Facing top guards won't faze Mobley By MICHAEL MURPHY Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle As challenges go, tonight's game against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks is just another on the schedule for Cuttino Mobley. Not that he thinks tonight is going to be easy. Quite the opposite, actually. No, for Mobley, a night spent chasing Ray Allen, one of the league's premier shooting guards, is just another day at the office. Mobley already has checked the likes of Kobe Bryant (Lakers), Allen Iverson (Philadelphia), Michael Finley (Dallas), Eddie Jones (Miami), Michael Jordan (Washington) and Allan Houston (New York), so focusing on yet another defensive challenge is no biggie. "I've been playing great `2s' (shooting guards) the whole year so far," Mobley said. "I haven't been off, not one night. Ray is just another player, like everyone else. "He's right up there with Kobe. I have to go out there with the same mind-set I had against (Indiana's) Reggie Miller and those guys." And "those guys" just keep coming. After the Bucks, he takes on Golden State's Jason Richardson, Minnesota's Kendall Gill and Anthony Peeler before a Jan. 8 game at Orlando, where Mobley will try to stop Tracy McGrady, the league's top scorer. When that is pointed out, though, Mobley simply shrugs and says, "I have to chase them, but they have to defend me." Yes, they do. There was a time when Mobley would sit and fret about his next assignment, but you have to assume that opposing guards -- like Allen tonight -- are sitting around trying to figure out a way to stop Mobley, who has blossomed into one of the league's top scorers. Well, "blossomed" isn't really the word. Mobley, who carries a 17.4-point average into tonight's game, has attained a level of success that is reached only by hard work. Blessed with two natural advantages -- being lefthanded and having a first step quicker than Rasheed Wallace's temper -- Mobley has spent countless hours alone in the gym working on the other parts of his game. While those hours in the gym honed his physical skills, Mobley is now working on the mental aspects of the game. Part of that is Mobley's insistence that he will no longer rely on the 3-pointer and will instead attack the basket more often. He seems to be serious about it, too -- after averaging six 3-point attempts in a recent seven-game stretch, Mobley has launched a total of three in his last two games. "I've been kind of bailing them (defenders) out by doing that (shooting 3s)," Mobley said. "The year before last I (had 474) free-throw attempts (averaging six per game). I have to at least get that kind of friendship back with the refs and let them know that I'm going to the cup. "If they see you shooting jump shots all the time, that's how they are going to label you. I have to start mixing it back up again. I have to think more and be more aggressive and go to the cup. I have to get about six or seven free throws a game, which opens things up for us." This awakening may have come in recent games against the Knicks and Hornets. Against the Knicks, Mobley struggled with his outside shot (4-of-14 from the floor) but did not attack the basket, finishing without a single free-throw attempt. That changed against the Hornets, where Mobley made all six of his free throws -- all in the fourth quarter, when the Rockets rallied from a nine-point deficit to get the win. "(Against New Orleans) I just came out really aggressive from the beginning," Mobley said. "I was thinking, `If I'm going to go 0-for-11, then I'd rather do it being aggressive rather than letting the game come to me. Don't take only three shots going into the fourth quarter.' " Mobley was especially aggressive in the fourth quarter, when he scored 12 points and had two assists. Mobley also held New Orleans shooting guards David Wesley and Courtney Alexander to a combined two points. "You don't want to be selfish, but there are times when you have to be selfish in some ways," Mobley said. "There are times when you have to take over when you're one of the leaders. "You have to pick and choose (those times to take over). After four years in the league, I'm more mature. I know when to shoot the ball and when to pass it."
Cat is actually right. Stop jump shooting, and drive to the hoop. If he can do that, it would not be too bad.
I think you guys at least should give Cat some credits. He shows improvement regarding team bb sense. I remember our offense hurt without him playing in Nov. KH
That's good. The only time I feel safe when Mobely has the ball is when he is taking it hard to the hole. He's fast, has those long arms, and really good hands. He's never going to be able to deal with distributing..etc. He needs things simple; "rock... hole....rock....hole"
I am a big fan of Cuttino Mobley. I hope he does more aggressively attack the basket. That is hard work, but will pay the dividend of a score or drawing the foul. With our improved rebounding- slashing to the basket will complement Yao Ming's game. Now that Kenny Thomas has been traded, Cuttino and James Posey attacking the basket will break down defenses and ope up our game. GO CUTTINO!!!!!
this only proves something we worried about the cat: 1.) he thinks he's the "leader" not a role player. 2.) he believes he has to be selfish in some ways. 3.) when he wants to play more aggresive he simplely just take more shots.
I actually believe that Cat is a leader, in some ways, for this team. Over the past few years, he has been clutch at the end of games, probably more often than Steve. Setting aside the fact that he takes some dumb shots, he has shown the kahunas to step up to take (and make) big shots down the stretch. Sometimes he gets carried away with himself doing this, but he's been more of a leader than someone like Chris Webber, for example. He does need to be selfish sometimes, at the right time, because he has shown that he is capable of taking over an NBA game, and winning it. I just want him to pick his moments better, that's all.
GBRocksFan, he might be the leader for the past few years but he shouldn't be anymore. I like Yao Ming or Steve to step up to take big shots down the stretch with Mobley being the 3rd option (that's his "role") you just pointed out the problem: "he needs to pick his moments better" which we've been waiting for 5 years. I think you'd be disappointed for that because Mobley himself said "there's no a single shot that I don't like"
OK, I'm in a difficult position to comment, because this year I haven't seen any games (last year I got video tapes of two games a week, but $17 a week (£10) was a bit steep for me this year). I can therefore only go on statistics, which alway leaves me on dodgy ground. However there are some trends that are promising. I've got some graphs on my site http://www.dreamshake.co.uk/player2002.php?player=5 His scoring is obviously down, but his assist figures are up around a career high, and turnovers are down. His shooting percentages are disappointing, but if you look, you can see his 2pt FG% is going up. I'll working on putting it on the graph, but basically, his 3pt % is down, but his overall average is remaining steady, which means he's making a higher percentage of the other shots. I'll add a shot attempts graph too, and I wouldn't mind betting that they've decreased as well. The figures might be misleading, but they at least suggest he's trying to fit into the team's offense.
Umm, Mobley's been here for five years, longer than anyone else on the team. He's been to the playoffs, played in a post dominated offense, been a starter and sixth man, and made huge plays in crucial situations. If he wasn't trying to be a leader, there would be a problem. For all of you that hate him, all I want you to do is watch a tape of this offense when he was out, and then look at it again when he's back. Here's another look at the article: Mobley has spent countless hours alone in the gym working on the other parts of his game. Isn't this what you wanted? When's the last time you saw Cato working an extra second in the gym? Some of you that bash Mobley praise him like he's the second coming. "I've been playing great `2s' (shooting guards) the whole year so far," Mobley said. "I haven't been off, not one night. Ray is just another player, like everyone else. The "I haven't been off" refers to his defense. He's saying that he hasn't played a very weak opposing SG that he doesn't have to try to defend. "I was thinking, `If I'm going to go 0-for-11, then I'd rather do it being aggressive rather than letting the game come to me. Don't take only three shots going into the fourth quarter.' " That's great. Even as the third option, which he is, he's still going to shoot 10-15 shots per game. It's nice to know that he's going to get to the line more so that he can score even when he isn't shooting well. "You don't want to be selfish, but there are times when you have to be selfish in some ways," Mobley said. "There are times when you have to take over when you're one of the leaders. Again, watch a tape of the third quarter of Sunday's game. I don't care about Steve Francis and Yao Ming, they cannot do everything by themselves, and there are going to be nights where the defense is tough for both of them. That is the situation that we do need Mobley to be aggressive, get to the basket, and make things happen. Any of you who think these quotes make Mobley a ballhog... grow up. The last portion of the article is questions about his scoring... what the hell is he supposed to do, ignore them and say something off the wall? I swear, Mobley could say "Happy New Year", and some of you would find a way to turn that into him being a selfish punk and a ballhog.
Hey GBRocksFan... I haven't been here long enough. Are u the webmaster of that dreamshake website? That's a really cool site dude. Good job. I wonder how come I only see like 10 predictions for Rocket's game at one time. I thought the whole Clutch members (10,000+) predict Rocket's game score there. And... how come you score only 25 points while guessing 23 games. I thought you should be expert at predicting Rockets scores with all the stats posted there.
Total Rorschach. If you love him, the article says he'll drive more and mix up his game. If you hate him, it says he'll hog the ball. I'm a skeptic of Mobley, but anything beyond jacking it up is an improvement in my book. If he drives and draws the defense, somebody may be left open. Then he can spend a couple of years learning to pass.
I just pluck numbers out of the air... As for the number of people having a go, well if people are interested they can do it, but a lot of people think it's kind of pointless trying to guess the actual score of a basketball game That part of the site only came about to make it easier to keep track of people's scores. It's developed a bit, but I haven't had too much time to work on it. If people have a look and like it, then cool. I think most of the people on the BBS haven't even heard of it, and I'm not trying to shamelessly promote it anyway, bandwidth is too expensive Anyway, thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it!
