Mobley probably is one of the best "bang for your buck" players in the entire league. Are there any players that makes around what he makes and produces what he produces? (rookie contracts don't count) I used to really hate Mobley, but I don't see how anyone could hate him after all of strides he's made the last couple years. Each season, he improves his game, that shows that he's actually busting ass in the offseason and trying to improve his game. We could only hope and wish that the rest of the team would have the work ethic that Cuttino has... Keep in mind, Finley's a couple years older than Mobley, and I think Mobley could easily be just as good if not better than Finley is now in a couple years... Here's their head-to-head per game stats... Cuttino (4 games) 24.8 points, 3 assists, 6.3 boards, 2 steals, and 1 turnover Finley (3 games) 15.7 points, 2.7 assists, 4.3 boards, .7 steals, and 2.3 turnovers So Cuttino beat Finley in every category when they've been matched up against each other, even in the assists category... Finley definitely has the better players around him so he should at least average more assists per game than Mobley, but he doesn't even do that...
Did you start this thread?? Boy, you sure get your facts messed up a lot. Hey kidrock8, 5rpb last year and 4 this year ain't bad. What else does Finley bring to the table? A fraction more assists on the league's best scoring team,,,please. Point is: you can be an All-Star by scoring alone. Like what else does Wally bring? As for Finley comparisons, are you really saying that you didn't see a vast improvement in Mobley off the dribble mid-range game this year, and his 3 pt shooting. How can you not see that? Finley doesn't have that 3 pt shot nor the explosive drives, and Mobley is catching up to Finley midrange game pretty fast. Plus, Mobley is a better defender than both Finley and Wally. 46% over the last 44 games on a vastly weaker team is pretty eye-popping. As for the film thing, Do you remember the first Laker's game when Phil brought over help for Kobe to stop Mobley. Did they do that to Mercer? My point is that it is very clear on the court that Mobley's explosiveness draws a lot of attention, and that parking him on the weakside in the corner draws attention, as well. Guys that get that much attention make defenses react whether on the weakside in the corner, running around picks, or the strongside with the ball. You don't put them on the bench. You play them or trade them. Is that too hard to understand?
What is a Mobley bandwagon? I thought you were the head of it man. You're asking me? Is that sorta like a Francis bandwagon? At least you are no longer riding that Francis-is-a-point-guard bandwagon. I've never been on a Francis is a point guard wagon. In fact I've been an advocate of moving him to the two for quite a while now. I'm am on the Francis is a better scorer than Mobley wagon though. People have taken this migraine impacted season as proof that Mobley is a better scorer when that couldn't be farther from the truth. I don't hate Mobley at all, I simply don't believe he's the best two guard on the team and I don't believe the way he gets his points is best for the team. I also don't think he's much of a leader despite him desperately wanting to be. He plays too much stupid basketball and so does Steve. It's great and all to root for your favorite players to get awards and recognition but we should be about building a title team, not about where we can play Mobley so he can get the most all-star votes.
I somewhat agree with what KidRock8 has to say. I think that moving Mobley to the bench is more of a solution to moving Francis to his natrual shooting guard position. I mean, all good point guards average at least around 8 assists per game. In order for us to be really successful I think we need a natural assist point guard. We all want to keep Mobley and Francis in the starting rotation, but where will the assists come from?
Are you trying to say that Finley has never been on a team that has gone on huge loosing streaks? Maybe you should do some history research. Finley has been blasted in Dallas for the way he plays basketball. You should have been here last year after the second round play off loss to the Spurs. Even this year after Finley came back from IR people here were saying that the Mavs were better with out Finley and that the Mavs should trade him. Right now Finley is playing great and everyone loves him but when his jump shot goes south (and it does from time to time) he becomes very ineffective. You see when Finley first came here from the Suns everyone talked about how good his defense was and how good he was going to the basket. Now no one mentions defense and Finley in the same breath and he gets criticized regularly for settling for jump shots and not going to the basket. Finley loves to shoot jump shots and hates going to the hole. Period. I don't know why because when he decides to go to the basket he is good. I have seen nights where MF puts up 40 and nights where he just disappears. Mobley whether you accept it or not is just as good as Finley. Mobley loves to drive to the basket and he is good at it. Mobley also loves the outside shot and he is good at it. Mobley almost never disappears in a game. Even if his outside shot is not falling he still finds a way to score. Mobley gets to the line a lot more than Finley. You seem to think that Mobley is a selfish player always looking to score but how do you know that he is not just following Rudy T's instructions. Mobley is good...no make that great. He is definitely in the same class as Finley.
What was Cuttino's FG%? Also, if you put Cat on the Mavs, would Cat average over 16 ppg? Comparing stats between two players who are in completely opposite teams is very irrelevent IMO. Finley can't have high assist totals, if Nash and Nowitzki is who the offense runs through. Since mid-season or so, Dallas has asked Finley to primarily play the role of spot-up shooter. Not many spot-up shooters will rack up high assist totals.
Timing, that's cool. I never meant you "hating" Mobley, just his style. I see his style improving; you see it getting worse. I see Francis's FG% going down as a result of the ineffectiveness of his forced drives against zones; you blame it on the migraines. I still cannot comprehend how anyone can put Mobley on the bench versus trading him...it boggles my mind. I mean, Iverson is a superior shooting guard to Francis, correct? Philly didn't bench Stackhouse and his 40% shooting. They traded him for a young Theo Ratliff and Aaron McKie!! Is a younger Stackhouse really superior to Mobley? So, Stackhouse has slowly learned to get 5apg as the primary playmaker. Yet, we only want to give Mobley 1.5 yrs to adjust as a starter. I mean, before then wasn't he the very bench player you guys want? You are going to bench Mobley and not Stackhouse? At least trade him. Benching him is silly.
I think I've heard it all... Finley not explosive, and Mobley a better defender than him. I agree he's a better defender than Wally...
Here are some FG %'s for the 2 each game of the series... Game 1 (Nov. 17) Mobley - 20 pts, 7 of 9 (77.8 FG%) Finley - 11 pts, 4 of 10 (40 FG%) Game 2 (Jan. 31) Mobley - 15 pts, 7 of 19 (36.8 FG%) Finley - 11 pts, 5 of 12 (41.7 FG%) Game 3 (Apr. 11) Mobley - 29 pts, 12 of 25 (48 FG%) Finley - 25 pts, 10 of 28 (35.7 FG%) Those shooting stats look pretty similar to me with a slight edge to Mobley. Are you saying that Cat's defense had nothing to do with Finley shooting 40 or below in all 3 of their matchups? Hell Finley even took more shots in 2 of those games, so it's not like he didn't get any touches. I'm sure Cat would average over 16 points in the Dallas offense without having the opposing team's defense keying on him...
No. The silliest thing in this thread is your idea of benching Mobley rather than trading him ala the Iverson/Stackhouse situation. you have trouble following player analysis discussions, don't you? I didn't say Finley is not explosive. I said he "Finley does not have <i>that</i> 3pt shot nor the explosive drives." [Read: as good as Mobley.] Weren't we in the context of comparison, stated as the theme of that paragraph and the word "that." Excuse me for not repeating that theme. Besides, no way he comes close to the speed of Mobley nor the 3pt shooting. And yes, Finley is no longer the defender on par with Mobley. You really think Finley can shut down Mobley more than Mobley can shut down Finley? Really??
During Finleys first three years with the Mavs the team finished with 24, 20 and 19 wins. While I can't tell you what the longest loosing streaks were during those years I think it is safe to say that there were a few that rivaled if not beat the Rockets going 2 and 24. During those first three years MF played with guys like Sam Cassell, A.C. Green, Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn, Dirk, Nash and others. Never did Finley have to go onto the court with 2, 3 or 4 rookies. Cat during that streak rutinely went to battle with at least 3 rookies and sometimes 4. At least if you are going to compare Finley and Cat present all of the facts so that we can get a fair comparison.
Who can you get value from for Mobley and still fill a need? I wouldn't want to trade him for the sake of trading him. That #15 could be a nice pick to package with Mobley but what is out there that you'd really want and could realistically get? I don't see a whole lot that we could realistically pull off.
Timing, Yeah, I agree. There is a real problem with trading Mobley and getting equal value back. But, he is certainly worth what Philly got for Stackhouse in his 3rd yr, you must agree. The way I look at it is if you go for a point guard via trade, that trade is probably involving Mobley. You can also do slight (yet, very key) trade ups of draft picks. For instance, we might be able to trade up on the Grizzlies to get Jason Williams and parting with Mobley (add filler where needed). But that only works if you can get Francis to agree....and still, you have done nothing to beef up the frontline. We have to beef up the frontline with this draft. That is a must. We can't put all our eggs into Eddie becoming a superstar. And even if we did, I'm still a big advocate that surrounding Francis/Mobley with 3 versatile PFs in a revolutionary match-up zone will crush this league. Screw the SF position with zones, if need be. Convert to a zone emphasizing 3 fast power forwards. That would be sooooo coooool. Talking about benching Mobley versus using his improved elbow-based ISO is marginal to talking about our defensive problems, offensive tempo problems when Francis has the ball, and fastbreak problems. I can live with 2 SGs, but only if we play 3 PFs or get Ming.
I think the two guys I'd want the most of the teams who might deal are McDyess and Andre Miller. I think with #5 and #15 plus some combination of MoT, KT, Mobley, and filler you might be able to get both of those guys. Maybe #5 plus KT to Denver and #15 plus Mobley to Cleveland. A lineup of Miller, Francis, and McDyess would certainly be playoff caliber and could be something really special down the road, especially if Griffin develops.
You guys are kidding right? This is the best back court in the league I mean as in rebounding, assists, and scoring. And these two are pretty young, they are not our problem. Our problem is the front court, I honestly believe that we should draft Stoudamire and keep KT and TMo. TMo needs playing time, and MoT will be back if we should trade anyone I think that it should be MoT, he is a physical tank but he is mentally soft. That won't cut it a guy like Stoudamire could come in and back up KT. AS for power forwards on the market, name one. Didn't think so and although Reshard wants to come here we can't afford his asking price. I promise you. Let's ride it out for this year we have too many untradeable contracts. I can't wait until Rice is done here. The draft is the only way to go. As for EG I think that his future is at the small forward, he can definitely be as sick as KG ih different areas though (shooting, help defense, handle). You remember his handle in college this guy is sick just needs more or better coaching.
Jackson,mashburn were already gone when finley arrived. In fact ,Kidd was the last to go of the infamous 3J's. I think Mobley did improve, but i bet you would poll most gm's and they would take finley over mobley. People forget that Finley made the all star team before Dirk and Nash got good. Allen,Pierce,Iverson,McGrady,Finley,Stackhouse,Spreewell,Kobe,and Carter are probably better than Mobley. Thats not to say he's not a good player,its just those guys are probably help thier team more than Mobley. He's a solid player, but he's just not as good as those other 2 guards. Plus the system he plays doesn't help him much either.
As, I said before trade Cat, while he has trade value. Pick up Bryce Drew for the point, and place stevie at the 2.
