Chron:Mutombo says he's headed here as backup, mentor

He is, but he's also white, which negates that for some of the posters here.

I could see Yao and Mutombo playing together in very limited circumstances in one-possession, late game defensive situations to protect the basket

 

I think he meant..that the lineup would be big..Yao very tall and long...and slow..Mutombo inside presence. Big inside presence. It would be awesome and large definitely. I would like to see it.,

lol..funny though

 

Actually, not allll players say this. And he did want to be traded. Where have you been this past month? Right after he was traded to CHI, he came out in the media and told them to trade him, and Houston was specifically mentioned as one of his target places.

 

According to 82games.com, Mutombo had a pretty good rebound rating. It was 29.2. His shot blocking rating was 12.5. In comparison, Yao had a 27.6 rebound rating and a 9.1 shot blocking rating. Cato had a 27.3 and a 8.2.

Mutombo's weakness is guarding skilled low post scorers. When he guarded Yao and Zydrunas, he got schooled. He should do what he is good at doing which is rebounding and shot-blocking. Those are great skills to have for a weakside defender.

JVG and Ewing are going to make Mutombo feel wanted on this team. With Mutombo having to deal with Byron Scott and Isiah Thomas, it will be a like a breath of fresh air to him.

 

you cant teach shot blocking. you are either a shot blocker or you aren't. that's it.

 

most players say this, example that boy mo Pete, its like im glad they signed me, i always wanted to be with them, then toronto matches, and hes like o, yea i always wanted to be with toronto, they were always my first choice.

 

Maybe at Playoff, JVG will put them on at the same time for 1 or 2 Q(s)!

 

You mean like Gary Payton? Oh, wait..

Steve Franci... damn.

It's not even that big of an issue. Players will most often say what the media and fans want to hear. But no, not alllll of them do, and it was certainly not the case with Mutumbo in Chi town.

 

I would LOVE to see Mutombo and Yao in the game at the same time. I can tell you for sure we wouldn't EVER see Kobe drive past T-Mac to the basket and into Yao and Mount Mutombo . . .

This is OUR YEAR!

 

OK, this gives me a little hope. I found it interesting that he mentions Jackson, but not Howard, who is a better player. Why is that? Does he know something else is in the works?

The main remaining weakness we have is at PF and with our depth. To me, the best solution for this is a trade for Chandler/Duhon with CHI. Now I would love it, if CHI would take Taylor or Spoon, but I don't think that's possible. But, I DO think a trade is possible for Howard. He's a dependable veteran, whom they tried to get last summer. Now that Howard's 2 months are past, he can be traded. We also know that Houston has been talking to CHI about Chandler. If we make this trade, our summer is amazing. Not that I'm not already excited about McGrady, but that would give us our team of the future.

I still wouldn't mind if we picked up Keon Clark to backup Yao/Deke, but if the Chandler deal happened, I'd be thrilled.

 

He makes 700K, why would they pay him 800K?

I think I read it was closer to 600K.

 

I disagree. Yao was REALLY bad at shotblocking when he came into the league.

Certain things you can't teach, but there are major parts of shotblocking that you CAN teach like positioning, timing, when it's worth it or not, etc...

 

Yea i like to see Yao and Motombo on the court at the same time. ONLY against team with good PF like the Duncan, Garnett, and Webber. Yao can guard them and shut them down while Mr. Motombo can help rebound.

 

Yao isnt the best man on man defender.

 

Hahaha that's awesome! I'm glad Mutombo is coming to the Rockets. He'll help out the Rockets quite a bit and more importantly, Yao.

 

i can see yao and mutombo playing together on the very very rare occasion but probably even less then the amount that cato and yao played together under rudy.

sure alot of people say that team was my first choice, blah, blah, blah but we don't always have to be so cynical. if you think about it, which i'm sure deke has, houston is the perfect destination for him to finish off his career. a defensive minded half-court system, patrick ewing, and the chance to back-up and work with the next great big-man. what's a better situation for him?

 

you can teach how not to foul someone, but yao's shotblocking numbers are actually down per minute from his first season. what you are talking about is just general defensive position, not actual shot blocking.

 

Does anyone know if Yao speaks sasquach? How is Yao going to learn anything from Chubaka if he can't understand what Mt. MaDumbo is saying.

 

Just to note: Dekembe might have a distorted delivery in his speeches, but he's far from "dumb". He might be the smartest player in the league when it comes to "book smarts".

 

According to hoopshype he's making 800k, and I think it was mentioned in one of the articles posted in the other 'Tumbo thread. But you're right that we aren't picking up all of his salary, that was also mentioned.