Not sure if this has been posted before, but The Sporting News' Pro B-Ball Annual is out, and I grabbed it today. There are several interesting comments, and I'll put up some of them here...If you have any questions or want to know their comments about something I haven't put down ( and there will be lots...extensive previews) just ask...I sometimes abbreviated stats and names;ex..points to pts... Analysis by Michael Murphy... On the draft... "the team's haul began to draw comparisons to the one it had in 1983, when it landed Ralph Sampson and Rodney McCray. Like those two, Yao and Nachbar are experienced, basketball-savvy players who should be the foundation for the Rockets' return to elite status." On team questions..." How will the new additions be integrated into coach Rudy Tomjanovich's system? Will Yao make the adjustment, both physically and mentally, to the NBA after years of playing in the (CBA)? Finally, will Francis and CUttino Mobley be able to adjust to playing with a talented center who will need to have the ball in his hands?" On Rudy's Strategy..." The rule allowing zone defenses defused much of the Rockets' isolation offense last season. When Hakeem Olajuwon was the hub of the offense, the isolation was an effective weapon that utilized the 3-point line to exploit defenses that were sagging inside to cut off the big man's effectiveness. But Francis and Mobley now are initiating those isolations on the perimeter, so teams simply drop a defender or two inside to cut off lanes to the basket." On the Guards..." the Rockets have one of the best groups of quick, athletic guards in the league. But the groups's shot selection leaves a lot to be desired. Mobley's 21.7 ppg led the team last season, and his tepid 43.8 % was tops amongst the team's guards." On Francis..." Francis...has blossomed into a brilliant all-around player, but there's the nagging notion he would be much more effective as a shooting guard alongside a pure point guard." On Mobley..." The problem the entire group has is getting Mobley to give up the ball. For a player who started his career as a point guard, Mobley has poor assist numbers. To be fair, he has blossomed into a legitimate-and feared- scorer, capable of going for 40-plus points against anyone, but he has to get other players involved. Mobley topped five assists only twice last season, which is remarkable for a player who handles the ball so much." More on Mobley-( In Things To Look For for the upcoming season)..." Cuttino Mobley will return to his role as sixth man at some point. Few in the league can score as quickly as Mobley, and the Rockets eventually will realize how much they need that off the bench." Mobley (again)..." Might someday be more valuable as a sixth man as the team begins to build around Yao." On Griffin..." Little did Eddie Griffin know he was coming to Houston to be the next Matt Bullard. The Rockets pulled off a brilliant draft-day trade to get the athletic teenager, then parked him outside the 3-point line. Of Griffin's 666 fga's, 273 came from behind the arc. Griffin, who can play either forward position, showed promise as a rebounder and shot blocker but got only 24 starts, a surprisingly low number for an injury plagued team that was out of post season contention." Griffin Again.."Still needs more strength, but is a perfect frontcourt compliment to Yao Ming in an up-tempo system." On Thomas..." hard-working but undersized power forward who put up decent numbers on most nights. But as well as he played, Thomas is still a reserve on a contending team." On Nachbar..." ..moves well without the ball and makes intelligent decisions on the floor. Also, he can create his own shot and finish inside. He should contribute immediately as a SF and could start if Taylor doesn't pan out, forcing Griffin to move to PF." On the Center Position and Yao Ming...." This is the area that hurt the Rockets the most last season, which is why drafting Ming was such a priority. Yao has the mind-set and innate feel for the game Kelvin Cato lacks and should be the starter from Day One. The Rockets probably will dust off some of the plays they used to run for Olajuwon, allowing Yao to make decisions in the post. Don't be surprised if Yao spends much of his time in the high post, keeping the lanes clear for Francis and Mobley to drive. Yao's passing and outside shooting ability make him a natural for that spot." More on Yao...." How the Rockets do depends on how they decide to use Yao and Nachbar. The Trail Blazers drafted Bill Walton in 1974, but it wasn't until they rebuilt the team around him to fully exploit his unique skills that they won an NBA title in 1977. The Rockets must find a way to put the pieces around Yao rather than try to fit him into what they do. The beauty of Yao is that, like Walton, he seems to have the skills to eventually dominate individually. He also has the mentality to approach the game from a team perspective." Yao Again..." Has the skills to play and the mind to figure it all out; the Rockets now must build the team around him." Yao One Last Time..." Yao Ming will have a Pau Gasol-type impact, but he won't be Rookie of the Year. Yao is a multifaceted player who will throw different looks at defenses, making him-not the guards-the focal point of the attack." Other Points Of Interest...(Summarized, not quoted)...Rox will win at least 43 games, finish 3rd in the MW, 8th overall...there will be at least one public outburst over playing time re: Taylor, Thomas, Griffin, Rice, and Nachbar's minutes at the F spots...Rox will lose Larry Smith, who will get a head coaching job elsewhere... A Scout's View ( Quoting an NBA scout )..." It's up to Yao Ming. Just his presence alone does a lot for this team defensivley, even if he is not a good one-on-one defender. If Francis, Mobley, and whoever they end up with at the 3 can stay in front of their guys, now you have someone in the middle who can help you out. Even if he does not block shots, he's going to change shots...Offensivley,do they put Yao down in the box? If they take him out of the box, doesn't that create spacing problems? If Yao can score 10-12 points, now you have to respect him and play him honest. He's such a good passer out of the post, if you want to double him, who are you going to leave? Mobley? Francis? If there's a coach who can put together an offense for this group, it's Rudy Tomjanovic." Final Notes...Well, as I said, some interesting stuff...The three key points of interest are their contentions that Mobley should be coming off the bench (the Cat, you there?), Francis might be better as a SG, and that the team should be built around Yao...With regards to the last point, it should be noted that I think this was written BEFORE the WC's, so their opinion of him and his role here could hardly have been lessened..And I found the Walton comparison fascinating....Also, if there is something I didn't do right in giving proper credit to the writers of this analysis, or the magazine, please let me know and I'll correct it... So.... Would the team be better if Mobley were a 6th man? Is he really the ball-hog they portray him as? ( Having less to do with %, I suspect, than amount of time with the ball) Does anyone want to drag out the old Steve is really a 2 debate? Most interestingly, I think, should this already be Yao's team? Is he more likely to be the kind of player you build a championship team around than Steve? Would our offense be best running through him rather than in the hands of our guards? Peace.... JAG
Interesting read. Cuttino will return to his role as 6th man???? Who's gonna start over Cat?, and where is Larry Smith going?
I think they're implying that Steve will move to the SG spot, with maybe Moochie as the new starter at PG.
If that ever happens I'm becoming a Mavericks fan. Did Feigan write this article? I highly doubt Cuttino is going to the bench any time soon. Once again, someone please PLEASE PLEASE tell me who Cuttino was suppose to pass to last year? The rest of the team SUCKED!
No, Michael Murphy wrote the overall analysis, including the 1st part on Mobley, and I think that the basketball editorial team wrote the 3rd part..not sure about that, though. Irrespective of that, though, and in anticipation of Cat's (always ) pro-Mobley and (almost always ) persuasive arguments, we do have to accept that there are non-biased educated obserevers who do see Mobley that way, and they can't all be lumped as resident Cat-Haters or Dan Feigen. My own opinion would depend largely on other factors, such as who do we have better at this point. I CAN see a point for the argument that, at this point, if we are going to give Ming a lot of looks, and either Nachbar, Rice or Griff are gonna be the 3, the 2 spot might be better served by a solid defender who doesn't need the ball, and Mobley would be championship caliber lightning in a bottle coming off the bench. But until that solid D playing 2 is acquired, I don't see how it can happen.
I'm one of the most pro-Cat people on this board. I just love his game, and as such, I find it difficult to be very objective when it comes to criticising him. Also, I'm one of those who have always felt that Cat's low assists tally was not his fault, since the team really sucked last year. However, the opinion of many different people, both experts and non-experts, has been that this aspect of his game needs polishing up and, after reflecting more on this, I have to agree. The major reason I agree is Andre Miller. Now if any other team really sucked in the NBA last year, it was Cleveland. If not for Miller, that team would probably have been the worst team in the league. There is reason for me to believe that if Miller had had only half his number of assists - that would be about 5.5 - and instead had taken five more shots per game, Cleveland would have brought up the rear in the league. If Miller could rake up so many assists on a bad team, I see no reason why Mobley can't have at least a couple more per game. And, yeah, he's a shooting guard, but I'm sure he can do it if he puts his mind to it. Maybe his low number of assists also has to do with how Rudi T wants the Rockets to play, and I hope that changes this year. I would be very happy if Mobley could become an All-Star this coming season, and I'm sure if he could rake up 4-5 assists per game, that will surely happen. The Cat, any thoughts? Go Cat go!!!
Thanks for dropping lines, especially on EG, I really think he will explode on the floor this season!
If Larry Smith is such a hot coaching property, how come he wasn't mentioned for the Golden State job? Didn't he spend most of his NBA career there?
i stopped after the francis at sg, mobley 6th man crap. what a dumbass article. for how many more seasons must we endure the francis at sg crap? i thought this was already copyrighted to some of our francis-hater bbs posters. thanks for posting the article macbeth did you type it all out from the mag or is it on the web (click & paste)?
Ehh hmmm.... mobley as 6th man... uh huh.. Where is Larry Smith going..? I liked the guy... I hope we don't lose him. Building around Yao? I thought were basically about complete with all the building around Steve with the addition of Yao. Now they believe it would be wise for us to rebuild again? Geeze I'm just sick of all this waiting during the offseason.... We need the playoffs again so we can shove all the comments back to commentators...
Sadly, I typed it all out...and I can't type, still just a hunt & peck type...Just thought it would be worth it for those who hadn't read it...
You're gonna hate me for saying this, but I think Mooch would be a good starting point guard. He had over 10 assists last year probably half the time Francis was out. Does anyone know what he got when starting last year? My bet is like 17 and 8. Which I'll take anyday.
The article's garbage. Michael Murphy may work for the Chronicle, but he's not quoting sources. Everyone has individual likes and dislikes, even if they're a professional. Here's what's ridiculous. The problem the entire group has is Mobley?!? It's not a shooting guard's responsibility to pass the basketball. Most shooting guards in Cat's class, like Szczberbiak, Finley, Allen, and others average 0.8 to 1.5 assists more per game. You cannot seriously say that 0.8 to 1.5 assists is THE problem for the Rockets. For all that Mobley handles the ball, Francis handles it even more. As the point guard, it is his responsibility to involve others. He has the lowest assists in the league for a starting point guard, and the most turnovers in the league for a starting point guard. Yet this makes him a "brilliant all-around player", and Mobley's lack of one more assist as "the problem"... right. Murphy addresses this indirectly with the comment about a pure PG. However, to get one, he has to move Steve for the 2, and for that to happen Cat would have to go somewhere else... thus the bashing. It's not that every point he's making has no merit, but to overlook everything else and call Cat "the problem" with the Rockets is incredibly biased. Cat played without Francis, Taylor, Rice, and many others throughout the season. He never gave up, did everything he was called upon to do, and people still hate the guy. It's truly amazing. After his early season ankle injury healed, he finished the season on a 45 game stretch where his scoring was at 25 ppg and his field goal percentage, assists, and rebounding were all up by a good margin. That's more than a hot stretch. That is brilliant. What you guys have to realize is that to most people, especially sportswriters, there has to be someone to blame. When a team wins 28 games, no matter the injuries, people want to hear who should be blamed. With the amount of people injured, and the lovefest going on with Francis, it's natural who will be blamed. Please, tell me one expert that has said this. Michael Murphy is no more qualified on this than me or you. Someone like Jack Ramsey, Calvin Murphy, or Andy Katz... those are examples of people who spend their lives around the game and probably have a more qualified view. Michael Murphy isn't a sportswriter because he's some expert with basketball. He's a sportswriter because he's a good writer. And, like all of us, he wants to complain. He picked Cuttino Mobley. Big deal. I could find "problems" with literally every player in the NBA outside of a couple. Cat will not ever go to the bench, or be traded, or anything like that. He's a 22 ppg scorer who was near the 25 ppg mark with a good shooting percentage, decreased turnovers, and increased assists over the last 45 games. (the only period where he was 100% healthy) If you doubt that, as someone once said... bet me!!!!
Excellent article, Macbeth. Cat, what can I say. I know that there was a reason I find the blaming of Cuttino wrong. I have to admit that I could see Yao as perhaps the main decision maker on the team. Now I know where that trouble maker Macbeth came from on the hangout board. I guess I missed the name change.
You just answered your own question. Don't blame Cat for having low assist totals or Steve for that matter. When Cat receives the ball on one side of the court and everyone else is on the other side of the court creating an ISO situation then who is Cat suppose to pass to? It is Cats job to beat his man one on one and if he does have to pass it is probably not to someone in a shooting situation. Miller is constantly looking to pass to someone close to the basket or in a shooting situation. Steve or Cat are looking for clear outs to run Rudy Ts offense. Rudy even mentioned last year that he had not planned on going with the ISO offense so much but due to all of the injuries, all of the different combinations of starters during the season, coupled with all of the rookies playing on the floor at the same time that it was just not possible to expect all of those players to pick up a more complicated offense and still be expected to be competitive. Due to the situation the Rockets were in last year the ISO was the simplest and most effective way to stay competitive. Think about it if you are in a game with: Brown Cat Oscar Eddie Cato and the other team is starting: Nash Adrian Griffin Finley Dirk Lafrentz Do you think you have a better chance of winning by going 5 on 5 or by getting Nash, Finley, Dirk and Lafrentz on one side of the court and letting Cat play a little one on one with Adrian Griffin? To me it’s a no brainer. It does not help the team in the long run but it does keep you competitive if you are trying to win now and that is what Rudy T was doing and that is why Cat and even Steve has a low number of assists. IMO, it is obvious that whoever wrote this article was not paying much attention to the Rockets because not only does he write this based on what has become unjust Mobley stereo typing but he does not even know what position Eddie Griffin plays. Why lump a power forward in with the small forwards? How can he say that if MoT does not work out the Rockets will have to move Eddie to the 4 when he is already at the 4. If Eddie plays the 3 this year that means the Rockets moved him, if he plays the 4 then he is at the same position that he was last year. I just wish for once that one of these so called experts writing these articles would take some time to do some real research and stop writing articles based on unfair reputation and hear say.
One could pose that A problem for the Rockets is a lack of passing. Does 1.5 passes equate to 1.5 assists? Only w/ the Cat's mathemagic.
When did I say it wasn't A problem? Murphy clearly lumps everything on Mobley, with the quote The problem the entire group has is getting Mobley to give up the ball. It's not that Cat's perfect, and that he doesn't need to improve, but to blame all the problems on Mobley is ridiculous. Not sure what you meant with the last statements...
I know Murph (even though he's 43, he still plays on my Y league BBall team twice a week), and believe me, he is qualified. He has played BBall and been around BBall all his life. He also has sources. Finally, 610 has had him on many times as a local BBall expert.
