The Cat's All That By Chris Ekstrand You can learn a lot by studying statistics, but there are some things even a whole day's worth of number-crunching won't tell you. Like which players can deliver in the fourth quarter of a tight NBA game. Cuttino Mobley has become such the player for the Houston Rockets. His propensity for making big plays down the stretch makes him a favorite of Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich. It also makes Mobley an early candidate for the NBA Sixth Man Award. "He's a big-play player," Rudy T said. "He can do things in the fourth quarter that only the very good players can do. Some of it is his talent level, but a lot of it is his confidence level and competitive characteristics that the great ones have." Mobley, a second-round pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, has grown in importance to the Rockets in each of his three seasons. In his rookie year, Mobley gained the confidence of the team's three future Hall of Famers, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen. With Pippen and Barkley out of the picture last season, Mobley's role and production increased. He averaged 15.8 ppg and was the runner-up to Phoenix's Rodney Rogers in the NBA Sixth Man Award voting. This season, Mobley is Houston's second offensive option after Steve Francis, and is averaging a career-best 17.5 ppg through 24 games. "Every single year, I'm going to get better and better," Mobley said. "I watch tapes and work on my weaknesses. I just want to improve as a player. I want to be one of the elite players in this league. To do that, you have to gain respect, and to gain respect, you have to practice hard." Mobley might occasionally look a bit out of control on the court, but the stats say otherwise. He's averaging about two turnovers per game, a low number for a guard playing 33 minutes per contest - and hasn't coughed up the ball more than three times in any game this season. His 13.5 attempts per game has translated to a 17-point scoring average, a ratio most coaches would be ecstatic to have from their shooting guard. "When you have good offensive players, players who can do some unbelievable things out there, there will be a tendency for guys, and not just Cuttino, to try some things or shoot shots that coaches or conservative fans might not think are right," Tomjanovich said. "That happens with him some, but he sticks with the plan pretty well." The Rockets are in the second year of a youth movement that now relies on the young explosive tandem of Francis and Mobley. Francis (18.8 ppg), the team leader in only his second year, welcomes the energy and skill that his backcourt partner brings to the team. "We've got a guy we can go to late in the game," Francis said of Mobley. "He's gonna get big buckets for us, and that's something that we need, especially with a young, growing team. We continue to go to him, and it's continued to work for us." Chris Erkstand is a member of the NBA Editorial Department. ------------------ "Instinctly u recognize things,now take advantage of what u just recognized!".. Hakeem..
Does that mean they're gay? Seriously, I don't doubt Mobley's outstanding talent. What I don't like is that we never seem to realize when it's not working and try something else. It is nice to see us getting some pub, though. ------------------ "He was under more balls than a midget hooker."-Bobby Hill visit www.swirve.com and, http://www.geocities.com/clutch34_2000 for great Rocket insight by some of your fellow BBS posters!
Does anyone feel like even us Rocket's fans don't give him as much chance as we would if he would have been a top 10 pick? It is like he has no potential compared to guys like the non-shooting Larry Hughes, because he got dissed by the draft. When I was in Colorado last weekend, the Nuggest game announcer did a "Keys to Winning"...guess what..."Containing Cuttino Mobley" was one of the three.
No HP, I really don't think that is the reason. More than likely the reason why most fans are hard on him is because of those times when he loses sight of the team-play aspect and starts hoggin the ball. Now, with that being said, don't jump on me about "it's not his fault,Rudy tells him to." I realize that its the game plan..but most "normal" fans don't analyze and understand the Rocket's sytem like yall do, most fans just go on what they know and see and what they see is Cuttino hogging the ball and refusing to pass to more wide-open teammates to take the shot. True? I personally like how well our guards are improving and do forgive them their faults..because......... I HAVE FAITH!!! ------------------ Go Give Blood!!!!
