During the course of the game last night Cato touched the ball an alarming 2 or 3 times in the offensive flow. He converted 2 of the shots. His one miss was off of an offensive rebound. The Rockets must get him involved somewhat in the offense. He is not even getting touches and being able to pass back out. The simply do not pass to him. In order to keep guys mentally in the game, they must be able to participate on both ends. Granted the Rockets don't need Cato to score a lot, but when he is not even an option, it's got to affect him. I was glad to read in another thread that Cato is getting pi$%ed when being taken out of the game. He was playing well and was an inside defensive presence. He altered a lot of shots. Notice the "points in the paint" last night, the Rockets dominated (probably ended up around 50-20). O'Neal and Harrington had nice scoring games, but most of their points were in the 8-15 foot range. ------------------
Prepare to be laffed at . . *giggle* I think Cato should involve himself ALA Rodman and Ceballos be a garbage man . .. get rebounds and put backs!! Rocket River Cato . . . the big 0 or is O? ------------------
Laugh all you want, but when your teammates just flat out do not pass you the ball (either by design, or in the general flow) it's hard to get involved. When they run isolation plays and your job is to stand at the top of the key out of the way, it's hard to get offensive rebounds. ------------------
I agree he should get a few more touches, but not many more. He's a nice option on the isolations when he is put on the weak side baseline. Mobley can drive and if he gets cut off Cato will be sitting on the baseline for the feed. I've seen that work in the past. Would like to see it more often. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Rogers doesn't need touches to get involved. The very last thing I would do with this team is design a play for Cato.
Great point!! Rogers gets NO TOUCHES NOR CALLS and yet finds a way to get open for dunks and layups. Cato should follow his lead, but then again that would mean playing hard and earning your check. OH WELL! ------------------
Cato wasn't brought here for his offense. The rockets want him to grow as a defensive player, not as an offensive player. The only shots Cato should be taking are dunks or layups, like Los does. I hope one of the rockets coaches work with him on his rebounding technique, because he loses many rebounds due to faulty technique. He tries to corral it in with one hand, resulting in him losing the ball, like the play where Foster ended up getting the ball. ------------------
I agree that for the most part the only shots Cato should take are dunks and layups, however, he needs to occasionally get the ball in his hands from a teammate in order to do that. Note that the title of this thread is that Cato needs to be "somewhat" involved. I don't expect 10-15 shots a game, but just passing him the ball once in a while will help, even if he doesn't take a shot. If you have a tape of last night's game, watch it again and see that Cato got 0 touches on offense (from his teammates) except for a couple of dunks off Francis passes. Regardless of your role on the team, you do like to be involved in the flow of the offense (as opposed to rebounds/put backs) every now and then. ------------------
bobrek: Giving Cato touches is like playing Russian roullette. There are just *so* many places where he can screw up. His awful hands, for example, might fudge the pass. His sub-par dribbling might result in a turnover. His inability to hit jump shots might result in a missed shot. Just too many ways to go wrong for too little reward. Let him prove himself as a garbage man... then let him get touches. Cato wouldn't be the first to succeed w/o getting many touches. ------------------ Boston College - Big East -East Division Regular Season Champs Worst to First in 2001!
Cato was brought to Houston because of his toughness, his ability to play 82 games a year, and lead the league in rebounding. So far Id say hes doing a swell job. ------------------ "Chucky who?" Charles Barkley
Is it just me or does Cato seem to be hitting his free throws at a higher rate? I remember in the past I'd cringe at the thought of him going to the line, but lately he's been swishing them. (After reading more threads I see I'm not the only who noticed this) I should just read everything before I make these posts. [This message has been edited by Band Geek Mobster (edited March 15, 2001).]
And he hit some clutch free throws as well. With the Rockets making their last run for OT, down 8, he managed to drill both FTs to cut it to six. There is a big difference between seven points and six points. Great job by Cato. I expect his rebounding to soar, and for him to stay at 8-11 the rest of the year. ------------------ -Turn......Tweak, or whatever else you want to call me! [This message has been edited by ZRB (edited March 15, 2001).]
FOR THE RECORD How are Cato's Handles. . . . Could he possible back someone down? How is his post up Cause THOSE THE ONLY PLAYS I CAN SEE HIM DOING ANYWAY Rocket River ------------------
