Geez, guys i don't know 'bout this...i am a big fan of ym,but i happen to like sf,cm,and the rest of our team also.I just hated to see any conflicts between ym and his teamates.. everybody take turn to have a good game every night,so really i can not discredit any players on this team.I just hoped all players get along for the sake of the team.By that i mean> the playoff...
I saw the interview and didn't really think much of it. This is a team in flux and all the players are adjusting to a change in offensive and defensive philosophy. Taken alone, Cat's comments are simply the truth about Yao not taking advantage of one on one matchups. In the context of the team's struggles and comments by Rudy T and the players about those struggels. Cat was simply pointing out problems getting the inside and outside games to sync. Its not a big deal and it is nothing we all here don't already know.
Agreed, i don't really see that much wrong with what mobley said. But i guess people read what they want to read into it
Those of you who say there's nothing wrong with the quote are missing one thing. Cat (if this is an accurate quote) said that there are many weapons, "and we don't have to look to (Yao) every time." He obviously meant it as an exaggeration, since NO team looks to a single player "every" time... but what he's saying is that the Rockets shouldn't even look to Yao a majority of the time. So, let's just discuss that premise. Do we agree or not? I, and let me express this with great vehmence, ABSOLUTELY DISAGREE with Cat's comments. We should ABSOLUTELY be looking to Yao to start the offense a MAJORITY of the time (in the half-court set, at least). We should ABSOLUTELY be passing the ball to Yao when he's open in the low post. That's it. The rest of the stuff Cat said.. of course it's true. Of course there are many weapons. Of course Yao is overly passive sometimes. Of course Yao doesn't have Dream's aggressiveness (amongst other attributes). But let me say it again: THE BALL SHOULD START IN YAO'S HANDS > 50% OF THE TIME IN THE HALF-COURT OFFENSE, AND SHOULD FIND ITS WAY BACK THERE WHENEVER HE IS IN GOOD LOW-POST POSITION. Agree? Or Disagree?
Say what you want... but there is no player in the league I would trade for Yao Ming. His upside is simply too great. I was a huge naysayer when they drafted him first, but after the first ten hoffific games, he became a HUGE player. I love Stevie but everyone else is, technically, expendible.
You people need to understand the Cat's quote under the context. Mobley was saying this when defending them not passing the ball enough to Yao. By saying "We don't need to look to him every time down the court", he's actually saying "there is nothing wrong in how we utilize Yao, all that not passing enough to Yao is BS", thus the "we don't care what people say" statement. Now whether the Rockets, especially the Cat, have passed enough is another matter of debate, but Mobley clearly thinks there is nothing wrong in the way he plays his game.
heech: It's unfair to put words into Cuttino's mouth. If the quote above is correct then he said "all the time" not "most, or a majority" of the time. On the topic of getting the ball to Yao > 50% of the time. I'm only sold on that if the match-up is right. The last thing I want to see is the Rockets regressing to a one-dimensional inside-out gameplan like those of the past. We're better than that meaning we have the talent to have a multidimensional offense.
Cuttino is playing the race card. He needs an urban kind of kid to play ball with. I know where Cutturnover lives. I'll put some poop in a paper bag, and burn it, leave it on his porch and ring his doorbell and run. I should mix in some periods and commas.
seriously, people here need to just calm down and stop being overly suspicious with everybody. the rockets are obviously frustrated that they're not playing well and they're desperately trying to claw their way into the playoffs and when you have to deal with stupid redundant questions like these. you're obviously going to get pissed off and just talk without thinking how something might sound.
That was not a good statement, but lets give Mobley some slack just like we do Francis when he says he wants to get Ming involved in the offense and he does not see the ball but one or two times in a half. It all rest with Rudy, if he lets them continue to play street ball we will be out of the play offs and a lottery team. Then what does Les do, trade players or fire Rudy? You can bet one of the two will happen, I am thinking it will be fire Rudy and then when the new coach can not get through to the players you trade some of them. I think the one that stays is Yao Ming.
Obviously I saw the interview...are you questioning my integrity or my memory? No, but seriously, allow me to expand...The interview up till that point was actually fairly standard, and I was liking what Cat was saying..He was admiting that the team was suffering lately from mental laziness, saying many were of the " Oops, my fault." variety, and saying that it is too late in the year for " Oops, my fault." All going well, and me thinking how soft-spoken and honest he appeared...and then the Yao question, which was phrased like this: Cuttino, you had the chance to play with a great center early in your career with Hakeem Olajuwon who, while he wasn't anything like the player he was in his prime, was still a dominant center..and now you have another dominant center in Yao Ming. What is it like having to adjust to playing with a dominant big man again, and how do you respond to the criticism that you..the team, the guards, don't pass the ball, or get the ball to Yao enough? And Cuttino noticably changed, even while this long-winded question was being asked. Where before he had been soft-spoken, but attentive, as soon as Yao's name was mentioned he started literally twisting away, looked straight down at the floor while she was finishing, and then paused before saying, in a much more adamant voice than he had used when addressing the other questions, the very quote originally posted above. It may not be absolute word for word, but it is as close as possible. Also, his voice rose noticably in the comparison part, and he hit the 3rd "way" very adamantly..it would be hard to not see that as a knock on someone. I should clarify more...Toronto has over 400, 000 Chinese residents, the largest outside of China itself, and this had been Yao Ming Day...There were over 50 Chinese reporters waiting to see Yao in a special pre-game press conference, the Chinese Canadian Radio station was quoted as expecting an audience, counting internet, of in the millions, and the half-time show was adapted to be Chinese..And at the time Cuttino was giving his interview you could already hear the crowd in the stadium chanting Yao's name..so his reaction, his noticable frustration with a question he probably saw coming spoke volumes...And it wasn't just me who saw it's obvious tone..The studio announcers, when they came back to them just after the above quote, paused and said " Well..." like they do when something significant has happened, and then laughed and made a joke about Cuttino wanting to say it's Yao's fault so he can keep taking all the shots. This was not all that hard to detect if you saw it...what it means, how deep it runs is one of those your guess as good as mine things, but I will say that my reaction, and that of the announcers clearly showed a couple of things... 1) Cuttino is really frustrated/tired of answering questions about Yao, and probably answering THE question about Yao, ie. why he doesn't get the ball more. 2) Cuttino is clearly aware of the criticism, but feels that it is largely Yao's fault. 3) Michecon's last post probably comes closest to nailing exactly the feeling Cuttino was giving off...Things are fine, it's not our problem, we don't need to adjust. That was in direct contrast to his earlier admissions about needing to make changes re: defense, intensity, etc., and was therefore more noticable in his seeming refusal to acknowledge a problem, especially in the face of criticism he was clearly aware of.
Told you Yao has soft touch. Nothing is wrong with Mobley's talk. He obviously knows what to do. It's just that he does not know how to do it. Blame it on RudyT.
One more thing...Eddie Griffin was interviewed later by the same reporter, and it was a stark contrast...He kept saying that Yao was The Man, had to be the focus, how we should always try and run things though him, as it opens it up for everyone else. It was refreshing...and as I said, a stark contrast. The studio guys even commented on the difference between Eddie's attitude towards Yao and Cat's.
here is the solution. rox organiztion should decide if the want to be guard oriented or post. let em decide cuz it looks like both can't exist together. i wont be surprised if yao doesnt resign in '06 or demand a trade.
Talk is cheap, only action speaks volumn. Let's wait and see what they will do in the upcoming games.
Did you hear what Mobley said about Yao after the game? (On Yao starting slow but playing well down the stretch) “Yeah, he’s only a rookie, he’s only 20 years old so things will get a lot better, they’ll get sharper – all of us. With the guys we have, I’m happy with this. We are just learning each other. Steve and I know each other, it’s just the rest of the guys.” (Yao starting to find his role in the offense?) “Yeah, all of us are trying to find our roles, trying to build a chemistry where we know where our shot is going to come from. Between Taylor, myself, Steve, Yao and the rest of the guys following, we’ll be okay.” (On snapping the losing streak) “We had to. It was pressure situation and we have to build our winning streak up and continue this on our home court.”
Everybody chill, nothing to worry about here. It's clear Cat is dedicated to getting all the team's weapons involved -- not just Yao. Mobley is not selfish, and he has no problems deferring to Yao. There's obviously no tension here between Cat and Yao -- and any perceived tension is just manufactured by the media and/or conspiracy theorists. You guys are just reading into this way, way, WAY too much. I mean, can you blame him for being a bit upset when all the attention is going to Yao instead of Steve and Cat, and everybody wants to take away his touches. You'd be pissy too if 400,000 Chinamen were questioning your hegemony over this team. It doesn't matter anyway, in his heart he knows he's doing the right thing. Obviously, everybody else in the world is completely ignorant. And besides, if only the big guy would stop passing so much, they'd feed him the ball more. Again, we're blowing this completely out of proportion. If everyone would just back off, can't you see there'd be nothing but harmony, love, and unselfish play on this team.
