Well I know that silly, he is 7"6. But he still has to prove it to his team, when we make the playoffs he will have his chance.
Mobley was so excited and jumped on Yao's back after the Boston game when Yao only had two shooting attempts the whole night. Maybe that's the only way that could make Cat be positive about Yao.
I think we all think CAT needs to be more positive in discussing Yao... The thing is, I think he is jealous for taking the spotlight off of him... Yao s/b ROY as he has done more for the whole team that any other rook...
Chill out fellas. Cat's just defending his boy Steven. He saw how Steven got cheated by Yao in scrabble. You know, even though "Huxi" really is not a word, Steven probably lost, and Cat, sticking up for his pottna, really resents that. ***EDIT: Joking aside, I saw the interview as well, and I'm with rhester on this one. Cat looked uncomfortable, at the very least, when he talked about Yao.
You mis-quoted him a bit. He said, "Man, you have to go slow with rookies. It's hard, you know? You just have to be patient when they make mistakes." And, while that isn't an exactly glowing review, it should be noted that the question they asked was... "How will having three days of practice help especially with Yao learning his role on the team and the team learning how to play with him?" I thought Mobley's answer was appropriate. I personally think that Mobley has had some issues with having his role diminished but he was the first person other than Moochie to say he loved Yao and the way he played back early in the season too.
Cat is the one that needs to make the biggest adjustment, I am sure some resentment is there. However, since Yao is a rookie and prone to rookie mistakes..... What is Cat's excuse for his mistakes? DD
Take Eddie Griffin for example... When Eddie was a rookie, Cat was rubbing up on Eddie cause Eddie is from PHILLY, and gives props to Eddie most of the time. So why is Cat mostly saying negative notes from Yao with the smallest little detail and such. Cat is having some sort of heat with Yao I can tell. But it is better not to show much of it on the media. I would be annoyed if I was a player and everyone kept asking me about Yao instead of my game... but when it's down to playoffs time.. you have to be together with your team no matter what the case is!
Thanks Jeff, sorry for the misquote, I was only giving my memory of the interview... I still think there is something going on with Cat as far as- Is he and Steve the # 1 offensive options or should we keep going to the low post first option and acknowledge that Yao as a rookie has shown that he should carry that and he can best exploit mismatches at the center. I think Cat believes he is a better offensive option than Yao. Maybe this is OK, I don't know because Rudy has definately moved the team offense more towards getting Yao touches. Anyway- I believe in Yao's potential and I hope that he will improve and become our #1 go to guy. I personally think right now even as a rookie he is our best option. I do not think for one second that Cuttino or Steve believe that. But that's ok with me I'm not for bashing them, they have alot of pride. (good thing) And I don't suspect for a moment that Rudy would say that even if he felt it. We have a phenom. rookie- We were blessed to get the guy- so all Rockets should keep the positive vibes about him. Don't focus on his rookie mistakes or bring him along slowly. Let's ride him, I think he can takes us into that #8 play off seed.
To be fair to Cutino Mobley, it will be nice if someone who saw the show give us the full account of the interview or at least the full context of the Q & A in question. It is also documented that Mobley has said a lot of questionable things this season. Maybe it is in his best interest to be more diplomatic in his responses. He is not a young kid anymore - he needs to start acting like an "elder statesman" on that team since he is a vet. Talking about mistakes - who is Cutino to point out another man's pitfalls? If you want to talk about mistakes, Mobley is the least person you want to be assessing blame to other because save for his recent games he has probabaly made more mental mistakes than any other Rocket this season. Heck he was once a rookie - he should know better!
Uhh....Cuttino Mobley did not do anything wrong. At least.....Mobley's not yelling out "ALL STAR!!!!!!! I'm the ALL STAR!!!! Not you!!!" Or telling the media..."Yao is way better than Amare. He's the best. He can beat everyone. He is of course the rookie of the year." Mobley didn't just say that he was a rookie and make mistakes. He did say that Yao has been great and amazing and all that.
I saw the interview, although it did seem a bit awkward when he was talking about Yao, I wasn't sure if it was because of Cuttino, or because I kept thinking Cuttino was jealous. Maybe we are just reading a bit too much. Anyways, as long as they play on the court the right way, that's all that matters. Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds seemed to do alright. ( Yes, I know Cuttino is not the NBA equivalent of Jeff Kent)
Mobley is not very good at public relationship, that's why he hired someone to work for him a while back. But, I'd be tired as hell if I had to answer the same question over and over again about someone else.
Ask Cat if Yao deserves to win ROY. If he says no, I will have a big problem with him. If he says yes, fine, he just needs to perform better in front of media from now on. I think the way Yao deal with media is better than 99.9% of NBA players. He compliment others first especially his teammates and he is always harsh on himself. I remember after Knicks game, he took all the responsibilities without any excuses. When did cat come out say his poor shooting cost us some games? Be positive with your teammates, Cat. If you want to talk about problems, start with yourself.
Has Cat ever been the sharpest tool in the shed? I remember when he said "It would be over" if the Rockets traded the #1 pick for Lamar Odom. Maybe he meant our playoff chances would be over.
