This is not an anti Mobley thread. I still think Cat is one of the better 2 guards in the league but after watching Oscar the last few weeks he is starting to look more and more like what I expected from Shandon when we signed him a couple of years ago. By starting Oscar we can limit some of Cats minutes and add considerable scoring power to our bench. Oscar is not going to provide the kind of scoring that Cat can provide but he seems like a better complimentary player than Cat. The extra pass seems to be a little more natural to Oscar and with him starting along side of Steve there will be no question about who the offense is going to be run through. Oscar has also looked good finishing the break, playing close to the basket and hitting the open shot. As a team player Cat appears to force things a little and sometimes looks a little helter skelter. But when Cat decides to take over and demands the ball for himself he can dominate consistently on a level that few others can. Cat can still avg. around 30 minutes a game and have just as big an impact as a 6th man if not a bigger impact. The obvious concern to me in this scenario is can Oscar play NBA level defense consistently while averaging starters minutes? One of Cats strengths in my opinion is his defense. His rebounding is outstanding, he gets steals and blocks shots. Most of the damage from opposing 2 guards against him this year has come from the perimeter and not from driving to the basket. It looks to me like Oscar has the making of a very good defensive player but can he do it now while playing starters minutes. Cats minutes IMO must be limited, he can not go the entire year averaging 40 plus minutes a game. Are there any other thoughts on this? Could Rudy sell this to Cat?
There might be two schools of thought...Put your best to start or your best to finish...regardless, there are times when your best starts and finishes but I digress. The point is a starting player is more often than not, the better talent...The reason is it is so critical to make an effective start and have your best horses to do so. I think Oscar is a fine, fine player. In fact, I'd much, much rather have him than S.A.....no doubt. however, Cat is a soldier, a trooper,...and imho has proven himself to be a top-notch off-guard. I think there is merit in your views, but I believe in having the best to start for the team as the best strategy...
Oscar has been one helluva surprise this season so far... While I probably wouldn't start him, but I'd play Mobley less for now since his ankles are seriously hindering his play. If Oscar can keep up what he's doing for the whole season, I really think he should be playing AT LEAST 20 mpg.
The only way that Oscar will start is if Rudy decides to put him in place of Glen Rice. That might be an interesting lineup.
I don't understand where you're coming from. Starting Torres over Mobley? Torres is shooting .389 from the field and has only averaged 3.9ppg. How has he shown you he's worthy of playing over Mobley? Sure, Torres has shown improvement over the last three games, but the first couple of games of the season he was awful!
They just need to slide Cuttino to PG, and Oscar to 2, if Francis will be out for a few weeks. No way Moochie should start, he cannot run anything except 20 seconds off the shot clock consistently. Interesting question is Tier Brown, if we need another PG who goes to IR? Francis?
This is not about Oscar being better than Cat because Cat is better...period. If you would have read my post carefully you would see that I think Cat is one of the better 2 guards in the league...all star caliber. It is very difficult to come into the game ice cold 8 minutes into the game and be effective. Many players cant do it but we already know Cat can excell at that. When Cat is in the game there should be no question that he is the man in the offense. Bringing him in off the bench could provide a spark on both ends of the floor on a consistent basis that Oscar can not do at this stage of his career. Just a thought.
With Francis out for ??? games, I would like to see Oscar start at the 2 and Mobley moved to point. This combination seems to click and the ball moves a lot better than when Moochie the dribbler dominates. The team needs to learn to pass and distribute the ball a helluva lot better. Also I like Oscars defense, rebounding and good decision making on the court. Moochie dribbles against the freakin' zone for 18-20 seconds and then...and then......
I respectfully disagree. I like where you're coming from. It's an efficiency point of view. To change that ice cold 8 minutes into productive minutes. But Oscar is a rookie like any other, and being from anothe league doesn't make him any different. We're not at a stage where we can start a rookie, unless we have to. When Moochie plays with both Walt and Rice on the floor, he plays well. Usually, that would be with Francis playiing the 2 and cat on the bench. But a line up looking like this: Cato Wizard Rice Mobley Moochie Would play extremely well, simply because these guys click. Like someone else mentioned, maybe he could start at the 3 spot. Maybe he can play 20 minutes a game split between the 3 and the 2. I think Oscar Torres is very good. He's beter than Shandon. But he hasn't played in the league for 6(?) years like Shandon. Right now, the safe bet would be to go with any matchups in our favour until Francis is back. Make it a balanced offensive efort to not put much pressure on Cat. The key to winning 2 of the 5 games Francis is out of is Moochie not dribbling the clock down.
I agree, Crash, except I think Mobley should move to the point and Torres the 2 guard while SF rests out his heel on the IR. I've suffered through plantar facitis before--and let me tell you, it hurts. I was unable to walk it hurt so bad. It was my freshman year and I had a presentation to do for english...and I could only hobble on the side of my right foot. It was - bar none - the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced. Here's hoping Stevie heals his heel, and can get back to complete health...no matter how many days it takes.
I like the idea of moving Mobes to PG and starting Oscar. Oscar definitely gives us defense, and like crash said he appears to be developing into what we expected of Shandon. Remember the first year Sacramento got to the playoffs and almost knocked out the Jazz, the main player that caused the Jazz trouble was Wahad, who played phenomenal defense. I think that Torres can do that for us and tighten up the D and run the floor. Cat has experience running the point, he was the starting PG his entire rookie year here in Houston so it shouldn't hurt much to run him there. I like that lineup. Maybe it'll jump start Torres and give him some experience and confidence.
I thought Oscar played exceptionally well perticularly since he is a rookie. He made a few rookie mistakes but overall played extreamly well. I really think if we would have had a fresh Cat to provide a spark and a scoring punch at the end of the game when we went cold then we would have won. I believe Oscar could handle the starting roll as long as Cat was excepting of it and could relize the importance of having someone like him coming off of the bench as well as finishing games.
No one ever comments on it when I post but I feel Mobley could perform the starting point guard duties successfully. He has experience at this level playing the 1, he is definitely a better defender than Mooch or Steve, and is a leader. Rudy is bent on going small because he has no faith in his big people but I feel Mobes and Torres in the backcourt would reck havoc on opposing backcourts defensively. When Rudy wants to go small he could sub Mooch( although I prefer Tierre) in for a forward, moving Cat to the 2 and Torres to the 3. My 2 cents...........
