Although I have seen only the Sacramento games (i.e., scrubs at the 4), I admit that Cato has been a pleasant surprise. Maybe realizing that he won't be constrained in the new system has given him a new lease on life. Well, maybe that's Pollyannish. I do know that he wasn't happy with the Steve and Cuttino show. Now we have an inside-out team. Still...hustle, hard work, rebounding and D are what we need from him. Garbage points. I will be interested to see if we can rotate Cato in for long stretches at the 4. Maybe 10 minutes as backup 5 and even more time at the 4....maybe. Give Mo the bulk of minutes at the 4. If Eggie Headcase decides he wants to play again, fine. My only worry is, Will Kelvin Mr. Glass Cato show up again?
With Yao and any PF on our roster, the Spurs would defend by putting Rasho on Yao and Duncan on the PF.
If Dirk is too mobile for Cato, I think u can say the same thing about Webber, Duncan too. Do you see Duncan or Webber going outside guarding dirk? No i don't think so.
For those worried about Cato's footspeed vs the Nowitski's of the NBA, I have one word for you - zone. A back line of 7'6", 6'11" and 6'9" (Nachbar) is tall and very formidable at defensive rebounding. For a real gimmicky zone, put AGriffin at the SF and run a 3-2 matchup or 2-1-2 with Griffin in the middle of either. (Griffins role in either zone would be similar to Najera at Dallas - a box and a designated pest).
This new tandem of Yao and Cato reminds of Dream and Otis Thorpe. Yao is similar to Dream in that he has the outside shooting ability and more offensive options than Cato. Though we know Yao is not currently at a Dream status... in years, he me be very close. Cato is Similar to OT in that he is strong, has almost no shooting range, but goes after the high percentage shots and is a very good defender. Now if only Cato can make those one-handed passes down the court like Otis used to... that would be nice. I know that overall Dream and OT averaged a much higher combination of points per game avg, but when I saw this new front court combination it just made me reminiscent of a memorable pair that made Houston proud.
Yao posted on his BBS regarding the 'twin tower' idea - He thinks Cato's speed is definitely not a concern. The defense is much better with Cato in the lineup. Cato will definitely get many rebounds which will also contribites to the offense.
Good post. I think that 'Cato and Yao' together is awesome. I just can't wait until later in the season when they are tight like butt cheeks. They have done great so far and this is just the beginning of them starting to gel. Just think about next year or the year after when we are contenders. They should be lots of fun to watch. This looks to be a good thing.
It's a great line up @ the 4 and 5 spot that wasn't even tried last year, but I know i thought about it a lot last season. It could probably be the best interior defense in the league, but it really hurts the depth that we dont have due to injury and a stupid, stoned power forward named Eddie Sniffin.
If that matchup is right it can work. I believe Cato and Yao together will be part of the rotation, maybe we will see the set 20 minutes a game. I like it personally. Cato starting maybe a stretch but he still will get close to starters minutes, if he is considered 1 of the 3 "bigs" which they are referred to.
CATOµÄËٶȾø¶Ô²»ÊÇÎÊÌ⣬·ÀÊØʱËûµÄÄÃÊÖ¾ø»î¡£ÓÉËûÔÚ£¬ÎÒÃǵÄÄÚÏß·ÀÊغöàÁË¡£ÖÁÓÚ´ó¼Ò˵µÄ½ø¹¥ÎÊÌ⣬ËûÇÀÁËÐí¶à½ø¹¥Àº°å£¬ÄÇÒ²ÊǺܺõÄÊֶΰ¡ That is what Yao himself said in his BBS regarding the twin tower. The speed is not a problem for Cato. He is really good at defense. Our paint D improves a lot due to his existing. As for his offsensive problem, he did grab a bunch of offsive rebounds, which is good offsensive method too.
