Does anybody really think he is? If not, his 6 million + the trade exception could get Brian Grant. Today, Grant is a better PF than Cato is @ center, but what about the next 3 years? Would anyone else make that deal? j ------------------
Portland would not make that deal directly and we have no interst in parting with Cato. And even if there was interst, it´s too high a price to pay,there´s no benefit in supplying our needs at the PF position at the expense of creating a hole at C. See the Rastaman trade for a better idea. ------------------ "Never underestimate the heart of a champion"
Something yall dont understand is Cato is one of the most important pieces to the puzzle. Behind Francis and Mobley he's probably the most important player to the team. The only way we will trade Cato is if we trade for another center. Athletic 7 footers aren't that easy to find. ------------------
grr....Shandon overlooked again. ------------------ The more lefties on your team, the better. Collier is Seven Foot and Left Handed. How can you go wrong? Trade or bench Kenny Thomas.
Nike Did you realized everyone is started to overlook Shandon, since the day Mobley deal was confirmed. It's quite amusing to hear... ------------------ Hack a Shaq you'll be winning Hack-him you'll be dreaming.
heypartner, does that mean Francis and Mobley shoot better when defended better? ------------------ "At one of these governors' conferences, George [W. Bush] turns to me and says: 'What are they talking about?' I said: 'I don't know.' He said: 'You don't know anything, do you?' And I said: 'Not one thing.' [Bush] said: 'Neither do I.' And we kind of high-fived." --Republican Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico shares a verbal exchange that took place between he and George W. Bush. (Quote is from the Los Angeles Times, 5/31/00) Dubyah Speaks
heypartner-Unfortunately, nba.com isn't that nice Shandon gets a little over 11 shots per game in wins. He gets a little over 8 in losses. Francis gets a shade over 14.5 in wins. He gets 14.45 in losses. Cuttino gets 12.2 shots in wins. He gets 12.9 in losses. Is that better hp? ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
uh...no. I did not say anything about Francis and Mobley being defended better. I said we win when the defense pays TOO MUCH attention to them. I call that, learning to burn bad double teams. That is what April was all about. And April was not possible until only after Mobley and Francis tried creating on their own. Except for mismatch games like the Philly game where he just abused Iverson, Shandon was largely the recipient of being open because Mobley/Francis were not. That has nothing to do with Mobley/Francis being gaurded better. And it has nothing to do with the number of shots they put up. I thought we where talking about Shandon's stats that seem to indicate he should shoot more, or something overly simple like that. ...this reply is only a test. I'm just warming up for the season. Smeggy, stats like NIKEs show that us Mobley apologists must still be prepared for the season, even after Mobley showed 100% class that no one else on this team ever would. [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited August 05, 2000).]
Shandon signing with us because he wanted to be here rather than getting $4 mil/year more isn't classy? ------------------ Going for the Rolls Royce! visit www.swirve.com
Didn't Shandon complain in Utah and run off from the team who drafted him and took him to the finals...twice! OK....who wants to start the... "Is Mobley Classier than Shandon" thread!! hehe
By shoot more, I mean more involved in the offense. His assist numbers also went up a a very significant amount during those wins, as well as his points. I wish there was some stat guru who kept a record of touches. partner, out of curiousity, if you were the Rockets head coach, who would be starting shooting guard, Shandon or Mobley? (assuming a 3-guard lineup is out of question). ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
I would start Shandon and bring the Mobley-Cato attack off the bench at the 8 minute mark. Just like last year. I would rest Francis and Shandon alternatingly and then have all three guards on the court roughly 2 minutes into the 2nd quarter for the remainder of the half to press the tempo. I would repeat this is the 2nd half. In other words, I would do a 3 guard line-up everytime the other team's starters are getting tired. I would use a 3 guard line-up nearly the entire 4th quarter. Just like last year. I would saddle up the horses and let them run!!! There is no team in the NBA as fast as us. We must exploit that, and force the other team to sit a forward down or be spread out and burned with a simple dribble attack from the wing. So NIKE...you asking me who my starters would be is irrelevant to me....what is even more irrelevant is your comment "assuming a 3 guard line-up is out of the question"...I mean. who in the hell are you routing for. We have a 3 guard line-up.. uhhhhhhhhhh YESH!!!!
You'd start a 3 guard lineup, even with the pathetic defense both Steve and Cuttino showed last year? But wait....if we start 3 guards, that means is either Thomas or Walt is benched! Thomas/Williams on bench=good but heypartner, why in the world were the Rockets 1-7 when Cuttino started? Seems counterproductive to me. ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
uh....re-read my first sentence NIKE. I am not an advocate of starting Mobley. You will never be allowed on the Misinformation Police. NIKE...we use a 3 guard line-up more than half the game. Did you not watch any basketball last year?
nike, partner's talking about the system not the starts. only be concerned w/ the 9:13 at the end of the season. mmmm.... good. ------------------ "At one of these governors' conferences, George [W. Bush] turns to me and says: 'What are they talking about?' I said: 'I don't know.' He said: 'You don't know anything, do you?' And I said: 'Not one thing.' [Bush] said: 'Neither do I.' And we kind of high-fived." --Republican Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico shares a verbal exchange that took place between he and George W. Bush. (Quote is from the Los Angeles Times, 5/31/00) Dubyah Speaks
jinx partner you owe me a seat. ------------------ "At one of these governors' conferences, George [W. Bush] turns to me and says: 'What are they talking about?' I said: 'I don't know.' He said: 'You don't know anything, do you?' And I said: 'Not one thing.' [Bush] said: 'Neither do I.' And we kind of high-fived." --Republican Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico shares a verbal exchange that took place between he and George W. Bush. (Quote is from the Los Angeles Times, 5/31/00) Dubyah Speaks
I realize we use a 3 guard set for a good portion of the game (whoa, I must be disoriented or such, it doesn't seem like half the game, is it really that much?) by lineup, I meant starting lineup. Does who starts as a guard really matter, when we don't have any forwards who should be starting (jury still hasn't reached a verdict on Langhi, he still has hope) and center who last year couldn't rebound? The only real problem with the 3 guard lineup, is defense. IMO, we'd need 2 strong defenders at the PF/C that AREN'T undersized, and that can rebound and/or block shots, and at least one of those 2 has to be able to step out and set a pick and/or hit a 15-20 foot jumper. Does that really exist? If not, is our team's design better than Sacramento's high octane offense? If not, if we bring that into the playoffs, and head off against LA, LA will be able to slow it down, dump it down to Shaq....and dump it down to Shaq......and dump it down to Shaq, and our speed won't get to get off to the races nearly as easily. Anyhow, hp, when you bring in Cato, are you taking out Hakeem? or taking out whoever the PF happens to be (Kenny Thomas?). ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
NIKE...we use a 3 guard line-up more than half the game. Did you not watch any basketball last year? [/QUOTE] We not only used 3guard formation more than half of the game, also we used it when the game was on the line. Most importantly it was very attractive to watch. ------------------ Hack a Shaq you'll be winning Hack-him you'll be dreaming.
NIKE, Cato will probably start. But I would love it so much to have Hakeem start and play stellar defense in his last year. The man can still play defense. About the "half-game" thing...how many times in April do you remember a 4th quarter line-up of Thomas/Cato/Bullard (yes bullard) Walt Mobley Anderson Francis That line-up Rocked in the 4th quarter. Lack of defense is offset by our ability to force the other team to sit down a big player, making it a battle of mismatches. [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited August 05, 2000).]
Why does it matter that we used a 3 guard lineup for half of the game last yr? The year the Suns came back from an 0-14 start to make the playoffs, they did the same. Three guard lineups are fun for the fans to watch and can cause matchup problems in the regular season, but in the playoffs, the bigger, longer teams end up pulling through. The simple fact is that the game slows down in the playoffs, and all the open court stuff comes less and less into play. Deeper in the playoffs, you need precision half court sets if you are going to pull through. Match up disadvantages show up glaringly for the small ball teams in the playoffs. The idea of putting three guards on the floor and running the other team to death is great in theory and works in the reg season but gets showed up badly in the playoffs. I have no problem throwing it out for some stretches in parts of the game, but if this team wants to win in the playoffs long term, they need to upgrade the frontline and have less time when all three of Francis-Anderson-Mobley are on the frontline. The whole idea that getting a top notch PF would clash with the guards game b/c the player would actually want to post up is absolutely insane. The key to winning in the playoffs is having many different strengths. You cannot just be a complete post team or a complete perimeter team. When the game slows down in the playoffs, you need different ways to go at your opponents. When the Rockets were at their best, they had a dominant post player and a a pair of really good slashing guards. The Lakers have a dominant post player, and a dominant slashing guard. Basically, Im in agreement with Nike on this; if the Rockets want to win long term, they are going to need more frontcourt weapons and utilize less of the three guard lineup. If the big trade that houdeman was talking about the other day nets the Rockets a stud young PF, I will be very happy b/c the Rockets will then be on their way to having a team that can challenge both in the regular season and playoffs, not just regular season. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
