than Kevin Willis? I know you might look in the box score and see that Kevin produced more points but Kelvin cato is actually trying out there now. Other times he would fake it like he cared but now he really looks like hes pissed and plays strong. I still think he doesnt deserve half of what he got, but if he can keep up the intensity then other good things might come out of him.
I'm a novice posting at this board, but from what I've seen, Cato did not aggressively go for loose balls where Hakeem would have during this game. Cato is flabby, lazy and without fire. Maybe the lazy part is too harsh.
Please. Kelvin Cato always plays like that against the elite Western Conference teams (Spurs, Lakers). He played great, but until we play one of those teams again it's back to normal. He may have a decent game against other teams every now and then, but not near enough. It seems Shaq and Duncan are the only people that get him motivated.
I think Cato played better when he b****ed at the refs, he is far to docile now, seems almost NICE on the court. I WANT THE WHINER BACK, at least he cared then. DaDakota
HA! Cato's hands are probably the only hands on the team worse than Willis'. When was this, highschool?
I think Willis played much better than Cato tonight and most nights. Tonight, Willis actually put a body on Shaq whereas Cato let Shaq catch the ball and make a move with little to no resistance. Brocktoon - You make a very good point. Neither of our centers can catch and finish. Willis and Cato fumbled away countless passes tonight under the basket. And when they didn't fumble them away, they allowed soft fouls from guards to disrupt their finish and proceeded to miss foul shots. Kenny Smith on TNT summed it up when he said the Rockets provide very little resistance in the middle, allowing their opponent to get to the basket with ease. I realize I am stating the obvious when I say we desperately need a five with good hands who can finish, rebound and block a few shots. Maybe we will find him in the Lottery
Bay Rock, Maybe Eddie Griffin will mature and add weight and be that 5 we are looking for...at least I hope so... DaDakota
Bay Rock, when u mentioned that K Smith sd that Rockets provided no resistance to Shaq's Paint play, it seemed that Cato gave up the 2 pts to Shaq so that he would not foul. But there was no intimidation. Would he ever intimidate Shaq during the game? It never happened. Philosophy: If you are not respected by the giants. Make your mark early, so that u can intimidate and confuse the opponent. However, Cato never made his mark.
DaDakota / Wakko67 You may be right, but at 6'9"-6'10" he may be a little undersized to play center in the west. In addition, if his future is at the 5, he needs to stop camping out at the 3 pt. line and develop a post game. He's only 19, so time will tell us whether he's a 4 or 5. But, as it relates to today, he is a 4 and we are in desperate need of a legitimate 5.
Posted by alouuu alouuu K Smith's comments included Shaq's play in the post as well as other Lakers who routinely drove to the basket with little resistance, i.e. Kobe. I have league pass so I watch most of the Rockets games. Calvin Murphy routinely states that Cato should not save fouls, you can't take them with you. Leave the fouls on the floor. While Cato may not be able to intimidate Shaq, he can definitely make Kobe think twice before coming down the lane. Protect the basket!
simple answer: Yes. Willis is far preferable to Cato. In the real world, at least. I could try more than 11.6% of the time.
Why are some of you saying Cato sucked against Shaq tonight. Shaq was 5-15 at one point and couldn't have finished much better. I thought Cato did a good job of keeping his body between Shaq and the basket and more than once stayed down on a pump fake and then went up and challenged the shot. And when Shaq scored it's just because he's huge and can make close shots a lot. I don't know the rebounding numbers for Cato tonight but he seemed like he got quite a few. Anyway, until Willis or Cato get any kind of hands I will cringe everytime I see the ball go their direction.
I did not see the game tonight, but I think I can say in safety that Cato consistently sucks. He might have a good game now and then, and Shaq might have a bad one, but... Shaq is pretty consistent the other way.
Like I sd b4, I only watch the Rockets on TNT. But from what I saw, Cato did not intimidate anyone. As for Shaq, we, the Rockets, were just fortunate the Lakers did not give Shaq the rock enough into the paint. The Lakers were probably giving the outside shooters some practice time during a lesser team like us. And they capitalized! Just an observation, b/c I also luv the Rockets.
IMHO Willis has more heart and desire than Cato. I`ll take the guy with these 2 very important intangibles over a broody malcontent anyday
