I was browsing on NBA.com and found a section on players comments in regards to their team's offseason activity and Mobley had a small section. It's not much but not much else going on as far as the Rockets go. Here it is. http://www.nba.com/features/catchingup_030731.html
CUTTINO MOBLEY, Rockets (Offseason moves: Houston) How are you preparing for this season with a new coach in Jeff Van Gundy? "The worst thing is that we don't have Rudy (Tomjanovich). The best thing is everything is new now. We're rebuilding on a positive note. We're strong. We have to be consistent. Jeff is an X-and-O guy. He's very organized, so that's a good thing." How much will change on the floor with coach Van Gundy? "He's more disciplined. He's just as intense as Rudy. I think a lot of things like that will change. There will be a demand to do different things. Steve (Francis) and I will be doing more different things on the floor. We were seventh in the league last year in defense, so if we push that up to three, that's the difference between winning one or two games and making the playoffs." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- sounds like he's on board.
Thanks, Rivaldo. You're right, he didn't say much, although we'll have folks trying to read between the lines. I wish he had commented on the changes in the offense... what differences he expects there. We all know JVG is intense and stresses defense.
That's the first thing I thought of when I read this line: I'm sure someone will turn that into a "let's trade the disgruntled Mobley" thread. Of course Mobes was just taking the high road and showing respect for his old coach.
For all you Cat haters(I love cat ) who always try to find reasons to trade him; sure looks like HE and coach are ready to mix up some things. He understands and seams willing to do what is needed to win. I hope Cat and Francis teamup to make the second best backcourt behind a free Kobe and Payton next season.
to me, Cuttino has always seemed very malleable. He can't do everything (who can), but he seems to enjoy his coaches. I like the way he keeps mentioning Rudy, yet looks forward to JVG. despite the rep of being a selfish idiot...Cat is a coach's player. He listens and tries.
That sounds like a backhanded compliment: we were already a very good defensive team. Van Gundy will make us a somewhat better defensive team, but you can see from there being no mention of it that I don't think he'll help our offense one iota. By making our strength a tiny bit stronger, we should win an extra game.
I wonder why Cat chose the number 3 spot for his defensive goal. Is three a number that is more reachable than two or one? Hmm...
Notice how he didn't mention Yao at all in that paragraph? Or how Van Gundy would work with Yao? Clearly he hates Yao.[/sarcasm]
We alway knew he hated Yao, but what is more telling is that he didn't mention any of his other teammates either. He secretly hates them all which explains why he doesn't pass the ball.
If we can push our defense up to the 3rd, we can be close to a 50 win season I think. But that's a tall order, our interior defense is probably up there, but preimeter defense needs a lot of work.
>>>We were seventh in the league last year in defense, so if we push that up to three, that's the difference between winning one or two games and making the playoffs.">>>> The 7th in the league in defense is deceptive. We weren't 7th in the league before Yao. Most of that "defensive" ranking is from Yao and Griffin's shot-blocking ability. Not *team* defense or perimeter defense. Cat needs to stop fooling himself. Both he and Francis are very sub-par on defense, although Cat has improved last year.
the guy is a freakin nut! heard him on espn radio not too long ago, the radio guy asked him if his got any 'inside' story on yao that he can share, his reply was 'no, i've got nothing to say', nothing good to say i guess, but the interviewer kept asking about yao (and his driving skills), then he said he hit some car in the parking lot. but when it comes to talking about his clothes, barkley and who he is dating you couldn't shut the guy up! can't wait til they ship him out.
for godsake you are making a big deal of what he says to the media....why should he have any inside info on yao? what is there to tell? nothing..
Statistics are used as support for an argument. They are not the argument. They are used, like light, to make something easier to see. The Rockets were a good defensive team this past season because of Yao, Griffin, Cato and Posey. Cat and Steve were adequate but not great defenders. Mo, Moochie and Rice can't defend anyone. Because of our big men, the Rockets were 5th in blocks per game, 6th in rebounds. We were 24th in steals. We were 28th in forcing turnovers. The latter shortcomings are due to Mobley, Moochie, Hawkins, and Rice not getting nearly enough steals and not playing defense well enough. The following players all got more steals per game than Mobley, and Mobley came into the league on the strength of his defense, and with his long arms, he should be getting two steals a game. 1. Allen Iverson ( Philadelphia 76ers) 82 225 2.74 2. Ron Artest ( Indiana Pacers) 69 159 2.30 3. Shawn Marion ( Phoenix Suns) 81 185 2.28 4. Doug Christie ( Sacramento Kings) 80 180 2.25 5. Jason Kidd ( New Jersey Nets) 80 179 2.24 6. Kobe Bryant ( Los Angeles Lakers) 82 181 2.21 7. Paul Pierce ( Boston Celtics) 79 139 1.76 7. Caron Butler ( Miami Heat) 78 137 1.76 9. Steve Francis ( Houston Rockets) 81 141 1.74 10. Jamaal Tinsley ( Indiana Pacers) 73 125 1.71 11. Karl Malone ( Utah Jazz) 81 136 1.68 12. John Stockton ( Utah Jazz) 82 137 1.67 13. Gary Payton ( Milwaukee Bucks) 80 133 1.66 14. Tracy McGrady ( Orlando Magic) 75 124 1.65 14. Darrell Armstrong ( Orlando Magic) 82 135 1.65 16. Bonzi Wells ( Portland Trail Blazers) 75 123 1.64 16. Aaron McKie ( Philadelphia 76ers) 80 131 1.64 18. Jerome Williams ( Toronto Raptors) 71 116 1.63 19. Eric Snow ( Philadelphia 76ers) 82 133 1.62 20. Nene ( Denver Nuggets) 80 127 1.59 21. Ricky Davis ( Cleveland Cavaliers) 79 125 1.58 22. Stephen Jackson ( San Antonio Spurs) 80 125 1.56 22. Jason Terry ( Atlanta Hawks) 81 126 1.56 24. Gilbert Arenas ( Golden State Warriors) 82 124 1.51 24. Brent Barry ( Seattle SuperSonics) 75 113 1.51 26. Michael Jordan ( Washington Wizards) 82 123 1.50 27. David Wesley ( New Orleans Hornets) 73 109 1.49 27. Antoine Walker ( Boston Celtics) 78 116 1.49 29. Andrei Kirilenko ( Utah Jazz) 80 118 1.48 30. Ben Wallace ( Detroit Pistons) 73 104 1.42 30. Alvin Williams ( Toronto Raptors) 78 111 1.42 32. Dirk Nowitzki ( Dallas Mavericks) 80 111 1.39 33. Latrell Sprewell ( New York Knicks) 74 102 1.38 33. Kevin Garnett ( Minnesota Timberwolves) 82 113 1.38 35. Ray Allen ( Seattle SuperSonics) 76 103 1.36 36. Stephon Marbury ( Phoenix Suns) 81 108 1.33 37. Shane Battier ( Memphis Grizzlies) 78 102 1.31
