So, you think Cat's erratic shooting deserves for him to be benched? Here's some SG's with lower shooting percentages than Cuttino: Michael Jordan Allen Iverson Paul Pierce Vince Carter Derek Anderson Jerry Stackhouse Penny Hardaway Larry Hughes David Wesley Should we bench all of these players too? I know some might say that they "bring other things to the table", but lets use Paul Pierce as an example. Virtually identical steals and assists to Cuttino's, a lower shooting percentage, more shots per game, not regarded as a star defender. The only thing he really does better than Cuttino statistically is grab 3 more rebounds per game. Does he deserve to be benched after an off-shooting night?
I think I said we should trade him about 3 months ago. Man, has he proven me wrong. I still hope that he gets a little better at shot selection, though. Sometimes the dude still jacks up some shots that make me go "HUH???". But, geez, what a run this guy is having right now!
So I guess its time for us Cuttino fans to do a little I told you so in here too. here is an interesting bit of info and I want it to stand up against some of the rediculous comments have heard around here. There is still this freakish myth that Cuttino should come off the bench as a 6th man. To be, as they say an instant offence. well suck on this you wierdos. cuttino currently ranks as the 18th scorer in the LEAGUE. so 17 guys score more than he does. there are what, 29 teams out there and cuttino is the 18th leading scorer. there are something like 15 teams that dont even have one 20+ scorer on it, and we have 2. you people that want your instant offence from uttino off the bench would likely ask the same from Kobe if he was traded to us some how. I mean, he would create instant offence off the bench right??? the logic of some people is just crazy
Bahahaha... please. Paul Pierce even with his poor showing this year is a career 44% shooter which is better than Cat. He also is averaging 26 points per game which is about 5 points higher than Cat's highest ever. So all he goes is grab 3 more rebounds huh?
If Cat took as many shots as Pierce did, he could average 26 points per game. The past is gone, but even if you think it matters, Pierce's FG% for his career is a whole 1 percent higher than Cuttino's. I'm sure that's going to decide a lot of games...
Cat, you're underselling Pierce hugely. I'd almost put Pierce up with the Bryant/Carter/McGrady triad. Indeed, he might eve n be better than Carter, since he plays good defense. The Celtics are winning... with a below average C, a below average SF, and a slightly below average PG. And don't tell me their bench is making a huge difference. Antoine isn't bad... but he also jacks up more 3's than some entire teams... and he isn't exactly a good shooter from behind the arc. And his defense is incredibly lazy at times. And he's a ball hog. Pierce is the reason that team's winning. He can get his shot off against anyone, drive, has range, can even post up a bit. He also plays better defense than Cat.
Sure man. The past is gone so we'll focus on everyone's last game. (In my best Kevin Harlan voice) Cat is a SUPER HERO!!!!! Who's to say that if Cat took as many shots as Paul Pierce who is now the Celtics #1 option and the third leading score in the whole league, that Cat would sustain his field goal %? A lot of people here have been glad to show how badly Cat's FG% went down in Stevie's absence when he was forced to be the #1 scoring option. And who's to say that if Pierce took Cat's amount of shots that Pierce's shooting % would go up? Last year Pierce scored 25 points/game and shot 45.4%. Both numbers are clearly higher than anything Mobley has ever put up. Cat last year scored 19.5 points and shot 43.4%, his best season. You can be all up on top of the Mobley bandwagon right now, he's hot so some of you are all giddy with excitement. When all's done and the smoke clears, we'll see where Mobley's numbers end up and see what lottery pick we get.
When did I say focus on just the last game? This season is a lot more than one game. BTW, comparing Cat without Steve to Pierce in a normal game is just ridiculous. Pierce has another top scoring option to take some of the pressure off of him in Antoine Walker. Cat has no one when Steve is out. I don't consider Pierce scoring five more points per game that much of an accomplishment when he takes more shots from the field. I also don't think one to two percent in field goal shooting makes the difference in many games. BTW, if Antoine Walker missed the same amount of time for the Celtics that Steve Francis missed for us, I guarantee you the Celtics would be in the lottery as well. Personally, I think Walker, not Pierce, is the Celtics MVP.
You said the past is gone, implying that it doesn't matter. It seems to me this thread is all about Cat's last game or play very recently which is why I made the statement regarding his last game. It's easy to start threads glorifying and trashing players based on one game. Let's see where his season ends up. You don't consider Pierce scoring 5 more points a game an accomplishment and the fact that he's averaging 3 more rebounds a game doesn't seem to impress you either. M...kay buddy.
It was Golden State he beat at the buzzer after the Rockets had blown a big lead. It was the 2nd game of his rookie year, he sat out the first one. Just thought I would get the record straight...carry on... DD
Cuttino is a good player. i don't think he is better than pierce. but a good player, a think it is unbeliveble he made the winning 3 pointer in its first nba game, and please don't forget he is a second round pick. a don't know many second round picks that play as good as cutinno, Francis is the best player in this team, an with him mobley is Verry dangerous for other teams, they can't let Mobley be open. so don't ever bench him. he is a great shooter and nobody can guard him. if he learns to make smatter shots and play defense, we have a super trio in the future.
I agree that Francis is a better player than Mobley, but the more and more I watch the Rockets the more I realize that Mobley is a better scorer, and I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be our #1 scoring option right now with the current personnel. Mobley's a better 3-pointer shooter than Steve, he can shoot better off the dribble, he can pull the trigger quicker, and he's better at creating shots for himself. And since Mobley is more wirey than Steve he's even better at finishing the ball on the drive. I probably can only name three to five players in the entire NBA who can do the same things Mobley can on the offensive end. Some of the shots he makes are incredible! Actually, I think the Rockets are currently doing it right. Mobley averages about one more shot than Steve per game. I do wish he would make better decisions sometimes. I guess 2.6 turnovers is bad for a SG, but Steve gets 4.0 turnovers a game! Here's a list of shooting guards who average the same or more Turnovers than Mobley per game: Vince Carter, Bonzi Wells, Tracey McGrady, Larry Hughes, Kobe Bryant, Sprewell Latrell, Michael Jordan, Anfernee Hardaway, Jerry Stackhouse, Allen Iverson. So, turnovers aren't really too big of a problem. Having said all this, I wish Mobley would let the shots come to him sometimes rather than trying to force it. That's the only problem I really have with Cuttino. I'm still hopeful he'll learn that one day.
Cuttino is just as good of an offensive player as Pierce. He's not as good an all-around player as Pierce. If we must compare the two players, I think that sums it up.
Timing likes to argue about Cat. I think he's trying to convince everybody that he stinks and we should release him this summer...not even worth a trade. Anyway, Cat's #'s are good...anyway you look at it. Any stat you throw out there, there is a very reputable bunch that he's better than. So you at least can't say he's bad. And you can't argue that he and Steve cause the other team fits...esp when he's hot...which recently is often. A little team stability and we're in good shape. Cat is still learning too. His two biggest area's of improvement need to be shot selection and defense. These are two things that he can easily improve. It's not as if he needs to extend his shooting range or learn a drop-step (ahem...Cato). By his 6-7th year, he'll be a real veteran. I look forward to seeing Cat play in his prime esp. if we have a good team. And yes...he has NOT hit his prime yet. Anybody considering trading a player like Cat before his prime needs a brain check.
I think too many of us are trying to say Mobley is a bad defensive player. I personnally don't think that is true. But I would say he has physical limitations in guarding the eleite offensive SGs, i.e. he is not a great defensive player. Kobe is too quick for him to guard solo. He is too small to guard many of the bigger 2/3 like McGrady, Carter, etc. That becomes a match up problem for the Rockets. When we play the 3/4 guard option we end up with 2-3 match up problems defensively.
care to tell us who CAN guard McGrady or Kobe or Carter consistently? while you're at it, do you care to tell us who CAN guard mobley consistently? no one can check an elite 2 guard. and mobley is an elite 2 guard.
