i've lived in NY for my whole life and always rooted hard for the Knicks, but when Yao Ming came to the Rockets, I decided to watch more Rockets games instead (cuz well, it's kinda boring watching knicks games this year). I gotta say that I think I'm slowly being converted to a Rocket fan, not just because of yao Ming, butbecause 1) I love playing basketball 2) I'm sick of watching my overmanaged, big market, freespending moronic front office consistently overpay for stiffs like Charlie Ward, Allan houston, etc. while bringing in even bigger stifs with even worse contracts a la Anderson and Eisely. And yes they still charge 50 bux for nosebleed seats!!!!! 3) I am now officially on the Steve Francis bandwagon, the amount of heart that man has is astonishing. 4) I'm Chinese, so go Yao Ming! LoL BTW, Cutino Mobley's mindset, not skills, remind me too much of John Starks, you remmeber him right? Mr. Let me Shoot 1-20 in a potential Championship clinching game. Anyhow, in a few games before his injury, I noticed that Mobley would often take wild or hard to hit shots, while not even bothering to take a peep at anyone else. I think the Houston offense would work better with a more spot up shooter/defensive stopper SG, maybe someone in the Wesley Person mold (yes I know his skills have eroded). I'm just tossing out a name, I'm sure there are better candidates out there. My thing with Mobley primarily is that I don't tihnk he can ever accept being the 3rd option. What do you guys think?
how quickly you forget, though, that there were few other SG in the league that year who would have gotten you as far as the Finals. Give Mobley some time - if he plays anything like the last game, then this team will be real good. Heck, 27 assists for the team, Mobley and KT, for the most part, taking good shots. Is it the apocalypse?
Sol, Mobley seems to have learned something during the time he sat out. If he plays within the offense, he is perfect for our team. Keep watching them Rockets games!
nah this is my only handle here Starks did help get us to the NBA that year, but a lot of it had to do with the defensive system set by Pat Riley and number 33 (ok that guy from Chicago whose name I refuse to say retiring also kinda helped). But Starks' wild shot selection quickly grew old, everyone kept talking about his energy or whatever, I just saw it as showboating. I love Mobley's skills though, he's lightning quick and can get red hot form what I've seen, but the problem is, I think he tries to get hot at the expense of his teammates sometimes, and in the long haul, though that might win you a fewgames, it will come back to bite you in the rear.
If it doesn't work out, Q Richardson of the Clippers would be a nice fit for the Rockets. His handles are just decent, but he has a nice spot up shot and is a good rebounder/defender. Young too. I like Mobley though. I think he can be just as good a spot up shooter. Problem is, he'll never settle for that. I'm all for giving him a chance to see how he meshes with the team. I wonder what happens, though, when Mobley asks Steve "Who's better, me or Yao Ming?...Who would you rather have on your team?" It's going to come up sooner or later.
JayZ750 is right, you lived and died by John Starks. Last year, we also had to live and die with Cuttino. Let's see how he does with the offense now. Sure, he's gonna jack up some shots that make you go "what the f**k!" but that's just part of his game. He can also break some ankles (ask McKie) and can occassionally surprise you with his passing (maybe because we don't expect him to pass ). As he showed against Philly, he can play hard-nose D and more than anybody else on the team, provide that quick lift. Basically, the guy's a great talent, ten times better than John Starks and I think he'll end up being the best clutch player on the team. And if we were ever down by 30 in the 4th and we needed a comeback, you know the one guy who has to get hot is Cuttino.
You have adequately summed up years of arguments on this board concerning Mobley. That is why many still agree with your sentiment that he should be traded. My point is simply this. If Starks shoots somewhat decent in game 7 of the Finals, the Knicks win a championship. You never know, maybe they ride that wave to back to back instead of the Rockets. In either case, while I'm sure you'd still stick by your guns in thinking he showboated too much, you couldn't deny the fact that he helped you win a championship. Granted, that is all hypothetical. It didn't happen. I'd love to see a Finley (GREAT intangibles, can have outstanding offensive nights, but is very good in that dept. anyway) or Brent Barry on this team. But trading Mobley jeopardizes too much, imo - the chemistry that is finally beginning to improve on a game by game basis, Steve's feelings on the team, the risk that we may actually be worse with a different type of player, etc.
I gotta say, Quentin Richardson would be outstanding for the Rockets. He's a FA (not sure if he's unrestricted) so you know LAC aint gonan resign him anyway lol, why not swing a trade to LAC and give em Mobley for Quentin and a couple of others say maybe, Keyon Dooling (Rockets could use another good option at PG in case Franchise gets injured). Short term, team chemistry might not be so good, but I think given time, the relationship could work well on the court, the Rockets played good basketball without Mobley. Franchise and Mobley are good friends off the court, but hey so was CWebb and JWill, and Cwebb knew he had to get someone other than JWill or the Kings would never go deep in the playoffs. Winning overcomes all problems, and I think Francis is a smart enough man to realizethat having good solid fundamental players on a team is better suited for the playoffs, where discipline is key, since "D" is always stressed the deeper into the playoffs you go. However, I do think that Mobley has that rare "lightning in a bottle" ability that few NBAers have, unfortunately, that kind of stuff is potentially explosive to both teams, and do you really want that in a playoff game? I nominate Kenny Thomas for the starting PF, the man has got some serious skills, and is way too quick for a lot of PFs. What do you guys think?
As for the whole Starks issue, he's the kind of player that I don't want on my playoff team, one who can tantalize you into htinking that he can win it for you all by himself, so that you disrupt your whole offense to consistently feed him the ball. I would rather have a guy who understands his role, and knows that he ain't Superman. On the subject of the whole showboating thing, I for one have always disliked players who play to the crowd, probably one of the reasons I dislike Shaq so much (besides the fact that every year fans waste their votes on this ingrate who brushes aside the fact that we would like him to grace the All Star game with his big fat presence).
Glad to hear it, SO MAKE SURE YOU VOTE FOR YAO....over and over again....and tell your friends the same....and tell them to tell their friends!
Starks also got the Knicks to game seven, without him they wouldnt have got that far. Starks was a good defender and Rileys system demanded that..the trade off was that he was a streaky shooter..in the finals the streak ended in game 7, he held Maxwell down for six games , the Knicks never forgave him for not making it seven. Mobley on the other hand , while not the defender Starks was, is one of the best pure shooters in the NBA.
OK, so two days ago didn't an Orlando fan come running to jump on our bandwagon. Didn't we beat them in the finals. Now a Knicks fans. I can't help it: It is frigging hilarious to find a NY bandwagonner come slump shouldered here to say he was wrong all along and the Rockets are a better team to root for. bandwagonners from New York..bwahahahahahahahaha. Giving up on your team, 'eh. What's next....Jazz fans. If you land Lebron James this summer for sucking sooooo bad, you know you will just go right back to your beloved Knicks.
I have a confession to make, HP...I've decided to become a Boston Celtics fan... please don't hate me!! Go Celts! Woohoo! Paul Pierce ROoLz!!
And if Golden State had landed the first pick you would say that Jamison has alot of heart. just admit it, you only like Yao Ming. I love loathing the Knicks.
And if Hakeem hadn't got over in time to block his 3-pointer at the end of game 6(we were up by 2), who knows?
A-Train, you gotta admit that Dallas is the funnest team to watch though. I think you'd be a fool not to switch to them, if you are getting fed up with the Francis, Mobley and Moochie show and Rudy's stupid coaching and refusal to give us all what we want by berating Cat in public and trading his ass. Plus, Dallas is on TV more. as for me, the 76'ers finally have better white players than the Celtics, and I've always liked the complete game of Van Horn, and he's such a fierce competitor who just needed to get away from Martin's elbows to spread his wings...and he sets such a good role model with that 50s haircut of his. Plus, they are in first place.
zz, you always put a positive spin on things -- gotta admire that, as i sit here mired in negativity and cynicism.
