Mobley and Griffin are always such scapegoats on this board it is stupid. They are both young, Griffin is too young to even be out of college, and they are both rising in talent. The year before last Mobes had to carry this team. Even Mobley will tell you he isn't Kobe or MJ, but he will score and score well. Idiots on this board get mad at him for shooting, he is a shooting guard. He isn't the best in the league, but he doesn't have a top of the league salary either. If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at Rice/Cato/Norris/Taylor whose contracts far outweigh their contributions. Mobes plays way better than the amount he is paid and that is what bandwagon basketball fans don't understand. Basketball is a business when you break it down and Cuttino is a profitable contribution from that standpoint. If we got that kind of bang for your buck from every rocket we would be champs every year.
6th man baby! That is his ultimate role, remember his 1st year coming off the benched was his best as pros, I think!
Exactly. He was practically a stopper at times last season. Just ask Kobe and Iverson. I really don't understand all the Mobley hatred. The guy wasn't even a 1st round pick and now he's much better than many of the guys picked ahead of him. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think most of his "ball hog" tendencies had more to do with the lack of an offensive gameplan and less to do with him being a selfish player. Let's wait and see what he can do under JVG.
Well the reason why I want Cuttino on the bench is because I rather much have a player like Posey starting to play defense. Just because Cuttino is on the bench doesn't always mean he will lose minutes. The Rockets just needs to settle in getting Yao the ball and Steve in the early going. We don't need Cuttino messing up the offense yet, he's just not that type of team player. But when the starters get fatigue Cat can come in and produce for us from the bench.
Cat and Posey both start. Rockets starting five: SF CM JP EG YM I like Cato off the bench, Taylor is going to be bothered about not starting, hopefully Nachbar will get the minutes and make the shots to be a good sixth man and we need to look into a backup guard. I used to love Mooch but it was painful to watch last season.
Some facts on Cat Has averaged 17.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.18 steals in 356 games with Houston In Rockets history, ranks fourth in three-pointers made, ninth in steals per game and 10th in three-point percentage !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Among players from the 1998 draft class, ranks fifth with 6,188 career points, trailing only Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Antawn Jamison !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Led Houston with 112 three-pointers made and a career-high free throw percentage of .858, which ranked 19th in the NBA (2002-03) Stood with Steve Francis as Houston’s two leading scorers for the fourth consecutive season (2002-03) !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trailed only Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen in scoring among Western Conference shooting guards, ranking 38th in the NBA in points per game (2002-03) !!!!!!!!!!! Named to the 1998-99 Schick All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 9.9 points and 2.5 assists in 49 games, making 37 starts at point guard Finished second in voting to Phoenix's Rodney Rogers for the 1999-2000 NBA Sixth Man Award in his second year Led all NBA reserves in scoring with a 15.8 points per game average during the 1999-2000 season, holding the distinction of being the only reserve to rank second on his team in scoring Stands with Calvin Murphy as the only Rockets reserves to ever average 15 points in a season (thats why he is a starter) Finished his second NBA season ranked 17th in the NBA with a free throw percentage of .847 The point is he is a very good player who out of loyalty accepted a cheap contract and does what he is asked. We bash him becuase he is flamboyant and confadent. We blam him for not passing when his role is to be last person you want to pass. 2 guards that pass alot usally do this becuase they cant create their own shots. Benching him to start a lesser guard is stupid. You try to put the best team on the court with your best players. We don't start Cato so Yao will be more dominant agianst bench centers! Upgrade the PF spot and get better backup gurads. Lets try Boki, Cato, and MoT as our bench, its not great but its not terrible either.
Thank you Ally Oop. I love the guys who have the energy to go for the stats. That is what is so scary about HeyPartner, he gets the stats and links, AND has 14 thousand posts.....
I'm not saying that I don't like Cuttino, its just that last year, it was obvious that Steve and him didn't look to Yao enough. You can't trade Steve, so trading Mobley might be what Steve needs to show him that the team is not just him and Cat. But actually, I probably agree that we should give everybody a year under JVG to see how they all play and progress. A better shooter (and player) than Mobley for half of the money is Mike Redd. For some reason he only got a 3 mill per year offer last year and is now signed for 3 more seasons.
I like Mobley, but to say he's in the same class or near the same class as Steve is ludicrous. He's a glorified sixth man.
let's see how he does in the new offensive system. Also Yao will hopefully not tire out during the stretch run. I think anyone who has bashed Cuttino this offseason will eat their words in a few months.
I also like Mobley. I think he is a great value and under proper guidance, can be a great asset to the team. The ball hog symptoms we saw last year I think is symptomatic of the whole team, not just Mobley. I think Rudy might have been a good coach for established veteran players but not new young players. I think JVG will correct that this year. As for Yao, he is yesterday's news. This year, all the cameras and microphones will be in LeBron's face So I think he will be able to get enough rest assuming the stint with the Chinese team doesn't leave him irreparably exhausted. The person I can't stand is Moochie. I think some of his hair has become ingrown and clogged up his brain. He better not give us anymore of that trash ball this year.
I'm glad this thread has shown some of the better aspects of Cats play. I agree with the people who blame it on Rudy's coaching. A person can only be a ballhog if he is disregarding the system. I tend to believe the rockets didn't have a true offensive scheme last year. Cat is solid.
Cat has some really good points but we already have a bring-the-ball-up-reluctantly-look-to-chuck-it-up short shooting guard on the team---a better one---so Cat is expendable, for the right player.
Was Francis out of the country when you made this post? You know, our point guard whose job it is to get other teammates involved.
