It's just after halftime, and Shaq has 25 and 9. Yao Min and Kelvin Cato are either the best or second best C rotation in the entire league, especially defensively. I thought Shaq was getting old the way he played against us, but it turns out we're just so damn good on inside defense. Cato stays IMO. Everyday he's earning more and more of his contract. If he puts in one more similar year with a higher FG%, his value will shoot up, and he'll be on the last year of his contract, and Yao will have improved his stamina - we'll probably be able to trade him for a major piece. So regardless of anything else, Cato stays, and Yao obviously isn't going anywhere. Now we need to focus on getting someone other than Mo Taylor to start at PF, since Cato will be backing up the 4 and the 5 extensively. Damn. 25 and 9 on Nesterovic, Duncan and Greg Poppovic's Spurs? What was his line in the last game? 30 and 16 I believe? So now the list of people we shouldn't trade stretches to Yao Cato Boki JJ That's about it, isn't it?
If Cato is wanted in a trade a star then I would move him, but for a role player no. Nobody knows how Yaos stamina will be next year and Cato is probably one of the better centers in the nba.
Cato does a great job at guarding Shaq. He knows his moves or somthing. He is always there to draw charges, block his shots, or pull the chair etc. Ofcourse, he does tend to get in foul trouble pretty badly. ....another chance for me to say **** Karl Malone. We had our chances.
i think he got maybe two layups from the half court set the whole series. either jumpers from outside the paint, or fast break layups. i just don't think anyone can really successfully post up against us.
We don't afraid of strong froneline to post up, we can even manhandle Shaq, but we also have huge problems facing frontline with mobility. Yao and Cato have the same problem, and their defense rotation is slow. That is the result you use two centers as your frontline on the court at the same time.
It's also why we need a mobile PF (I think GATER mentions this often) to cover up for Yao's lack of lateral speed. Look at Malone's FG% over the past few years, he's not the inside player that he used to be, except for Game 4, where he ate us up. I would move Cato ONLY in a case where the trade brings back a starter that's CLEARLY better than the previous starter we had. For example, if Cato and Mobley could get us Al Harrington and Scot Pollard, let's go. Harrington is a young, solid starter who could be absolutely deadly if he adds some range to his game. However, if it's for... Kurt Thomas? Hell no. I don't think he's much better than MoT or Cato. If it's for Austin Croshere? No way. Only a SOLID starter would convince me otherwise. Cat oneeds to stay one more season, then get traded. The important thing is for him to work hard on his shot this summer, although we shouldn't expect major improvement, while also getting into even betetr shape for next season to improve his mobility. Basically, he needs to trim a little bit of fat, and come into camp the way Kenny Thomas did a few years ago. BTW, Shaq is averaging something like 26/13 with a couple of blocks and a couple of assists in the San Antonio series. Not to mention shooting around 55% from the field. (All estimations) I don't think he was anything more than 19/14/2 on 50% shooting. That's pretty damn good, but we all know he's way better than that. I would be so damn ecstatic if we could somehow get rid of MoT (I don't care what we get in return) and snatch Swift away from the Grizzlies. My God, after watching a few games of him, I was absolutely delighted to see that Swift can hit the 15-footer at a VERY decent clip, and that's without a dominant player on the court. Great mobility, terriffic rebounding and shotblocking, as well as superb athleticism (somethign we need more of). I also want to add that I'm thrilled with what JVG has done for our defense. Once he's gone, these things won't go away. We may play less defense than now, but the mark of a good team is when they know how and when to put the clamps down. The Rockets know how, now they just need a coach who will teach them WHEN to really put the clamps down, and when to execute the offense. Someone like Larry Brown, Rudy T, or Mike Dunleavy.
Shaq is averaging 27 ppg, 14 rpg, 4.5 bpg on 67% shooting in the LA-SA series so far. SA center is averaging 7.8 ppg so far the in the series. That SA got dominated at center position is the the main reason that the series is tied at 2-2 right now. If Yao had played for the Spurs, they would have easily been 3-1 now and will be able to wrap up the series tomorrow night. Shaq outscored Yao by 1ppg in LA-HN series, and outscored Rasho by nearly 20 ppg.......and yet Spurs is able to tie the series at 2-2 and we did not have a chance against LA. The talent level between Rockets and Spurs are just like night and day.
actually... talent level? not as far as you might think. pieces that fit and cohesiveness? that's night and day.
I'm assuming Boki is on your "no trade" list because he's not tradable. i don't think you could give that guy away... i also think that Cato is a great asset to the rockets as a back-up center. however, he's a HUGE liablity at PF. opposing teams have absolutely no reason to cover him allowing double-teams on Yao and others.
You must be joking right? Brand is not significantly quicker than Cato. Definitely quicker, but not quick enough. I love Brand, would LOVE to have him, but he's not the "quick" PF I'm talking about. We need a Rasheed, Kenyon, or Swift type of player. Someone with a mean streak, is quick and athletic. As for Boki, I wouldn't trade him. He's earned a spot on this team just for ripping Malone's shirt.
although he has a fairly hefty price tag, i think we should go after Malik Rose...he's devalued right now and i think we could snag him for MoT. Rose is not as good a one-on -one player, but he's far superior in rebounding, defense, hustle, and i believe, passing...plus he knows how to eploit a defenses that load up on the opposite post player.
No, they have Tim Duncan who is the second most dominant player in the league. Without Timmy, the spers would be a top five team. In the lottery, that is.
I would love to have Swift. He has great quickness for his size, and he can get up for some blocks -- didn't he block a couple of Yao's shots in a game? Before he played us in those games this year, I thought he was still the same old Swift who spent most of his time bricking layups, but I was surprised to see that he has added a consistant jumper and inside game. Althought Cato with a jumper would do as well...
