Why not? His offensive game is more like a 3 than a 4. He doesn't bang or post up. He settles for outside shots. Defensively, I think it's a bigger issue. Again, though, if you're playing a zone out there, then definitely I like Cato & Griffin on the wings of a 2-3 zone.
Are you guys really all that worried about the offense if we made a lineup like the one proposed? Steve can score his, Yao's numbers will be up. Posey started finding his shot and I think it'll get better and better. Cato will be good for an alley oop or two, and then EG ... well ... if we need fire power at the 3, sub in Rice. Shoot, with guys like Cat, MoT and Rice on the bench, wherever you can give a little on defense, make a sub and add a little instant offense into the mix.
I would agree except when the DIT offense kicked in last year the guys tended to stand around... A LOT. Unless these guys move with Yao in the paint that offensive line up would not work.
Do you guys really think this is a good idea? Amazing. It is terrible on both O and D. Who is the playmaker? Of course is SF, but all we talking about from last year is immaturity of SF to be a decision maker and playmaker. He need help from others on that, he need somebody on the court to share the burden. So right now you are talking about put up a starting lineup with three among five people (Posey, Cato, Griffin) with no ability to pass, dribble and two of them cannot even shoot. This is really make me laugh. And this is terrible on defense also, Cato is way tooo slow to be a 4. Not to mention with Yao and Cato on the floor at same time, it is a nightmare on transition defense. No way they can stop fast break. I personally doubt JVG will put up an idea like this.
You are saying all the people on the floor just shoot, shoot, shoot? Who can make the play? Only SF???
Yao would get into foul trouble early with this lineup. Posey is a slow 2, EG is a slow 3 and Cato is a slow 4. You wanna bring the driver to the Great Wall every time...come on Yao's not going to get MJ calls.
It is a great idea. Let's see how many points Yao and Steve can score, and how many outside jumpers the other three can make. We can also tell how good a defensive team it is. After a while, we will know how to improve and how to trade players. It is the formula for the first 3 championships Lakers got, but of course they have better shooters. But we will never know how good Steve and Yao play together until we try it out (Steve, Cat and Yao last year do not count because Rox failed to make the playoff). Ultimately, I do not think JVG will be very PATIENT with EG if he does not improve this season!!! If EG can not show his defensive intensity, he will be gone by next summer. This year is the crucial year for EG. It is his 3rd year in the league and he is 21 already (born on 5/30/82)
I love this lineup for a number of reasons. Cato at PF gives us a rebounder, banger, and shot blocker who is 7'. He has the ability to defend and if his man doubles Yao or Francis, there is that alley opp he is so good at throwing down. I think that 3 scorers on the floor at once is a bit too much, especially since we didn't have much firepower other than MoT and Rice off the bench last year. This is why I like Mobley as 6th man of the year. Someone claimed that EG doesn't have any speed, which I think is a load of hooey. Anyone who watched the games saw Steve and Cat overlook Griff running past everyone on the wing during fast breaks. He might not be as fast as some of the other 3s, but JVG has a defensive system that will take this into account. Griff also hits on 33% of his 3s, which is just as good as hitting half of your 2 pointers. Add to that the post game he started developing at the end of last year and he could punish some of the smaller 3s in the league. Posey can be an effective scorer and he should be perfectly sufficient to hit open jumpers caused by double teams. Cato starts at 4 and backs up 5, MoT and Griff back up 4, Rice and Boki back up 3, Cat and Mooch back up 1 and 2. I like it.
One more time. We tried it last year. The Cato at the 4 expiriment was a disaster! Leave it alone. I gaurentee you right here and now you will rarely, if ever, see this lineup this season... ...BECAUSE Cato as a 4 is horrible. He's barely respectible at 5 and that's debatable.
Exactly, as time goes on Griff will play better and better. At 24-25, he'll be a problem for the rest of the league to stop, not the Rockets. I still think he has more of an upside individualistically, compared to Jefferson. I'll tell you what. Let's pretend that Griff is a rookie in 2003-2004. Griffs problem has always been lack of strength and some bad shooting technique. Those can be remedied. They guy has tons of talent.
He's 21 "already?" So, is he over-the-hill? I'd say for a guy that only spent one year at Seton Hall is doing fine. We might as well called him a sudo-H.S. Player, that wasn't quite ready.
It's simple. It would work if you substituted Odom for Griffin. griffin could score from many angles, be the 3rd scoring threat. Griffin at SF is a bad pipe dream. He can't bounce the ball more than 1 tiime before havign to pick it up.
I agree. It's much better to put a starting line up that can play together offensively. All of which can hit the outside and mid-range jumper. If you start Yao, EG, JP, CM, and SF, you'll have that. A balanced team that can score from all over the court. Having a strong bench, albeit different, is also important. MoT, Hawkings, Rice and Cato off the bench gives the Rockets a good mix of defense and offense. Remember, the 2nd group is a bench team. So, lets not expect the same level. But you still need to put a good 2nd squad on the court as well to match up with other cities bench team. You don't need Griff wasting his time coming off the bench to match up with scrubs on other teams. No, you need Griff to help defend guys like Garnett, Brand, Malone, Duncan. That's why you need the best on the court! Not because you think that it would be "neato" to use Cato at the 4 spot. Nevertheless, I'd hate for Cato to be shooting bricks all day in the 4th spot. We need that spot to produce offensively. Griff can help both defensively and offensively. Cato can not. There should be no weak points (offensively) in the starting lineup. Not if you expect to win against teams like the Mavs, Lakers, Spurs, Suns. P.S. If we were to get Daniels, Piatkowski, or Jon Barry. Man! We'd have one hell of a bench.
I'll agree with all those saying Cato is a horrible 4. We need a good backup 5 because, let's face it, Yao is going to get tired, and he's going to get tired early. Cato will play some decent minutes at the 5, but as a 4, he just cannot hang with the PFs of the West, which is, btw, one of the strongest positions today. He can't play with the big boys; just let him come off the bench and bring the rebounding he did last year.
I think playing Cato and Yao together is a good idea. I never understood why we never saw more of this last season...we'll be forced to go with this when playing LA.
No, I'm not saying "shoot, shoot, shoot" at all. Aside from running pick & rolls and other set plays, you have 2 basic scenarios. #1 -- Francis penetrates, breaks down the defense, you get ball movement to the open man. #2 -- Pass it down low to the big man (Yao). He commands a double team. Swing it around 'til you find the open man. We don't need 5 playmakers on the court. So what if EG doesn't have handles. When does he dribble anyway? And why would you want him to? And those who say Cato wouldn't make a great 4, I'm actually in agreement. I kinda think Cato starts at center, Yao plays the 4, though when you have a twin towers setup, the lines get a little blurry. Whichever gets in foul trouble, gets abused first, or simply isn't in the flow, sub him out for MoT. Then when the other twin tower needs a rest, switch the 2 out. 3 man rotation.
