Now Cato said himself he was working really hard this off-season to get in shape to play big minutes at a higher level and I was wanting to know what y'all think. I'm making this into kind of a poll to get an early estimate. 1-3= not really progessing much 4-6= getting there but not what we should expect 7-10= has done a good job and should be stopping Shaq in no time! I would give him a 6 maybe 7 ------------------ I'm tha hip hop attracta, rapper slash acta, right back at cha!
Why wasn't Cato in The RMR? ------------------ Time is a great teacher-- only problem is it kills all its pupils.
I'd give him an 8 sight unseen, he has the incentive and I'm hopefull. Stopping Shaq should be atleast 11. ------------------ "Badges? We don't have to show you any badges. We don't need no stinkin badges!!"
Wouldn't have a clue about the Revue. I haven't really ever taken much notice of it but is there something to do with how many years experience they have had or something like that? ------------------ I'm tha hip hop attracta, rapper slash acta, right back at cha!
My best guess would be that the level that CD is hoping that Cato will be able to reach this offseason is one where the RMR would be rather pointless. He probably would have dominated it with no offseason work whatsoever. Cato would have had no real challenge. Besides, I think that would have taken away from the opportunity to really get a good look at what the Rockets needed most badly: big men. And I think they hope to round out the roster through the RMR, if not through the trade exception. Of course, that begs the question: Why was Kenny Thomas there then? My best guess is that he, as well as Bryce Drew are trade bait in combination with the trade exception. Advantage for teams looking to clear cap space - Rookie scale salaries + exception = lots of space cleared + decent young talent. Naturally, Moochie is at the review to provide quality scoring opportunities for everyone else there. Put an untested PG out there, and you can make everyone else look worse than they really are due to bad positioning and execution. ------------------
Cato never had problems being athletic or physically strong. If you've ever seen the guy up close, he is a horse. His problem is preparing for the constant running and banging of the NBA. It deals with a whole different set of muscles. Everything I've heard leads me to believe he will be fully prepared to play big minutes. Will he contribute much offensively? Probably not. His problems are really still another offseason from being fixed. He has bad hands. He still hasn't learned how to GRAB a basketball which accounts for his rebounding struggles and difficulty with entry passes. He is working on a jump hook, but he will need more than that to be effective in the center-friendly west. My guess is that we will see a Cato that is better prepared for the rigors of the NBA season and should improve on rebounding and being in the flow of the game. I doubt we'll see dramatically improved offense, but, if he continues to run the floor well and get open, Francis and Mobley will find him. He has to continue to be an opportunist on offense and just play hard on D which has always been his specialty. Listen, a 6'11" shot blocker who can run the floor is NOT easy to find in this league. Keeping Cato, barring some HUGE net gain on the return, should be a priority. We've been spoiled with Olajuwon, but with the offense going through the guards now, we should expect less of a low post focus and more motion and pick and roll. Cato can be a very serviceable big man in that role. ------------------ Save Our Rockets and Comets SaveOurRockets.com
I think the reason Cato has been viewed as a failure is because he had such an impressive pre-season with us. He was pretty damn awesome. He didn't do too bad compared to his production in previous years. He was on fire last pre season...Lets hope he can do a little of that this year in the regular season. ------------------ Who's ya daddy?
Actually, he had one really impressive preseason game. Everyone just remembers because he had a triple double with points, rebounds and blocks. ------------------ Save Our Rockets and Comets SaveOurRockets.com
Can anyone name 10 other centers you would have instead of Cato? If you can't, that makes Kelvin a top 10 center, and good centers are hard to find. ------------------
I still say Cato had a good first year for the Rockets, considering what he was before he got here. He has issues he needs to work ouy, but it can easily be done. I think he will be better, maybe not 15 & 10 better, but easily 10 & 8 (not too far from 8 & 6). ------------------ "One evening I seated Beauty on my knees. And I found her bitter." "I am a sick man...I am a wicked man. An unattractive man. I think my liver hurts."
