Yes!!! O Mother!!!!!!!"
This "someone" does not work in a club with the name "Gold" included .... does he/she? Actually I heard that Toronto made their pitch, then left town with a "call us soon if you decide" sort of thingee. If Dream is serious about leaving, and the Cavs offer him the same sort of deal my IMHO estimate of a 50-50 chance of keeping him a Rocket may start to drop drastically to 30-70 or 20-80. By my way of thinking, this will all come to a head in the next 72 hours. Cheers. ------------------
I agree with the sentiment. Give Cato the start, and make him work. DaDakota ------------------ If you like RTS games, check out this one. www.frontierwars.com coming soon to a PC near you.
You know Nikki and Jasmine also? Damn, you DO get around! ------------------ Who's your buddy? Who's your pal? I am, aren't I?
At what cost? Fine, you start Cato until he fouls himself out. Embarrass and punish him at the same time. Both admirable goals! But meanwhile, you risk costing the team wins and preventing a better player (read: anyone else) from getting playing time. The price for starting Cato is too high. I agree that we may as well try to get our money out of him. But do it by having him sell concessions, or sweep up after the game, or dance with the Power Dancers during intermissions. Save the playing time for someone who has earned it. ------------------ I'm so amazingly cool you could keep a side of meat in me for a month. I am so hip that I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.
My prediction is, Cato will do VERY wel the first five games, averaging 9ppg, 10rpg, 4bpg..and then he "hurts" his pinky fingernail, and ends up not playing for the rest of the year. ------------------ __ Ñ _ _ _ /_ ______ _ \ ÝÝÝÝl____| * |___ lÝÝÝÝ ¡,.-ñý¯Çi ¡,.-ñ~ñ~ñ-.,¡ `¯ýñ-.,
I thikn Cato's gonna do really well. He's gonna have a really good preseason, then everyone on the board will bring back memories of "that preseason". But he'll continue doing it ONLY if Hakeem's not here. ------------------
THE ONLY ONES WHO HAVE A CHANCE TO CHANGE CATO ARE HIS TEAMMATES!! The coaching staff hasn't touched him, and who in their right mind would take him and his salary off our hands? The leaders on this team, aka Francis, Mobley and Hakeem (yeah him) need to get in this guy's face every day, every practice. Since we don't have a Charles Oakley to kill him, others will have to stay on his ass and simply not tolerate his antics and apathy. I could have sworn that they are supposed to be PROFESSIONALS! It's really a disgrace. Imagine Phil Jackson or Pat Riley in this situation...
It seems Cato has a child's mentality, with his kids books and ps2's. So he needs gentle encouraging. And what is more soothing than hearing Mr. Mean's gentle voice giving encouragement. ------------------ Can you smell what Dwayne Johnson is Cooking?
the baptism of fire is a great idea. might get laid less too if seen by all as incompetant(sp?) and lazy (if he's that bad on a court...) ------------------ D'oh! (_8(|) - a thought on Hakeem leaving
First off, the Vescey thing is totally wrong (as usual for Vescey) as we've all pointed out. Second, keeping Hakeem or not, I agree that Cato should be out there until he fouls out or proves he is the worthless pile of crap we all assume he is. I have no problem with that at all. ------------------ Who's your buddy? Who's your pal? I am, aren't I?
Play Cato just to expose him for the crap he is? If this motivates him in any small way I'm all for it . ------------------ Reactions after The Rockets got Eddie Griffin for 3 draft picks "Eddie For 3 ... Yes!!! O Mother!!!!!!!"
Put Cato in. Sometimes pressure is all a player needs. If it doesn't work with cato, at least he'll get some public embarrassment. ------------------
That raptor deal is bogus...no way....don't know where you get those numbers.... ------------------ yeah aight whatever
Jeff - you getting a little crotchity these days? That's the second post of yours I have read today that seemed a little off base for your normally laid back frame. This Hakeem thing is dragging you out brother. Cheers. Be cool. The New York boys arrived last night, you hear any word on their meeting with Hakeem today? ------------------
He does have potential....maybe just maybe there is a one in a million chance if he gets some PT he just might realize some of it. ------------------
"Let his teammates see what Cato is doing with his $42 million contract. SOMEBODY has to apply some pressure to this guy and make him earn his pay check. If you can't shame him into playing, let Steve kick his ass until he gets it in gear. We need some extreme measures here! " HAHAHA, some funny **** I completely agree, he should work to earn his money and 2 things will happen 1. He might actually surprise us, (I didn't know he did that good in preseason, but then again it's preseason) 2. He'll get completely embarrassed, and start trying to save face ------------------
Starting Cato is not the most horrible thing in the world. He can get his alley-oops, drop a few passes, grab a few rebounds, and block a few shots. Cato can do these things. Unfortunately, he will get hurt doing them. That is why we need another option at center. Cato's abilities are not the problem. It's his inability to stay healthy. ------------------ "If you don't understand it, don't try to understand it." -Carl Everett
