A blurb in Feigen's notes in today's Chronicle: Cato's view Rockets center Kelvin Cato said Yao Ming should bring the Rockets more balanced scoring. He said he did not think anyone would have a problem giving up shots to get the ball to a center the Rockets have not seen since Hakeem Olajuwon was in town. "Everybody wants to win," Cato said. "This is the first time since I've been here that everybody on the team is more involved in winning than personal stats. "We've been here too long not to win. We've been here four years. I don't think we'll make a fifth year if we don't make the playoffs. I think they'll break this team up. Yao and Steve (Francis) and Cat (Cuttino Mobley) will be here, so everybody will have to pitch in." ____________________________ If the team is broken up next summer, any guess who would be first on the list?
Well, think about it. Cato would be the last. Rice is in his final year, KT would be an FA, Griffin is part of the future and has a tiny contract, Ming is not going anywhere, Steve and Cuttino aren't. Rice, Mooch, Taylor, THEN Cato. It's all irrelevant though. We're making the playoffs as the 6th seed.
Funny coming from him. I think he's more worried about the Rockets finding a way to drop is ass. The funniest part is about him saying everyone will have to pitch in. Other than the preseason that got him is contract a couple years back, what in hell has he done?
HHmmmmm.............Cato giving GM advice. I don't think anyone should take too much from this quote. Cato's opinion is nothing to take serious or get worked up about. I think he is just trying to say that they don't have anymore excuses and that everyone on the team is ready to work together to win. He has a funny way of explaining himself.
It seems some people will bash Cato no matter what he does or says. They bashed him when he was a depressive maniac, they bashed him when he boycotted the media, they bashed him when he didn't care, they bashed him because he was always injured, and after playing almost the entire past season, STILL they bash him. And now that he is being outspoken and deferring to Ming in a way I never expected of him STILL they bash him. If all Cato cares is about his contract, why would it make any difference for him if he got his a$$ traded or not? For chrissakes, lay off the guy willya. I'm sure he is an important part of the team and he has been saying the right things for a couple of months now. Some people will even go out to criticize the guy and say that "last night he couldn't contain Duncan". Yeah, sure. Like ANYONE can. Give him some credit. And besides, he can hold his own somewhat in the paint with Shaq like few others can in the league and he is going to be greatly useful as Yao Ming's sparring partner. Stop with the hating.
I think Cato is saying all the right things. I have been impressed with his comments all preseason, he is aware of his place on the team and is ok with it. Ming is going to be the starter, Cato will be the best backup C in the league and we will need him. Ming got 3 fouls in 13 minutes and we will see a lot more fouls from Ming this season. Cato is a key part of our team, quit bashing him. If he starts complaining about PT then you can bash him. Cato is the only player on this team that I can tell who has accepted his roll as a backup. Every team needs roll players.
Remember, he started playing well last season when he thought he was being traded. The whole trade thing is now evolving into actually perfor-ming...
I've been as quick as anyone to bash Cato in the past.. On this occasion, I will agree with Thanos...lets lay off of him for a bit..he didnt say anything wrong..he wasnt bashing anyone.. the only thing Cato has done wrong this preseason is not catch the ball worth a damn, but we have already slammed him enough for that over the years.. He will be a decent backup by midseason..the real question is.... Why hold on to Collier when Goodrich looks so much better? BobFinn*... the glass is half full of course. you have to be an optomist when you've been a Rox fan for as long as I have..it's the only way to keep your sanity.
Why hold on to either as players. Someone said Goodrich may be a good offensive asst. coach or consultant. Other than that, I'd rather go with an athlete: Hawkins or Mickeal. We have the C spot covered: Yao Ming, Cato, MT and EG. That's plenty...
Thanos and R2K are making good points. I don't think Cato is the best back-up C in the League... let's check after mid-season to be that brash. It IS Cato we're talking about. I think Yao coming here is the best thing that ever happened to Kelvin. He has had the weight of expectations lifted from his shoulders. I believe he PREFERS to be a back-up. It's just his nature. If he can keep any kind of focus for the whole season (not pre-season or in spurts here or there) then we will be stacked at the C. We haven't been able to say that in a long time.
Sorry, Cato as a person may be the coolest individual, but I only look for skills on the court. Whenever I insult or "bash" Cato it isn't because I hate him as person, but as a basketball player. He really isn't even close to being a dependable player. His defensive and offensive awareness are terrible and haven't improved since he entered the league. He has terrible hands when he's in the lane. Many of his fouls are mental mistakes. Good Lord.....you'd figure his offensive game would improve over the years after watching Eddie's improve drastically after a single off-season. Sorry Cato, you may be the "Man" in NBA2K3 on your PS2, but as a real life basketball player you suck.
No matter what my sig says, I think we need to support his lazy ass to get some results. Obviously the bashing doesn't help him. With his contract that we gave him, we are joined at the hip and lets go the high road and support him. After all he is a Rocket
Cato is not the best backup center in the league. And I'm among those who bash him any way I can. But there's nothing wrong with what he said in the notes. He has shown nothing but support of Ming since Ming's arrival. Give the guy some credit.
doesn't anyone see that quote as i do - damn encouraging? first time he's been there that everyone's committed to winning (inclusive of himself?). the quotes that have been coming from Cato actually seem to point out that he enjoys having Yao Ming there - even if yao starts over him. i dunno, but his statements of late have sounded like Cato is more positively focused
Several people on here just like to bash players. If it isn't Cato it will be someone else. They find it impossible to say anything good about anyone. In my opinion judging a person on pre season game play is not the smartest thing in the world. For one thing they don't play with the starters for a whole game. Cato is doing quite well and I am sure that several coaches would love to have him. Lets let the team play a few regular season games before we try to destroy what they have.
