Rocks, I love how you all of a sudden appear in a Mobley thread after he has a good game but then arent heard from after his 4-16 performances. Tonight's game did not prove in any way that he fits the system. Yao got into foul trouble in the third and had to sit a while, Rockets had no choice but to start calling Mobley's "plays". He was simply running high pnr and scoring. Mobley's baskets were not something where he scored off of cutting or ball rotation within the offensive flow. These were simply drive and pull up, and he happened to be making them. This is not in the long term interest of the team tho which is why he does not get these calls nearly as much when Yao is in the game playing his normal mins. The only game Mobley has really shown an ability to fit in the proper context when this offense is running as it should is the Atlanta game. Other than that, he has struggled when he doesnt get his "plays" called for him. His shooting percentages for the yr are awful at 41% from the field and 29% from the arc.
It is not about who gets the ball. The win over Hornets was all defense. Great defense. CAT's scoring was only secondary. Great team defense.
Cat against the Hornets: 9 for 16 shooting 24 points 8 rebounds 3 assists 3 steals 3 blocks He didnt take too many shots and hes not ordinary. New Orleans announcing crew named him player of the game.
Cat, Big win last night! But I think you are taking the initial posters point out of context. From my interpretation, he is saying that you are a ball hog NOT because you are shooting a lot of shots but the TYPE OF SHOTS you shoot. I think most fans will not have a problem even if you took 25 shots but it HAS to be within our offense. Ex. some back door cuts for layups like Moochie or some wide open jumpers when they double Yao. But this team is way too talented to have one person try to take over the game.
Mobley's playing style reminds me of John Starks. An above-average defender and a streak shooter. You can't compare Mobley to Ray Allen, Allan Houston or Richard Hamilton because they are pure shooters. I see nothing special about Mobley's game and he's over-estimating his abilities. Before they drafted Yao, I remember during the interview with Mobley that he likes himself and Francis to be compared Thomas and Dumars. Until he learns to make shots consistently, he will never be in that group.
This board is afflicted with schizophrenia. Good teams (and players) go through slumps. The Hornets and Celtics are good teams that have played terribly over the last several games. We broke our losing streak, but the Hornet's goes on. Cat broke his shooting slump (may it start a trend!) and Yao's continues, at least compared to what we've gotten used to in a short time. I watch the games on League Pass and the opposition announcers constantly praise our backcourt (and Rudy). I come here and to many they are total ****. And the BBS goes up and down, around and around with each win and loss. I'm guilty as well. Some of the last few games have been as much fun as going to the dentist. (I missed the Knicks game... I can only imagine the horror.) I appreciate the different places where two of my favorite posters are coming from, RocksMillenium and MManal. (two among the several, but shrinking, minority without the Affliction) Maybe if Cat has found his shot he can now discover the offense. Perhaps we'll start to see Rice getting Bull-like minutes after a few more games. Rudy baffles me all the time with his substitutions, but maybe there's a method to his "madness". I thought we were going to trade for a bruiser PF if we put KT on the block, but I really liked what I saw from Posey last night, so maybe Rudy and CD are on to something. (and maybe we'll still make another trade for a PF) Maybe... maybe no. Just when I thought I'd seen everything, every kind of reaction and proposal, I saw another example of the Baffling BBS. Start Mooch. Schizophrenia. It continues.
I love Mobley (always loved him since his days at Rhode Island) but there is thin line between a good night and a bad as far as he is concerned. He often drift away from "team ball" and often make or rather take ill advised shots. In spite of our win I am still not totally pleased about the way our drifted south in the 2nd and 3rd quarters because of bad decision making. Bad habits die hard and it is up to Rudy to make sure the CERTAINLY die. Mobley is a very very talented player and an underrated defender; I want to see him let his game come to him more and make better decisions. I hammer on the phrase "make better decisions" when it comes to The Cat, Wink and Mooch because the have and command the flow of the ball/our offense majority of the time. This I think is the Rockets biggest problem - Not Chemistry issue, not high expectation from the fans, not even youth ....... etc.
Michael Jordan's fault. Six championships and his god-like performance have completely changed the game, scoring based on individual talents. Of course, this is just my wishful thinking.
