“Our defense won it,” Cuttino Mobley said. “You have to play defense. Everyone knows I can score 22 points, but I have to show them I can play defense.” Mobley couldn't hit a thing in the 1st half, but kept shooting, like a scorer is supposed to. From the radio broadcast, I couldn't tell if he was taking good shots or bad. In any case, in the 2nd half, he recognized that it wasn't his night, so he got down and bellied up on defense, AND DEFERRED TO THE OTHERS ON OFFENSE. Rudy said it well . . . last night is the KIND of win that the Rox need to get into the playoffs. Defensive stands when needed. Clutch plays in the 4th quarter. Hustle to get loose balls. All against a dangerous team. I still maintain that the lynchpin for the Rox success is Mobley. if Mobley continues to show his defense, we'll be a dangerous playoff team. We have the athleticism that will give teams a lot of trouble.
I actually disagree with this. If anything, I think last night shows that Mobley may not be as important a piece. Certainly Hawkins plays better defense than him, and we could start him at the two. But, Mobley has been playing solid defense and really putting effort into it, and given the good offense he can also give us, the money we're paying him, his leadership position on the team, and chemistry, etc, Mobley is a very solid player for us.
I'm telling you people overreact. I remember last year when people wanted to start Oscar ahead of Cat for his defense. Hawkins is a good player, and a spark plug off the bench, but starting him? And I think this shows how important Mobley is, he scores 7 points and the Rockets still win. Imagine if Mobley scores his usual 20 points?
Cat is one of the better offensive players in the league and we need him. As long as Cat is on the floor then we have a second scorer that the defense can never afford to ignore. Even on a night that Cat can not find the basket the defense still has to play him as if he is in the process of hanging 25pts on them. Does anyone think that Mobley's man was going to cheat off of him to help guard Franchise? No Way! This makes Steve's job easier. Cat tried to force his offense in the 3rd after we scored the first 8pts but after that he just started passing and playing defense. His only basket that I can remember after that was after Steve hit him for a lay-up during a fast break. By the way Bonzi only scored 12pts on 4 of 15 shooting so Cat's defense was not bad.
That's my point. His defense was excellent and we beat a good team. Against bad teams, we just need his scoring. To beat good teams, his defense is at a premium because him being a scoring threat is a significant contribution to the "team" offense. Hawkins can't be the starter. He is the defensive spark off the bench, and we should be giving Scotty Brooks and Earl Cureton a finders fee.
Mobley scored 7 but concentrating more on defense than offense. When Mobley scores 20, he usually wont concentrate as much on his defense. Kind of a catch 22. I would like to see a balance between the 2. Mobley can be VERY effective for this team only scoring 15-17 pts a game and consitantly putting forth a solid effort on defense. There are very few players that can put forth as much effort as Cuttino does on offense and still be effective on defense. I dont think Cat is one of those players.
I never said that I didn't think Mobley should start. Mobley brings a lot more than Hawkins does. I just don't think that Mobley being a 20 point scorer is as important to this team as some would say and I don't think he is the lynchpin of the team's success.
I think a huge key in the Rockets winning and showing much better ball movement in the 2nd half was minimizing Cuttino's touches. When Cuttino touches the ball, it's always the same damn thing. He clears out, everyone stops moving, and he heaves an off balance prayer which is not answered 58% of the time. It KILLS the Rockets offensive flow. IMO, if Cuttino was benched, this team is a lock for the playoffs. This guy hurts the team. Stats are for losers, anyone who understands team bball can see this team is more effective when Mobley's role is minimized.
Of course, only one player scored our final 14 points, so the correlation between Mobley not touching the ball as much and us getting everyone involved from the second half of last night's game probably isn't that clear.
Codell has it right. mobley bellied up on defense b/c he wasn't feverish looking for a ball to heave toward one end of the compac center. Stated differently, the team benefits if he spends more energy on d, than o. less energy on o, necessarily means fewer touches. Now, the trick is if he can eliminate the inefficient/low percentage heaves, but keep the smooth jumpers and slashing attacks at the basket. Limiting his touches is meaningless if the shots he jacks up are horrible. If he can do all that, he is that much closer to being a dumars type of a guard, and that much closer to getting respect around the league as a performer. It's all about efficiency. Mobley has skill, quickness and talent. He just needs to use it more effectively.
I don't know about Hawkins starting, but he should definitely be in the 4th quarter lineup. I'd much rather see him out there with the game on the line than Rice. Not to knock Rice this early in the season, but I am really glad he didn't cost the Rockets anything being out there in crunch time last night. For right now, a 4th quarter lineup of Steve, Cat, Hawkins, KT, and Griffin should work. By the end of the season, it would be really nice to see Steve, Cat, Hawkins, Eddie, and Yao with the game on the line.
No, last night, hawkins played his best defense with Mobley on the floor, at the beginning of the 3d period. Mobley is the second best small defender on the team, and he had a good game last night defensively. If you want the ideal defensive lineup, you would bench Steve, which is of course silly, but benching Mobley for Hawk would mean you have Rice or Kenny out there, who are average at best defenders, rather than mobley and hawk, two good defenders.
i agree. it's not about how many points cat scores, it's the idea that everyone knows he can drop 20 on you in 10 minutes. in fact it's arguable that defenses have to prepare for him as much as steve. no team has the option of throwing both guards on either of them. defensively cat is very very good at keeping guards in front of him but he's a little small to change the big guard's shots. our best defensive lineup is: steve(best of our pg's at least and actually pretty good this year) mobley hawkins kenny eddie if cato is playing well then eddie slides to the 4 and cato goes to the 5. imo, kenny is exteremly underrated as a defensive player. he's the hawkins of our big guys with his hustle and that karl malone ball slap technique.
Mobley ,when he is focused ,is a great defender and isn't the problem. Steve Francis is the only horrible defender on this squad.( him and Yao Ming) Someone needs to shine 'the light' in their eyes. Oh yeah; stop turning the ball over ....peace and love................word!!!
JayZ, I think Mobley did the right thing: He played defense when his offense wasn't clicking. How does he improve? Play defense even when his offense IS clicking! Remember, in the past, Mobes would pout or complain to the refs and WOULD NOT play defense if his offense wasn't on. He did the right thing last night. He found a way to help his team even when his "jacking up shots" wasn't working. That shows value! As far as Hawkings starting. NO! Besides, he's working in the 3 spot. They guy is 6'7". He's a good SF. He offers a nice change of tempo/style from Nachbar, Rice or KT.
cat is a great player and contributor to the rox. remember what him and wink are. The dominating guards of the rox. they bring that pow boom bam into the game. his defense isnt great, but i love the way hi "came to his senses" and switched to more D and assisted others on offense when his shooting game was horrible.
Francis is bad on defense on following his man and getting around/or over the pick. Yes. But, what Francis has improved on is his shot challenge! He now jumps in the shooters face. Now, this could be perceived as bad thing (getting your man up in the air). But Francis choses the right times. Plus, he CAN jump higher than most, which helps him even when he jumps *after* the shooter does. In the past, Francis would just watch the shooter.
not to take any from you guys, but i think love the rox more than any one in here. my point is cuttino has paid his dues on this team hes done alot. every chance you get to bash this guy you do it. for the last three years STEVE has been killed by elite pg. Remember two years when had a chance make the playoffs if we beat the SUNS Kid poured 38pts on steve we lost, but when Vince, Shawn Marion,Ray Allen,Allan Houston,Eddie Jones,Wally,Steve Smith,an even Kobe cat give them hell, but I Know you guyz write what you feel and I repect that. now I love Steve too,but 30pts a game from team mate should not make you want to bash Cat we need him that's Steve best friend and co captain 0-8 without da CAT,
exaclty. they bring that exciting fast pace game. they were the hot topic for anouncers when they were in town, all the allyoops...
Mobley is one of the top offensive players in the league. Outside of the T-Mac, Vince, and Kobe tier of players, Mobley is #1 in the next tier. Something like this: T-Mac Kobe Vince Pierce Iverson Stackhouse (arguable) Personally, I think he tops the next tier of: Finley Rip Hamilton Eddie Jones Ray Allen (I agree this is arguable) Jason Richardson Jalen Rose (Arguable, but I can argue that he's not a SG) Bonzi Wells Allan Houston (way better than this guy) Those are the 14 elite SG's in the league, and if Cuttino is below the top 6 definitely, and below 2 of the next list, then he's still 9th in the league. Among those, he's top 4 in getting to the rim, and he has less experience than all but Richardson and Rip Hamilton. Like someone else said, if Cuttino can find the right balance between getting 15-17pts and playing as muh defense while getting those numbers on equal to or better than 45% shooting, then we are the 5th best team in the West, all while Griffin and Yao Ming are playing, compared to expectations, very very dissapointing. When those 2 guys are ready, this team is a contender.
