What color is morose? Lay off Cato, he has been playing well for us lately. Yes he is grossly overpaid when compared to other positions in the NBA but centers are the hardest to find and thus get paid ridiculous amounts for being tall. If we go down the list of centers in the league and compare contracts then you will see Cato when on the court is a better player than most. Would we rather have: Eric Dampier Greg Ostertag Chris Dudley Dean Garret Greg Foster Travis Knight Will Perdue Luc Longley Brad Miller Patrick Ewing Shawn Bradley Micheal Doleac Andrew Declerq Jason Caffey Ervin Johnson Mark Blount Vitaly Potapenko Evan Eschmeyer(is this Kevins brother) Matt Geiger Jahidi White Chris Mihm Reggie Slater Iakovos Tsakalidis That leaves Shaq Mr Robinson Ratlif Dikembe Olajuwon Ben Wallace Divac Mourning Jermain O'neal Sabonis Those are the only true centers that are better than Cato. Others such as Camby and Marc Jackson or Brian Grant play center but aren't true centers. None of the players that I listed on the first bracket would I rather have had. I am not happy with Cato but since true-centers are so rare Cato became so much more valuable. If we didn't give Cato that contract some team like Chicago would have, leaving us with nothing in return. At this point we can still trade Cato or keep him. I prefer keeping him as we don't know if DREAM will be back next year. There are a lot of better rebounding centers and there are a lot of centers who are better scorers but what this team needs is an inside force and no one ever questioned that about Cato. He might fall for headfakes but if anyone remembers Dream from 85-90 remembers Dream falling for a lot of pumpfakes. Give the b*stard more time and then we will see. ------------------ ``It's bigger than chalupas,''.....Wesley Person
Umm, I'm not sure I get your point TB-Cain, but I'll play along. Yes, Mo has more talent than a blind squirrel. Good point! ------------------ I am an invisible man.
Cato has not played well overall his whole career but point blank that is a flat out stupid comparison comparing Cato to Camby. First of all Camby is not that good and because he plays for the Knicks he gets away with countless calls. Cato does stink but Camby is not as good as say he is so get off his balls o.k. Your better off coming out just saying Cato is terrible but to jump all over Camby's pimple face back is just silly. Almu I know you are a knicks supporter nowadays but give it up Camby is not that good. ------------------
i got it. you want him to actually look like he's trying out there? if that's the case, i'd agree with you, but you do realize people said the same things about robert horry when he was here. now you clamor for horry of old. i know it's frustrating, almu. we've been seriously spoiled in this area. but i really believe that kelvin cato's brother is NOT sam bowie. all he has to do, in terms of roles, is cut weakside baseline, run the floor, and crash the boards on both sides. i don't care if he never develops a 15 footer (although he really does have decent form). i'd be happy with a jim peterson jump hook. and i still think he'll do it. and if i'm wrong? some team will STILL want him. sounds crazy, but i think i'm right. ------------------ Lt. Roastabotch reporting for duty!
Coach...err Costasman, Not only do I DESPISE THE KNICKS, but I wish that they lose for the rest of eternity times infinity times infinity squared! But CoachCostas, I know you think otherwise. I do like Jordan, though! I think he was a hell of a player! And don't you mean that the Lakers get countless calls? ------------------ Sleepless in the Bronx See Homepage for reason. [This message has been edited by Almu (edited March 09, 2001).]
Almu-You're in New York, right? Wasn't just about everybody calling for Camby's head last year, until his ECF Playoff performance? ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
I wish I had gotten into this conversation earlier, but anyways... Almu, bottom line is, cato never had the chance to show everyone the NEW outlook. remember the beginnign of the season with all the expectations? He never got the chance to show it off. About camby, I think a point should be made here that if Cato were playing for Van Gundy, he'd be producing a lot more too. this goes for Pat Riley as well. The best example is Ike Austin. they made him look great, when he isn't. Thing is, Cato has so much ability, he just needs to be freed from dream's shadow, get proper conditioning, get real playing time, and finally be injury free. Even then, as a fifth option, I don't see him scoring more than 11ppg. He's the FIFTH option, and 11ppg is great for a 5th option. I'd be extremely content with: 11ppg 9rpg 3bpg For us, that would be the perfect intimidating presence inside. As long as he's not letting the easy layups get in, he's fine. ONE more chance Almu, give him something like 30 injury free games, and he'll prove it... ------------------
Nah, I'll one up you. He should be averaging double digit rebounds. ------------------ Founding Father of the Refs Suck Club
Cato just needs minutes. If you think about it, he really hasn't seen much of the new offense either. If I recall correctly he was playing in the "old" offense for most of his time in Houston. So let's give him a chance to get adjusted before we throw any labels on him. Francis is just now picking up how to score in the new offense. Cato is going to need some time just the same. Ask Karl Malone if Cato is a good defender.... ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Yeah, I saw a couple of times Cato got waved out of his area 'cause he was in the wrong place for the Iso play. What sucks is these Iso plays keep him out near the 3 point line to clear the big defender out, but that leaves us with no one underneath for the rebound. I remember one particular drive by Norris which he bricked, and the 5 closest guys to the ball were all Clippers. We gotta do something about that. ------------------ Founding Father of the Refs Suck Club
No, Nikestrad. The reason SOME wanted him gone is because he was always injured. But when he played he made significant contributions in little time. Also, the ex-GM Ernie Grunfeld, who is now in Milwaukee, made the trade and to get him here and most experts agreed all along that it was a steal and all that Camby needed was time. Well, they fired Grunfeld but during an interview before he left, he said to "Mark my words. Camby will make an impact." Vindication. I don't see Rudy or Carroll saying to wait for Cato to develop. They are trying to trade him unlike the GM and Coach in NY. The fans wanted him gone. Not the team. Especially Houston who lobbied hard to have him stay. ------------------ Sleepless in the Bronx See Homepage for reason.
ok, I just want to make this a little more fair... PPG: 11.1 RPG: 11.5 BPG: 2.28 FG%: .525 MinPer: 32.5 Cato: PPG: 3.8 x3 =11.4 RPG: 2.9 x3 =8.7 BPG: 0.81 x3 =2.43 FG%: .556 =.556 MinPer: 13.4 x3 =40.2 If he had more playing time, I dont think he would look quite so statisticly poor ------------------ Hanta-Force Paintball www.hanta-force.com
almu, i get what you're saying. and once cato gets 35-40 minutes per game, i will expect the same #s. maybe a little lower on the pts, like 12ppg and 2.5 bpg. can you do the same? cause the truth is that he won't be in game shape until the WCF, and we won't be there. ------------------ Lt. Roastabotch reporting for duty!
Yeah, Camby makes more (5.75 mill) than Cato's 5.33. Camby is in the midst of a 6 year 39 million dollar contract, that started last year, and the last year being a 7.75 million dollar team option for 04/05. Cato's contract, 6 years 42 million, has a total value of only 3 mill more, ends one year later, and makes less by year in comparison up until 04/05, where he makes .25 more. If you include the NBA inflation, their contracts are about equal. It also makes the comparison unequal-Camby hasn't started to perform till the 2nd year of his contract, while Cato is still in his 1st year. You expect Cato to be 15-10-3 for the money, and are slamming him, while praising Camby who makes near equal money, is getting 11-11.5-2 in his 5th season, compared to Cato in his 4th season. I don't particularly like Cato. Physically, he is in incredible shape, and has ideal size, compared to Camby's toothpick like frame. I've thought he's played much better the past 2 games (though that may be compared to not playing at all). I would not be heartbroken to see Cato packing his bags (for, ahem, Raef Lafrentz). But, Cato is not completely worthless. If you were to start a team, salary cap and all, and you needed a center, and it came to Cato, Dampier, Ostertag, or Reeves, it's Cato, no question. ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
You're right. He's always hiding on the bench hoping coach doesn't call his name. And when he's on the court, he's always the last one across midcourt and he doesn't try to rebound, 9 just fell in his lap the other night. He's was just trying to get out of the way when he stuffed Miles last night, right? And biting on fakes? I seem to remember a certain MVP that did the same thing in the Western Conference Finals back in 95. Come on, guys. Stop looking at the world through your morose colored glasses. Sometimes, he's the ONLY one putting up any pressure in the backcourt. ------------------ "We're growling more...I would not say it's a growl. It's not a purr either." -- Rudy T.
A blind squirrel can find a nut every once in while. BTW, didn't Muggsy Bogues block 39 shots in his career? ------------------ I am an invisible man.
I stand corrected on Camby(salary). That's my fault. He is earning that shiznet, though. Also, whether its the first year of the contract or whatever, you have to show some pulse out there. ------------------ Sleepless in the Bronx See Homepage for reason. [This message has been edited by Almu (edited March 09, 2001).]
