Cuttino Mobley: Where Do You Stand Regarding Him???

Mobley is a good player, just not a smart guy. He also doesn't seem willing to listen to anyone, except our favorite all-time Rocket, Scottie Pippen.

Mobley will have to be a smarter player for the Rockets to win.

I think Mobley will always be a 15-20 ppg scorer, but he won't be a winner until he puts more effort into other aspects of the game besides complaining to refs, and shooting bad shots.

I love his attitude of wanting the last shot, but I do not want him taking the shots if they are 30 ft jumpers.

He's an ok guy to have, but there are too many flaws with him that makes me think we could do better with someone else.

 

I just have to ask, what would prompt you to make such an assertion? Have you been in the huddle lately on the bench?

Who doesn't he listen to, and what instances can you cite as examples?

 

If you've watched any Rockets games over the past 2 years, you would see that Rudy would be "yelling" or pleading something to Cuttino, usually after a bad shot.

I haven't really noticed any improvement on Cuttino's stupid play from the last 2 years.

Also, Barkley's comments, and Mobley's reaction over the last week lets me know that Mobley seems to "choose" who he listens to. The fact that he "chose" to listen to Pippen makes me wonder how smart this guy really is.

If you think he does what Rudy tells him to, then you are sadly mistaken.

 

I am too biased because I met and hung out with the guy.

Honestly I think he is a great player who is continuing to learn and has not even come close to hitting his peak. Only time will tell, but as of recently he has been pretty damn solid.

Over the past month and a half I dont think you can really criticize the guy too much, as he has been the teams most consistent and reliable scorer. He doesnt make the costly turnovers too often and he is the best free throw shooter on the team by far at 84.2%.

 

IMO Mobley is at his best when he is able to operate within the flow of the game, as opposed to being given ISO's. His best offensive moments tend to occur when comming off of screens and driving, while mixing in the occasional J. I do think, however, that his shot has gotten better, and I'm impressed with his ability to get his quick 'kinda-set' shot off with smooth/astheticly pleasing form when guarded by bigger players. Despite the fact that I like to watch him shoot, however, I don't think he can be as good as he could as long as he considers himself 'a jumpshooter'.

I'd also would have liked to see him get backup minutes at PG, as I have been impressed with him when he brings the ball down the court, and I think that he can dominate defensively with his quickness and spidery reach when he is matched up with smaller players.

In my worldview, I still see him as the prototypical 6th man type guy. I'd love them to set a tone with big, physical defenders to start the game, and run Cat in there to score/adjust the tempo as the matchups fit at either PG or SG.

I believe, however, that Cat is very underrated by many Rockets fans/NBA fans. I think he's a similar, yet better player than someone like Derek Anderson, who got so much love a couple of years ago as a free agent.

 

From who? I know SA wanted to re-sign him, as well as Por. But I don't remember him being that hyped up.

 

I've watched loads of Rockets games going on 16 years now. I've seen Rudy yell at EVERY single player that has played for the Rockets, for a variety of reasons. That's what a coach is supposed to do - coach, instruct, and most assuredly let a player hear it when something has gone wrong.

But that proves nothing to me in your earlier assertion that he doesn't listen.

I have seen Cuttino take some bad shots. But we should all be lucky to have a guy with that killer instinct that wants to put the dagger in opponents' hearts. We just have to hope he continues to learn as the years pass. Cuttino HAS made strides in his young career in his shot selection and his decisionmaking......

If you think he hasn't...go watch some tape from his rookie year, and the following.

 

From what I can recall, Cat's rookie year was his best year, as far as playing within his limits go.

Obviously, that is because Olajuwon, Barkley, and Pippen were his teammates.

To me, he yells at Cat more than any Rocket. Obviously he yells at other players.

 

Since the Rockets don't have a post game to speak of, Cuttino has to take the most shots right now. Are there two other better scoring options on the team right now? I can't see it. Griffin should evolve into that and Francis is more talented, but Cuttino is the best pure scorer on the team right now. That's a lot of the reason the Rockets are in the lottery. Ideally, I would like Mobley to be a spark off the bench a la Vinne Johnson, or Mario Ellie. He can be a solid player on a good team, but I just don't see the Rockets being a great team with him as a starting two guard.

 

Cuttino was our best player this year.

Kobe
Tmac
Iverson
Stackhouse

and maybe one or two more shooting guards might be better then Mobley. So Cuttino is not a top five shooting guard, but he probably is in the top eight.

 

Might be the most underrated player in the league. Has the Rodney Dangerfield syndrome, especially among his "fans". Rarely is he praised without some qualifier, and more often than not people want his role reduced. I think we should increase his role. Run a lot of plays where he can run off of weakside screens a la Reggie Miller. His shot is deadly, and he is top 3 in going to the basket. I honestly think that he could have a similar impact on the respective teams of any shooting guard in the league including Bryant and Iverson. Could you imagine Cuttino if he regularly faced only single coverage like Kobe, or if he put up 30+ shots a game like Ivy. Not to mention that he is a better defender than Allen. People always talk about sending him to the bench. That is crazy. Cat exploded when he was put into the starting lineup, and he has been among the top players ever since. How he was not put on the all-star ballot is beyond me. Dude got less votes than Cato. I would like to see him and Steve switch positions for a couple of games. Cat's wingspan really bothered PGs his rookie year and he is definitely quick enough to guard them. Maybe if he ran the offense he would average 6 assists like "franchise" and people could get off of his sack.

 

His lack of trust in his teammates is worse than Steve's. Also, he has the ability to be a good defender, but doesn't really focus on it. Last, but definitely not least, he ranks 24 in the league with 2.6 assists per game among SG's, while, I'm sure, playing more minutes than the 23 above him. 44th in AST/TO ratio among SG's.


Some of the players that average more assists?

Jason Richardson
Bob Sura
James Posey is very close
Shane Battier has more


I'll definitely be expecting at least 3.5 assists next year with scoring options like Mo-T, Rice, Griff, and Francis.

This year, he has an excuse, next year there's none. He won't be a young player next year. If I remember correctly, 27. Enough to erase rookie mistakes.

I'm asking for 2 things this offseason from Cat. Trust in his teammates and more effort on D.


Potentially, Cat can be a top 6 SG in the league. But right now, I'd say 9th or 10th.

 

Pound for pound, maybe the best one-on-one player in the league.

He is not ourmost efficient scorer though. I think Stevie is.

I know he and Stevie are best friends, but he has to get pisssed when ESPN shows Steve's highlights when in actuality, Cuttino had the better game.

 

Cat needs to do something besides scoring, if he wants to be a Top 5 SG.

The best SG/SFs in the league are all able to put up decent assist and rebound totals, in addition to getting their 20-25 ppg.

Mobley must also get stronger to be a better finisher. His shooting percentage would be 45% or higher if he finished a little better on his drives. He seems to leave his feet too early, making him too far away to lay it in, so he ends up kind of shooting the ball from 2 ft away.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Cuttino. But last year in our triple overtime game vs. Indiana the man played 58 and managed to put up 29 shots and not get one assist. That's just amazing...

I think Cat's a very talented and (I know I'm the minority on this one) smart offensive player. He just really needs to concentrate on the continued improvement of other aspects of his game.

 

I have a hard time being overly critical of Steve and Mobley. I guess they get most of the blame because they are the main guys, but to me the problem with the Rockets is the front court, not the back court. Sure they might not be the best defenders, but the defensive problem is more of a front court issue than a back court issue. Cato gets some blocks every once in a while, but he has no idea about positioning himself or help defense and at he times he's lazy. Eddie can simply be overpowered. Kenny is just too short. Maurice speaks for himself. Rice can barely move anymore. That's our five main frontcourt players. This is the problem!! The fact that the Rockets are worst in opposing FG% proves that teams are getting a lot of easy baskets down low.

You see, in the East the Rockets could get away without having a good front court, but it doesn't work that way in the West. The Bucks for instance were able to have a lot of success last season despite not having a big man. But if they were in the West I bet they'd be struggling to make the playoffs. If the Rockets two best players were frontcourt players rather than backcourt players I think this season would be a whole different story.

About Mobley playing sixth man...I don't see how that is really going to improve anything. How about before we put our best offensive player on the bench we try and fill the Center position and SF position. So y'all can complain about Mobley and Francis all you want, but the only way this team is going to drastically improve is through some acquisitions or trades. And hopefully the Rockets will make some this offseason.

 

Mobley is a talent no doubt , but he's no special a player than Maxwell or John Starks in their prime. The only difference is Maxwell and Starks both had dominant big men and wasn't allowed to jack up 18 shots a game or they would avg 20pts per game also. I don't think Mobley will ever be a good shooter field goal % wise because I don't think he'll ever improve his shot selection. The only way his % goes up is if he had a good post player and his attempts go down, thats it.

Mobley is probably around 13 to 15 as far as 2 guards in my eyes. Its not just the scoring that sets him back, its the other things that the other guys bring to the table that Mobley doesn't. The notorious gunner Stackhouse even avg more asst than Mobley. Its safe to say that the system Mobley plays in doesn't really benefit him neither just like Francis. When I watch Wesley Person come off double down screens for open jumpers, i can envision Cat doing that. Coming off those screen with a defender trailing , Cat would kill them with that first step.

Mobley is still young enough to improve, but the guys that are ahead of him are probably younger than he is, so I don't really see him catching up. Exchange Mobley for Maxwell on the mid 90's teams and the Rockets probably still win rings because the veterans no those teams wouldn't put up with all the foolishness and lack of effort on defense. Fast forward, and on this team he's suppose to be a leader, but his shot selection and bonehead plays only cast wonderment on the young guys faces. His ego wouldn't be so big either if Rudy wouldn't always say he's a top player in this league.

 

Can you actually list the 13 or 15 better than Mobley, because I would really like to see that.

On a side note. Damn, I just happend to take a look at Brent Barry's stats this season. Who knew he was having such a great season? He's really putting up some great numbers all around.

14 points per game
51% Field Gol
44% 3-Point Field Goal
5 assist per game
5.7 rebounds per game
1.6 steals per game

Wow!

 

You are kidding right? Mobley is shooting better then Iverson, Jordan, Marbury and also Paul Pierce (I think).

As for Mobley being 13-15th best shooting guard in the league, well thats just freakin hilarious! There are 15 other shooting guards you would trade Cuttino for? I would really like you to name these 15.