I saw Cato play at the OSU game tonight and we are definitely NOT set at the 5 spot. He made way too many mistakes to even consider letting him start. He played so awful during the game, he wasn't even good enough to play back up. With every shot on defense, he would jump about 3 feet up in the air on every pump fake and then land on them. On one play, he fouled the heck out of Derek Anderson on a 3 pointer. He wasnt bad at rebounding, but he couldnt score worth a lick and every pass would result in a turnover. Not to mention, he got knocked down on one play and hurt his wrist. Collier isnt even in good playing shape, I thought he was going to look muscular after all his weight training this summer, but it looks like he weighs around 300 pounds. Marc Jackson would have pretty much solved all our problems and then added some needed offense as well. What are our options? Without solving our HUGE problem at the 5, there is no chance in hell that we will make the playoffs. Any chance we can pull off any trades for a big center?
Well, the Rockets got to make do with what they have. They have Cato and Collier. I doubt that Mason will play here for the < 4.5 M he desires. I do have faith though in CD to make the right move though.
I was actually pleased with Cato's performance. He got 10 boards, 5 points and 1 block in 27 minutes. If he gave us 10 boards every night, I think most posters on this site would be very pleased. We don't need him to score, we need him to control the paint and rebound. I do agree that Collier leaves alot to be desired.
Looking at his overall picture this preseason, I have to disagree. Cato has been playing pretty good considering the preseason. He has been serving his purpose, we don't need him to score to much. If your only looking at that one game, you need to look at all games from this preseason, he's been pretty consistant. He needs a little brushing up, but so does some other players. It's just preseason, I expect him to give alot more for the regular season. We don't need him injured.
I understand your reservations, DaneB. Cato did make a LOT of mental mistakes last night...particularly after he would make a good rebound or block. He would attempt to pass the ball upcourt, only to end up passing right to a Blazer. But, to me the important factor here is that these were <b>mental</b> mistakes, and not merely a lack of effort. Cato was really trying last night, and he is not up for a new contract any time soon. I think he might just be prepared to try hard for our team this season, and the mental mistakes will slowly weed themselves out. (The ball fake thing I have given up on...he goes for every one, without fail).
