Dec. 4, 2002, 10:26PM Mobley boosts Rockets' hopes By MICHAEL MURPHY Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Wednesday's Rockets practice was a little louder, a little more frenetic than usual, and it wasn't just that the guys were feeling good after their 14-point victory over the San Antonio Spurs the night before. No, the shouting and spirited, trash-talk-filled one-on-one challenges meant only one thing -- Cuttino Mobley was back. Mobley, who had been out since Nov. 22 with a sprained left ankle, has been cleared to play. Kind of. After participating in a full-bore workout on Wednesday, Mobley will go through another strong practice session today and will sit out Friday's game at New Orleans before suiting up to play in Saturday's home game against the Philadelphia 76ers. "Yeah, it's a little bit louder around here," said coach Rudy Tomjanovich, laughing. "No, it's good to have him back. He's happy, but we're going to see how he reacts to practice and how it (the ankle) feels. It's good to have him back, though." Mobley, who was averaging just over 42 minutes per game, was just happy to be back in his element. "It feels good," said Mobley, who estimates he is about 70 percent healthy. "I'm not all the way back, but my ankle feels better. I'm going to keep rehabbing on it, and I'll be ready by Saturday. I pushed it OK (on Wednesday). I didn't go up and down (the court in full-court scrimmages), but I competed. I'll have no problem getting back in (game) shape." Especially with his teammates spurring him on. While a nattily dressed Mobley sat on the bench Tuesday, Yao Ming was having his way with the Spurs, finishing with 27 points and 18 rebounds. But during one break in the game, Yao plopped down in his seat and had a message for the injured guard. "Yao came out of the game breathing hard and said, 'You hurry up back ... fast,' " Mobley said with a laugh. "It was funny. I'm just happy that the guys like Yao and (Kelvin) Cato are all telling me to hurry up and get back. "It (sitting out games) is always tough for me, because this is all I do. I wish I could play Xbox or bowl or something, but those aren't my hobbies." Neither is sitting on the bench. Mobley, perhaps the ultimate gym rat, lobbied to play both games of the upcoming back-to-back set, but trainer Keith Jones overruled him. "Cuttino is working all angles," Jones said. "He's working Rudy, he's working C.D. (general manager Carroll Dawson), and he's working doctors. He's willing to buy people off so he can play both games. But I told him that he could do everything he wants, but it's not working." Which means Mobley won't be working on Friday. But he's still able to dream about his first game back, against the 76ers, which is appropriate since Mobley is a Philly native. "It's definitely going to be exciting for me," said Mobley, who hasn't played since the Rockets' 103-90 loss to Dallas on Nov. 21. "It's going to be like I'm playing my first game. When I go out there and play, whenever it is, it's like my first game. I get so happy when I'm out there. It's like a comfort zone for me. "I'm excited about that one because it's home (against Philadelphia). I'm always excited to play Philadelphia." The Rockets would much rather err on the side of caution and are content to let Mobley sit a few hours longer rather than risk another ankle injury that could sideline him for a longer period. "We've let him go hard to see how he reacts, to see if it gets sore," Jones said. "The thing that we've been arguing about, that's between Cuttino and me, is that he wants to go both games. "But coming off an injury, I don't feel that he should go back-to-back. We gave him the choice, and he chose to play against Philly. So he'll stay here Friday and get more treatment and more workouts." And more time to acclimate himself to the Rockets' brave new world, where Yao rapidly is becoming the focus of the offense, much like Hakeem Olajuwon once was. It is very different from the perimeter-oriented offense of the first few weeks of the season, the one in which Mobley averaged 17.3 points and 15.4 shots per game. "Cuttino is eager to come back, and we're definitely happy that he's coming back," said Steve Francis. "I know that once he gets back, he's going to be doing what everyone else has been doing -- fitting in with our scheme of things, which is starting inside and going outside. "Look how we won (Tuesday). We passed the ball, and we won the game. I don't think he'll have a problem with that." Mobley says he understands what his role will be on a team that has won four of the seven games he missed and three of the last four, a span that included wins over Seattle and San Antonio -- teams that have traditionally given the Rockets trouble. "It's the same thing -- going out there and being aggressive sometimes, directing us at other times and sparking us on the defensive end," Mobley said of his role. "Just the same thing I've been doing -- bringing that experience."
Why is Michael Murphy back on the byline? Doesn't he have another job by now? Guy can't relate to players. Send him to golf or something - like that other FORMER writer-of-note. I guess Feigan and Blinebury are on the Yao Beat, Murphy can freelance, and Mickey Herskowitz can write about bball in WWI. Chron, please fire 100% of your sports staff. They suck. You can get all the copy you need right here. Free.
Well, look at those statistics: I am kind of curious how many shots Yao will/can take per game after Cat's return to the starting lineup.
Thanks for the article! It's going to be good to have Cutty back. Someone besides Steve will be able to hit the open jumper. Hopefully the people who thought that Cat's injury was a "blessing" will take their heads out of their a$$es. Just Kidding! Cod
the most important bit of that article. it appears steve does understand how the rockets are going to win most of their games. going into yao ming. jealous my ass. if anything he's been the most accpeting and open to yao.
I think "you hurry up back... fast" was yao-speak for, "did you see that, that damn MFer hawkins just blew another assist for me by missing another easy-ass layup off a beautiful pass, get back quick so i can actually get a damn assist, oh and if he misses another wide open jumper, i think i'll kill him."
yeah, get a grip Smeggy. I can't believe you and Clutch have now both said how Cat needs to return to 100%, so we can trade him.
This team needs offense BADLY! People can talk about the ball movement or whatever, but the bottomline is that this team is actually scoring LESS then when Mobley went down, and we would be screwed if it wasn't for the emergence of Yao Ming and Glen Rice, and the occasional explosions of Moochie and KT. I don't understand, the players like Mobley, management likes Mobley, the coaches like Mobley, the media likes Mobley, but there are fans that can't stand Mobley even though we're winning. Oh well, can't please everyone.
This should put an end to all the BS about Steve worrying about having to share the spotlight with Yao.
I think that puts an end to all the talk also of Mobley "not fitting" the team, or not being able to adjust. If Francis thinks he can adjust, the Rockets think he can adjust, and Ming thinks he can adjust and WANTS him back then why are there people who want him traded or benched? I mean these statements right here tell it all about Mobley and fitting in: <b>"Cuttino is eager to come back, and we're definitely happy that he's coming back," said Steve Francis. "I know that once he gets back, he's going to be doing what everyone else has been doing -- fitting in with our scheme of things, which is starting inside and going outside. </b> and. . . <b>"Yao came out of the game breathing hard and said, 'You hurry up back ... fast,' " Mobley said with a laugh. "It was funny. I'm just happy that the guys like Yao and (Kelvin) Cato are all telling me to hurry up and get back.</b> The players are excited about having him, he works out constantly and rehabs injuries at hard as he can, he's trying to adjust to the new offense (his assist were actually going up), and the two guys whose game people say Mobley screws up, Francis and Ming, are excited about having him back. The guy, when healthy, gives you 20 ppg, give you 3 assist per game (up to 4 before the injury), shoots about 35% to 37% from 3pt range which is huge in an inside-out attack, and is fast at attacking the basket, again another key to an inside-out attack. His shots per game actually has dropped, why are there that people want him out of here, especially with the way the team has struggled to score even with the emergence of Ming?
It was good to see that Steve is starting to understand how the offense should work. Also cool that he told everyone (especially Cat) that Cat will understand too.
