Addition by Subtraction

I don't understand what he meant by "addition by subtraction". I think Mobley can adjust his role to be the 3rd option. Every team needs at least 3 scorers.

 

Agree. Preferably three with two more who can score when needed.

BTW, 3 Kids, which one of your three children would you trade away? I thought so -- you'd keep them all, just like Les.

 

Disagree. The Lakers have only 2. How many do the Spurs have? I think there is a subtle but important distinction between a "scorer" who demands the ball and one who gets his points within the offensive flow. Cuttino is/has been the former and (appears to be) learning the latter.

 

Lakers - Shaq, Kobe
Spurs - Duncan

The scorers on these teams aren't ordinary players.

 

I see..and Francis and Yao Ming are ordinary players. Thank you for such valuable information. I have now lowered my expectations for SF and YM so much that I have cancelled my subscription to League Pass and purchased Full Court so that I can watch for potential Rockets picks in the 2004 Lottery.

Let's see now, who was the third "scorer" for MJ and Pip...Dream and Clyde...Isiah and Dumars....hmmmm, I'm starting to see a trend here. Can you spell "role players"?

 

Fred Carter is right on the money, and he must be reading all of our posts.

Mobley is the one that has to make the biggest adjustment, and right now he is struggling with it.

I think he does not want to be the 3rd wheel, but unfortunatly for him, he is only the 3rd best option.

He needs to adjust or be traded for this team to go anywhere.

Ming and Francis are the 2 main guys.

If you don't believe this theory, just harken back a few years. How did Barkley, Dream, and Drexler work out?

Sure they won a few, but these were veteran players who struggled with the same concept, and ultimatly it hurt the team as it had no clear identity.

Just my .02

DD

 

When the Lakers are the "Lakers" of the last 3 years, they get 2 or 3 other people then Shaq and Kobe in double figures. The only time that doesn't happen is when Kobe scores 40 and Shaq scores 35.

With Timmy Duncan, look at the box score every night for the Spurs. THey are guranteed 4 or 5 players in double digits any given night. If we could do that then yeah, we would be #3 or #4 in the Western conference as well.

 

I agree 100%...

The rockets would do a hell of lot better by focusing on Franchise and Yao...

This would only open it up for everyone else, even the CAT would get his touches by Yao collapsing the D...

Be the Ball...

 

Geez Gater, I hope you're right about Cuttino "learning the latter." I agree completely with your post though... just imagine what having Mario Elie (in his prime) starting at the 2 this year would do for us:

1. We'd have that lock-down defender we all want.
2. A clutch shooter who can knock down the 3 consistantly, drive to the hoop, score when the rest of the team sucks, make smart decisions with the ball, and have that last-second mojo we all know mario has/had.
4. Someone who knows how to make a pass down low to the big man.
3. There'd be a "floor-coach" for lack of a better term. When the game's on and the guys are on the floor, they'd have a JYD on their ass, not letting them hold the ball for 23 and 1/2 seconds.

Of course Elie is a pipe dream... but isn't it a beautiful dream? Is their anyone with maybe 3/4 of those qualities we could pick up to man the SG?

 

carter said the rox should only allow yao and francis the green light to shoot even if they miss shots. in games when mobley is hot, he gets the green light, too. otherwise, the offense should go to through the two all-stars every single time, and let me shoot or create shots for others.

 

Kobe and Shaq are basically the two best players in the game. MJ/Pippen and Dream/Clyde were the same. You are kidding yourself if you think Francis and Yao are now in the same class as them. So to beat them, you need much more depth i.e. more than 2 scorers. See Sac Town and Dallas. Mobley can be our 3rd scorer, a very good one at that.

 

That's how it has been. Yao and Francis. And when Mobley does get the ball, he has been missing.

Our team has no hope anymore.

 

I agree. That's why we do well when Mobley is in the background and most of the game runs through Francis and Yao.

 

Excuse me?
First - Your original statement was precisely -

"Every team needs at least 3 scorers."

I never said Francis and Yao were equivalent to anyone - you did. I merely pointed out that it is an absolute fact that the vast majority (dare I say "all"?) of the last 15 NBA championships have been one with 2 scorers and a group of role players. Please don't tell me you are going to argue this point?

Secondly - IMHO, the Rockets will never be successful trying to develop Cuttino as a "third scorer" for the following reasons:
1) It mean less passes into the post and consequently less shots and cuts off of the post.
2) Cuttino has basically the same skill set as Steve Francis. Unless both are hot, you can just use your best defensive guard on either.
3) Mobley is a "streak" shooter...he needs touches to get hot...lots and lots and lots of touches. A post oriented offense kills what he does best.
4) Zone defenses seem to work well against the Rockets. A zone (and the aforemention post game) reduces Cutttino to a stand still, spot up shooter...and he's not a good one.

To be successful as a "third scorer", Cuttino will have to both mentally accept this fact and then get his points within the flow of the game. I would like to see this occur, but I am not optimistic it will.

You may present contrary arguments to point 2 but point 1 is irrefutable.

 

So would you like Mobley to just be a role player or do we get rid of him?

And if we were to trade him, who is someone that we can get who plays as well as he does or better?

 

mobley listens to charles barkley too much. mobley: you are a role player. your role is to shoot only when you are on the break or when yao passes you the ball for open jumpers. you should also consider to play a little defense.

 

I think you have Mobley confused with Francis. Mobley is number 5, the one draped all over his man and the one showing defensive intensity. Francis is number 3, the one who is part of the worst defensive PG rotation in the league. Usually a player can take away either the drive or the shot, Francis can't seem to do either one. Ot has also NEVER been Mobley's role to be a fast break and spot up shooter only. Even in his rookie year playing with three HoF'ers he was more involved in the offense than that. To limit Mobley to Wesley Person's/Matt Bullard's role is a big mistake.

Their problem was injury, not coexisting. When all three of them where healthy the only way to beat them was to cheat.

 

I have a role for Mobley: Get the Hell out of Town Cat, Please!!

 

I agree with you. I don't think Mobley has (or will have) problem with his new 3rd option role. He works hard. He plays defense. The problem is Francis, not Mobley.

Mobley stays.