I haven't read all the posts, so I don't know if someone's already mentioned this, but how the hell is the number of shots Cuttino takes even an issue? Especially for the last half of the season, the Cat was HITTIN them, all kinds of them. When a player's FG% is higher than that which the team averages (even higher than Francis', but I still love the guy - pretty much only had a low % because his only truly bad shooting games were when he had migraines), then how is a high number of shots a bad thing? You win the game by finishing with more points than the other team - he should have been taking more shots. I mean, I know there's more to it then that, but give the guy a break, he led the team in PPG, SPG, FT%, and 3PT% (for all practical purposes). He's one of the few things that was going right for the team the second half of last season - he deserved the shots he got.
58 or 44 the point is the same. You claimed Cat had a healthy Dream and that he was having a great year. This was just not true. Dream did not even start to play well until the Knicks game around the all star break. So several of those 58 games he was a non factor. Yes his role after the all star break was huge in helping the Rockets reach 45 wins but so was Steve and Cats. Once again Mo started the season off that year hurt. He did not miss any games but he was still hurt. It was late December before Mo started fitting in with the offense and making a contribution. From January to about mid March Mo was awesome. About mid March Mo hurt his achilles but continued to play anyway. This is not tearing down a player (as you call it) this is just stating the facts. Cat did not have a healthy Mo Taylor thru out the year. Once he adjusted to the team Mo was a big contributor while he was healthy as was Cat for the whole season. Actually it matters a lot because if Walt had played better that would have helped a lot. Shandons offense sucked the whole time he was with the team. No the wins were not the result of Cat they were the result of the team and Cat played as big a role as anyone and a bigger role than most. So who do you think is a worthy starting guard in this league? Your moniker is TRADECUTTINO so please don't give me any crap about your so called back handed compliments for Cat, OK. Also for a change why not acknowledge the fact that Rudy T runs an ISO offense. He did this last year even when the other team ran a zone defense. Did it ever occur to you that maybe Cat was playing exactly the way Rudy T asked him to play? And please do not bring up the turnovers since 2.5 is not bad for someone that handles the ball as much as Cat. And what guards would that be? MF has been in the play offs for the last two year and looks to be an annuall perticepant for the next several years. MJ, Dream, Shaq, Duncan are all superstars so just for the recored Cat is not a superstar but he is all star caliber and a good starter. Cat is never going to put the team on his back the way Dream did in 95 but he can make a valuable contribution as a starter on a championship caliber team. Cat is the best 2 guard on the court on most nights but not every night. Your the one that said Cat could not get the team over the hump. I am saying that the team could not get over the hump for numerous reasons. Not because of something Cat did or did not do. Just because we think Cat is a top flight guard does not mean we think he is a superstar. There are lots of all star caliber players that play for non contenders. Last time I checked basketball was a team sport. One last time there are only a few elite players in this game. Maybe only 5 or 6 (with out counting) in the whole league. Cat is not one of them and probably never will be. However there are a bunch of all star quality players in the league that could play a major role on a contending or championship caliber team. I think that cat is in that group.
Great, I address all your points and you conviently DO NOT address my biggest question. Do elite players sit at home during preseason with the 5th worst record in the NBA? Run this stat using all the starting guards in the NBA : Assists per game / Minutes per game. Let me know if Mobley does not appear dead last. If I don't hear from you on that, we all can guess the answer anyways. But thats right, Rudy T doesnt want Cat to pass
Great post The Cat. Mobley - Underrated Francis - Overrated The truth is somewhere between the two. Without Mobley bringing it every night, the Rockets would have been lucky to win 15 games this year. He is the MVP of the 2001-2002 season.
Great post The Cat. Mobley - Underrated Francis - Overrated The truth is somewhere between the two. Without Mobley bringing it every night, the Rockets would have been lucky to win 15 games this year. He is the MVP of the 2001-2002 season. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ i agree mobley is underated he is a top 8 sg but no francis is not overated
That would be an appropriate statstic for point guards. Last I checked, Mobley is a shooting (aka scoring) guard. His job is to score. He does that job very well, as well as other things not necessarily aligned with his job fairly well.
It's not the number of shots he takes, it's the quality of those shots. Cat forces up way too many low-percentage shots. And when he makes those shots, it only encourages him to take more. A truly vicious cycle.
This is getting beyond ridiculous. Everybody is b****ing about Cat for not taking this team to the playoffs, yet nobody mentions that he's only got 4 seasons under his belt. Why can't we wait and see what happens. Nobody is claiming that he is a superstar, there just saying he isn't a run of the mill, anybody can do what he does type.
Cuttino must be one of the best pure shooters ever if he can shoot at 45% for about half of the season (after the ankles healed) while taking all of these horrible shots. Let's just use this legendary shooting touch by running the Reggie Miller, give him four picks offense and he should hit at an eighty percent clip, or maybe the bad shots angle has been blown WAY out of proportion.
I am a huge cat fan and I wouldn't trade him. I say trade Taylor and keep cat. Because of Taylor and his drug problems, he is suspended 5 games. At least CAt isn't taking drugs or doing anything stupid.
It's been a while since I ve posted but I still read what you guys say. Damn, we really do have some r****ds in here, cat sux, his defense sux, and his game is weak. WHAT KIND OF CRAP IS THIS? Go watch some real basketball games rather than sitting on your arse all day long and typing every 30 mins tradecuttino. Cuttino's game Cuttino haters, what kinda stuff r u guys smokin? Cuttino's offensive game is unstoppable, he has one of if not the quickest first step in the nba. The one play that sticks out in my mind is that game in ny when cuttino got a layup on spree i think and won the game. All you who say iverson is better. Personally i think he sux(for all the people who want to argue this point, he does not make any players on his team better other than padding their rebounding stats off of his shots). Give cuttino as many shots as ai and i ll guarantee you he will get as many points. Enough about ai, time to talk about cat. Yesterday i was watching a game from steve's rookie year, it was against phoenix close to the end of the yr cuz bill worell kept on saying it was a must win for phoenix if they wanted to stay in the playoff race and jason kidd was injured. Everyone who says cat sux should go watch this game. You should see how herky jerky his motions are and how he would just let other guards like penny and todd day take over on the offensive end. I m not saying that cuttino is fluid in all his motions right now nor am i saying cat's the defensive stopper of this team. But all of you should see how much cuttino has improved. Its one thing to say cato sucks but stop knockin on cuttino and get real!! He not only works hard every offseason but his play on the court has improved. If he's not trying his best to improve, then fine trade him or whatever but when he's trying to get better dont knock on him. I dont remember if it was steve or cuttino who said they were watching tapes of isiah thomas and joe dumars. Whoever it was cuttino is really trying to improve and is not sitting around like cato complaining and whining like the big baby he is. Cat i will admit does not make all the right choices but if you have five seconds on the clock the only player i would trust shooting the game winning shot is Cat.( The only other player in the nba i would trust is robert horry). Cat is a clutch player, like it or not. All you who knock cat for playing so many minutes, how many players in the nba would play on one ankle and play as many minutes as he did. He played with pain. Cuttino offcourt Tell me of another player who is more hyped up about playing basketball or playing for the rockets and how he takes a pay cut for the rockets. Geez what else do you what from him? He is one person who i know bleeds rocket red all the way. I love how he carries himself. To all you people who say cat is arrogant, blah, blah, blah. You should view it as the fire and the desire he has to be the best and how he wants the rockets to be the best. I dont exactly remember the exact quote but I think it was against the mavericks when cuttino said you hit threes and run back laughing but wait till next year we ll see who's going to be laughing. This is why i love cuttino. Cat, you rock!! The Cat i support you 100% and your opening statement is downright impressive. Long live the player who Cato says show's up to preseason in midseason form, CAT MOBLEY! One more thing Cat: keep the quotes comin, i love listening to you!!!
1. Dream sat home during the play offs in 91. Jason Kidd sat home during the play-offs in 94 and 95. 2. I'll try this one more time. I only think there are about 6 elite players in the NBA and Cat is not one of them. Period. Cat is a very good all star caliber guard that can play a major roll on a NBA championship team as a starter. He is not going to carry the team but you continue to ignore that point which I have made several times now. Cat is not the week link on this team. 3. I checked the stats for assists per 48 minutes on ESPN and stopped once I got to Byron Russell. I guess that answers that question for you. 4. Now its time for you to do some research. How many other starting guards in the league were asked to win games with the the other 4 starters out for most of the year and with 4 rookies and 2 second year players getting a huge portion of the minutes. 5. Cat was 13th in the league in scoring...oh wait why am I even bringing that up since it doesn't count right?
I think most of the pro-Cat people in this thread are stating that Cat is an all-star calibur Sg. There's a difference between being an elite player and simply all star calibur. Ray Allen's an all star, yet the Bucks with Cassel and Robinson didn't do crap. I think the Mobley supporters are saying that Mobes is on if not above Ray Allen's level, that's all.
I think Ray Allen is a lot better then Cat, but I also think Cat is on par with most SG in the league. He has his Warts for sure, but for a 2nd round pick he is amazing. All he needs to do is trust his teamates more and play tougher defense and he will rise even higher. I bash Cat and Francis a lot, but only because I want them to lead. Personally, I am glad they are on my team, and not on someone elses. DaDakota
Here is one coaches definition of the roll of a SG The Off-Guard The off-guard is also referred to as the #2 guard or shooting guard. He is generally the better shooter of the two guards. The qualities that he needs to possess are: 1. He must have an instinctive knowledge of the game. 2. He must be a good ball handler. 3. He must be a good passer. 4. He must possess speed and quickness of foot. 5. He must be a good dribbler with either hand. 6. He must be able to play good hard-nosed defense. 7. He must be able to hit the 15 to 20 foot shot with consistency. 8. He must be able to penetrate and dish off. 9. He must be able to read defenses. 10. He must know how to move without the ball. 11. He must be a student of the offense so that he can step in and run the offense if the point guard is being overplayed, or must leave the game. 12. His ego must not be so inflated that it interferes with his basketball judgment. Normally, the off-guard's job is to put points on the board andhelp his teammates to score. I personally feel Cuttino meets 5 of the 12 responsiblites of a SG. He fails #8 tremendously simply becuase he refuses to dish. Anyways, I'm through pissing off you Cuttino die-harders. I feel like I just told some kids there was no Santa Claus... Im a fan of the Rockets. When I spot deliquencies, I point them out, for the sake of team improvement. Others would rather cover them up. I'm just feel sorry for any forward or center for the Rockets. Why should any of them fight for position if the guards role according to some is not to dish? Absolutely no incentive to bang if there is no reward.
sorry to say but ray allen can shoot the lights out. you know why they didn't make the playoffs? two words: george karl. the team was doing just fine before he started to b**** and moan about how they're not playing 100%. the players just basically gave up on karl. you put any player under karl's helm and he'll do just the same--GP did, kemp did, and sam ray and glenn all did it this year. and i'll agree again. cuttino is a good player. i never knock on that. and when you look at the paycut he's taking and how much he makes, he's one of the , if not best, bargains in the NBA. there are things that i like to see mobley improve on (passing, choosing the good shots, etc). the guy was our leader in points, steals and had an 83% FT year. there are some good points, there are some not so good. ELITE 2-Guards: 1. Bryant 2. Mcgrady 3. Carter 4. Iverson These guys get it done. Period. Disagree if you want, but if say LA were to ship bryant for mobley, don't tell me y'all wouldn't bite on it. SECOND TIER 2-Guards: 5. Ray Allen 6. Mobley 7. Finley 8. Stojakovic 9. Stackhouse 10. Pick one. These guys have the ability to score at will just like the 'elite' but their game isn't as polished as it COULD be. Basically to sum it all up, i dig mobley. he's great at scoring. it's just that when you're a fan of a player, you want them to excel and keep on excelling. i want a stat line like this for cat to happen (AND IT COULD): 21 ppg, 5 apg, 5 rpg, 1.5 spg, 45% FG am i making any ludicrous demands? nope. just a tad raise in assists, rebounds, and FG%. if he can manage w/ a stat line like that for next season, i would easily have him above ray allen. and if cat goes bananas and drop 25 pts each game (which will be hard considering how deep we are) i'll have him ahead of iverson.
