Kelvin Cato was very impressive tonight at the 4, I would say that he was the hungriest player on the court: rim-rattling dunks, hustle rebounds, and steals. AWESOME!! He's a great compliment to Yao, with him and Yao in there together, we will kill opponents on the boards night after night. Cato was really playing his heart out tonight, towards the end when he made a block on Nene (it was actually called an offensive foul) he flashed some serious intensity. Braggs--line won't show it but he was playing like he wanted it too... great pickup, that guy is jacked and an unselfish player. All hustle! Seriously, the rate this is going, the Rockets don't really need Griffin back, there are enough scorers on the team, and Cato and Braggs provide the rebounding and blocks Griffin would. Plus, higher percentage shots and more muscle on D. I mean Cato might suffer against quicker fours like Nowitzki and Garnett, but hell I don't see EG being able to cover those guys either! Yep, Yao-Cato-MoT-Braggs frontcourt = awesome. Anyway team looks good, whether EG's option is picked up or not, whatever, we don't really need him. I say just let go of the fact that he was 3 number 1s and move on.
The thing is that Cato is foul prone, plus it never hurts to have depth at PF/C. Nonetheless, I love how hard Cato plays.
Cato played well, & I've already given Braggs his due. I just hope that Braggs still gets some minutes when the others come back. It'd be a shame to see him warming up the bench. At least after what I saw tonight. Did he kick ass in the pre-season too???
actually this might have been Bragg's best game to date, but he certainly looks like he has tools. Big guy, hustles, not looking to shoot all the time, what else do need?
Props to Cato. He played well tonight - good job on the boards, impressive oops. I'd rather Cato not play more than a handful of minutes at PF with Yao though. Yes, we need rebounding and defense at PF. But we also need someone with good hands around the basket, someone with enough range on his shot so that he doesn't have to take and airball open mid-range shots that the defense gives him. I'm thrilled with Cato at backup center, but I think it's important that our starting PF be able to keep the defenses honest and pay for collapsing on Yao.
If Steve, Cuttino, and the commitee of small forwards can hit open shots, we don't really need a lot of offense from the 4 spot. I think toughness, rebounding, and good play without the ball are all extemely important to compliment Yoa's game.
WHY?? I mean, if we had Ben Wallace on our team, would you be saying the same thing? I feel like Cato can become a Ben Wallace type player on our team: get the boards, play hard defense, and provide our passers with a great inside target. I think it was Fratello who said that "Cato is the best complement to Yao because he doesn't take away his shots!" We have enough jump shooters who can keep defenses from collapsing on Yao. Now, we need a guy who's willing to put defense and rebounding first and to get out of the way when Yao has the ball. Cato needs to be a 30 min/game player for the Rockets to overachieve.
I have to say, I'm really loving this Yao/Cato/MoT power rotation. When Yao needs to rest, slide Cato to PF, and put MoT at the 4. When Cato needs to rest put Yao back in for Cato. When Mo wants tor est, bring Cato back in. Ofcourse, you needs insurance for that kind of rotation, and I think it would be great to use Griffin for that remaining 10 minutes. First of all, it would be a sort of punishment. Second of all, he'll work his way back into the system and he'll learn his role in small minutes. Finally, even if he doesn't improve, it doesn't matter, it's good enough for garbage minutes. Yao, MoT, and Cato all shoot arounf 50% from the field. That is absolutely GREAT, especially considering we have a great shooter in Pike coming back soon, and considering how much pressure that will take off Mobley and Francis.
So any word on the Rockets' decision re: extending Eddie Griffin? It's just one game, but with the preseason in mind, you've got to like the Rockets' chances even with Griffin out of the picture. Figure it'll come down to a strategic decision about his trade value. At such a small price, it'd be hard not to justify keeping him on the roster.
That's what I'm wondering...on TNT last night they said CD, Les & Co. were gonna get together after the game to make a decision. So it's probably already been made, just nobody's let the press know yet.
If I was any good at clip art I'd show a picture of Dallas Rocket eating major crow Cato has matured and is going to be a major cog this year. He is clearly our Charles Oakley and is a perfect complement to Yao. He does not demand the ball, rebounds like a fiend, and really is a smart player and excellent passer. He's a good defender at both the 4 and 5 spot and is making himself invaluable in that he play both positions. For years I railed against him and his horrible attitude and approach to the game. What a wasted $40+ m contract. Now he is in shape, happy, is a great "effort" guy, and has emerged as an enforcer and team leader. Don't know who gets the credit, put kudos to Kelvin Cato. And props to JVG for knowing how to get the best out of him. EG missing = when opportunity meets preparation. D R
I would suggest that you find a way to fully appreciate Cato without having to bring up EG. It is not difficult to do; in fact it is very easy. There are quite a few instances where down and out players come back strong, like Baker is doing; or even players like Cato who almost got run out of town, making people eat crow. So save youself from eating crow down the road and appreciate Cato and the luxury we now have of waiting for EG to sort himself out.
Wow... Vin Baker has an OK preseason and all of a sudden people are eating crow? So you're saying that if Eddie brings his game to Vin Baker 2003-2004 levels, then you're okay with that, after 3 years of f*&cking up the celtics ? That's find by me I guess... at least he doesn't make as much money as Vin Baker does.
Vip, what are you talking about? Eating crow came from Dallas Rocket who is doing so because of his previous thoughts of Cato. I was showing Baker as an example of someone who has made strides coming back. He is and will be as much a story as Cato is or will be this year. The point I am making which I hope you will get now is that we can fully appreciate Cato without talking smack about EG.
CATO???? Was that really Cato out there? Kelvin Cato? Man I hope... we can suit that Kelvin Cato up every night....
I hope Baker well be 60% of what he used to be, hell this guys was 20-10 back in the day. I don't hate EG as much as some people, hell I don't hate him at all, I'm just of the opinion that he's more screwed up than Baker ever was and if it took Baker 4+ years to get everything together (which if he has it's too early to judge), I don't think the Rockets should wait for that. We can use that roster spot for someone useful.
