That's a great comparison! Another comparison I like to use is Cat being the Joe Dumars to Steve Francis' Isiah Thomas. Dumars is arguably a HOFer, and while he wasn't as good as Isiah he was one of the elite guards in the NBA. And he did get a Finals MVP. I wouldn't mind Cat and Francis getting a Finals MVP each!
I don't think that anyone here knows what he thinks. You would have ask him. Steve is definetly the best player on the team, and Cat probably knows it.
Mobley is a very very good basketball player. He is explosively quick, can shoot the lights out when he is "on," and has great leaping ability. I see a Batman-Robbin, Jordan-Pippen duo developing here in Houston. I know some of you guys really hate Pippen, but during the Bull's championship years, he was very good, an excellent compliment to Jordan.
I think that besides a few mistakes about shooting on CATs part he played a brilliant game. This is exactly what we all wanted him to do, not to shoot himself out of the building. CAT played great defense. I don't care what anyone says about any other game but last night he went to excel in other parts of the game and did so handedly. I have been on his back but I watched last night thinking that CAT wanted to be like HAWK. Now I hope no one starts asking if he thinks he is better than HAWK on D
I think that besides a few mistakes about shooting on CATs part he played a brilliant game. This is exactly what we all wanted him to do, not to shoot himself out of the building. CAT played great defense. I don't care what anyone says about any other game but last night he went to excel in other parts of the game and did so handedly. I have been on his back but I watched last night thinking that CAT wanted to be like HAWK. Now I hope no one starts asking if he thinks he is better than HAWK on D
Funny thing, last year there were a TON of people who thought Cat was a better scorer than Steve. I guess they've all gone into hiding.
I was one of them and Cat was a better scorer than Steve. The key word is "was". Steve has elevated his game this season. There is no comparision between this year's Steve versus last years. Steve is finally looking comfortable with being the leader.
Mobley didn't do very well offensively last night. But he is not bashed as much after the game as the other games. Why? I guess that's because he took considerable less shots last night. Cat bashers are content that when he is taking less shots, the Rockets are better off no matter what else he does.
I think you made an insightful statement. "Cat was a better scorer than Steve". Before this year, perhaps Cat felt like he should be just as big a part of the offense as Steve because he felt he was just as good of a scorer. Furthermore, maybe Mobes felt like if he didnt take the intiative to score, whether it be through ISOs or going one on one, then the team didnt have a good chance to win, whether Steve was healthy or not. As this season progresses, I hope that Mobley will realize that this is Steve's team and thats it best he serve in a complimentary role rather than a main cog.
Sir Jackie Chiles, maybe that should be Mobley's focus as well. He is good at it when applies himself (defense). Also, remember Pippen could take it to the rack and shoot the three. He often exceeded 20 pts. a game during the Jordan years.
I think Cuttino thinks he wants to be the best he can be...I hope CC.net posters allow this. Perception can often overshadow reality. The reality is Cat is one damn fine shooting guard who can shhot a relatively high percentage, score, and is commited to improving other aspects of his game such as defense...Let's let cat out of the bag and be cat...
Cuttino doesn't play like someone who thinks he's as good as Steve. There may have been times when Pippen actually thought he was as good as Jordan, heck maybe even better. I'm sure many people remember his outrage as well as his ego when a last second play was drawn up for a rookie instead of the "man". Pippen did say that when he was in Dream Team I, the practices had so much trash-talking and by players that could back it up too. They all thought they were better than each other. When a star reaches a certain level, i'm not sure he can afford to let himself resign to the fact that anyone is better than him or he may just fulfill that prophecy and never improve.
I think that there are things that each does better than the other. I would rather Cat: be the defender against the ball handler on any given play, be the one shooting if we need a three pointer, be the one at the free throw line (even though he blew it in the Phoenix game), or catching and shooting a mid range jumpshot. I guess really every situation where the key ability is shooting or defending. I would rather Steve: crash the boards when we need a rebound at the end of a game, be the primary playmaker (although I would like Cat to be forced into this role for a game every once in a while to help instill the instinct to pass more into him), or attack the basket when we need 2 points at the end of a game (this mostly because he has the ability/mentality/reputation/whatever that enables him to draw fouls more easily and is a better finisher if he doesn't get the foul, even though HE blew it at the end of the Phoenix game). Oh, and I think that, given the opportunity, he can be a better scorer than Steve, as he proved last year. The problem is that Steve is a better playmaker, so he should have the ball in his hands more. Unfortunately, he is not as good a playmaker as a Miller or Kidd, so he needs to score a lot as well.
