Do you think Mobley should starrt; theSporting News does.

shandon on the bench might be a good or bad thing... benching a player destroys his confidence.

our bench scoring would plummet way down

it is better to get francis and every1 else going before cuttino comes in and starts shooting.

itz better to have shandon start and sometimes disrupt who is he guarding to get them out of a rhythm.

on the other hand

shandon i can see off the bench as a defensive stopper. he might learn to work to earn his spot back.

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--TEX

 

Without Mobley coming off the bench, we have no offensive fire power. It really doesnt matter if he starts or not , Mobley gets like the 2nd most minutes on the team.

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President of the Moochie Norris fan club & Vice President of the Jason Collier fan club!

 

I am a big proponent of the spark off the bench and feel Mobley needs to remain there. Its good to have a tempo changer off the bench that can be brought in if the team gets off to a slow start. Also, as Salsa pointed out, moving Shandon to the bench could cause him to lose confidence. Its just real risky business, and I dont think it really helps much.

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When the idea was proposed here several weeks ago to start Cat I didn't like it. My primary concern was potential confidence damage to Shandon. Since then, I have changed my mind for 2 reasons.

First, in most of the Rockets losses they are flat or sluggish at the start of the game or the half. Starting Cuttino might remedy this. Yes, I know he's a spark off the bench, but if we are continously behind it's not a spark - it's a catchup.

Secondly, IMHO Moochie is a better PG than Steve. Before you lynch me, I did not say Mooch was a better player or more athletic or more valuable. By virtue of experience, Moochie is a better PG. Moochie pushes tempo and he dishes. Both benefit Shandon.

I feel that Shandon is now lacking focus and confidence in his game. He is the same great player who needs a less stressful spot until he regroups mentally. Playing with Moochie, Cato, Bull/Langhi, and KT is less pressure and will help him get his confidence up again.

I don't agree that the second unit does not have enough "fire power" without Cat. We have all seen KT get off and Mooch get 17 & 8 as a starter. I think it's time for a some changes.


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GATER


[This message has been edited by GATER (edited December 21, 2000).]

 

I'd consider it for two reasons:

1. I am near ready to yank Walt and go with 3 guards, to make Walt stew a few and earn back his starting role,

2. To get Mobley to play in our 1st Quarter motion game where getting Hakeem and Mo off to good games is priority #1. At some point in his career, Mobley should focus on what his teammates need and where they like the ball. He's shown the ability to respond quickly to Rudy's request in the past. I think we'd see a different role for Mobley in the 1st Q, for the good of him learning to share his toys.

To me, this is not a Mobley vs Shandon issue. Shandon must start. There is no other way of looking at it, imo. Do you want to yank Walt and go with 3 guards is the issue to me.

 

Just one quick correction: Anderson does not jack up shots: he only shoots about 3 a game. He isn't shooting a high % nowadays, but you still can't be considered a jacker when you hardly shoot.

I think Mobley needs to stay out of the starting line-up. His offensive strength is as a 1-on-1 guy. I think your starting line-up should at least try to play as a unit. When that doesn't work, then you have Mobley do some Iso to put some points on the board.

In fact, I think the reason why Mobley gets so many attempts is that the team is having trouble playing as a unit. Until they get better at setting up each other to score, they have to go with the best 1-on-1 -- which is Mobley and Francis -- but that doesn't mean that's what we should be aiming for. Ideally, I'd like to see Mobley's FGA go down and everyone else's come up.

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HeyPartner - I agree, Walt has been very disappointing as of late. Perhaps the question should be to start Mobley in lieu of Walt as opposed to starting him in Shandon's place.

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That's a good point. Has anyone noticed that Mobley (with his long arms) can defend a lot of small forwards pretty well, and we know all about his offense.

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Sometimes you gotta do the next best thing!

 

I know completely what your saying and must agree in those terms. And your remark about 2 Shakes being used as a crutch when nothing else is working is very true from my seats. What I believe could happen (and we are seeing this already) is that Mobley's role would be different in the 1st Q. As a starter, he wouldn't be doing ISOs. That is for the 4th Q crunch time and for the 2nd Q when he is playing with our bench guys. As a starter, Mobley could easily play Walt's role, and play it better. Image Mobley as a weak-side threat. You definitely couldn't double Mo by leaving Mobley's man!

We are already seeing this now that Mobley is starting the 2nd half. Mobley is not a 1 on 1 option in the 3rd quarter. As proof, I saw him run two Walt Double pick plays coming from the weakside last game.

Mobley starting does not equate to more ISOs, imo. And it can make Mobley a more well-rounded player, by making him score as a weakside player, and thus better understand what his teammates are doing when he is handed the playmaker role in the 4th.

[This message has been edited by heypartner (edited December 21, 2000).]

 

This is not an easy question. I would not put Cat in the starting slot.

1. If you're trying to bench Shandon, it would ruin any chance of him resigning, and it would probably hurt his confidence more, not help him.

2. Francis-Mobley-Walt.....now there's a scary defense

3. If Shandon replaces Walt, we get a lot smaller. Granted, Walt at the 3 is a much worse defender than Shandon there, but is it fair to force Shandon to match up with guys like Odom every night? And a good SG, that Cat will have to guard?


Does Walt have to try our patience every year, and then go off at the end?


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Shandon is underrated.

 

Mobley should be our pg and franchise sould be the starting sg

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Why exaggerate Nike. There aren't any other Odom's out there. And he causes match-up problems for everyone. And what does "fair" have to do with it. You know that Shandon guards Finley and Payton don't you. Shandon often guards the most dangerous guard or the SF on the court. Besides, Shandon guarding a SF has nothing to do with what he does on the offensive end.

I just do not buy these arguments about what "slot" a player fills based on prototype 1,2,3,4,5 positions. That is way too inflexible and narrow for me.

Rudy has roles, like all coaches, not a number system and height, speed, shooting values like Dreamcaster. These three guards play together. OFTEN!! Get off this meaningless argument about Mobley isn't a 3, and Shandon shouldn't have to guard the scores of Odom's in the league. I see it ALL the time, especially last April when the 3 clock over 35mpg. We are suggesting that our proven 3 Guard line-up start the 1st quarter as well as the 3rd.

 

I sure don't have a problem with Steve, Shan and Cat playing at the same time. The only thing I'm hesitant about is losing the offensive spark off the bench. Rockets bench usually outscores opponents bench by a lop-sided margin.

Cat wouldn't guard SF, Shandon would. To not use a players strengths would be inexcusable. Shandon's strengths are defense and running the floor. Rudy is using him correctly by having him guard the better of the opposition's guard or small forward. The Rocks have missed Cat on the break a few times and I think that was inexcusable. Everybody look at Cuttino.

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START THE CAT.


as for the debate on losing the "offensive spark" off the bench, that is the inherant value of moochie norris. don't limit yourself to thinking that without a 1on1 option off the bench we can't outscore our opponents' bench (nevermind the fact that the purpose is to outscore the entire team, not just the bench).

as long as we have a true, DISTRIBUTING, point guard coming off the bench, players like shandon and cato can score. WHY? because they move without the ball. same goes for KT and Bull, except they do so further from the basket (often) on the weakside. so we become, in essence a purist basketball team once that 2nd unit comes in.

here's the real question to me. what becomes of walt? do we give dan the man a chance at some of walt's minutes? if not, i'd like to see kenny thomas pick up a few minutes at the 3 spot and bump up motay's minutes (assuming he stops his incessant impersonation of Mr. Hackroid).

the wizard may be on the brink of a serious disappearing act.



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Start Cat, move SA to the SF position.

The whole idea of having one of your best players on the bench is a bit much.

Can anyone name Chicago's 6th man, how about the Lakers last year, or San Antonio's, for that matter, who was the ROCKETS spark off the bench in their glory years?

It is old school Bob Cousy crap.

It is time to put your best players, playing together...Walt must go...

DaDakota

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I - quitely - supported Walt. That since has changed. Trade him or bench him. I'd keep Shandon starting though and even increase his PT. I'd also give Dan more PT.

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Kukoc was the Bulls 6th man.
Cassell was the Rockets spark off the bench.

 

yes, make DAMN LANKY the spark off the bench.

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