The way Cato has been playing is a big disappointment to me. His shooting percentage is not bad, but mainly because he can ram that explosive dunk. Mpg 21 FG%48 FT%58 TOT 4.7 Asst 0.1 PPG 7 Ranks 22th at 1.57 blocks per game. That's pretty much the whole story, huge disappointment. Kind of reminds me of a poor man's Issac Austin, showed up for one season under Pat's supervision with MVP-like numbers and disappeared in the next. I see Cato as a decent starting Center, good back up center, in a word, who doesn't worth 7 millions a year. There is so many holes in his game, his defense is questionable, but I will leave that alone. He has absolutely no post up moves, the only thing he can do is to shake his body as if dancing disco then launch a jump hook, no footwork whatsoever. I don't care if he is benched for 3 years in Portalnd, at least he should have some post up game after practicing for years at pro level. His passing, as 0.1 assist indicates, is so so if not bad, which also shows he got no respect, draws no double-teaming. His rebounding is slightly below average. Aside from his sub par post up game. He failed numerous times to catch the ball, especially whe there is defensive pressure on him. Offensivly he's got an jump hook and jumper, but cannot sustain his touch long for one game. Forget about that his postup game will get better under Dream and the staff's teaching. It's a question of poust up talent rather than limited playing time. I just hope he can play some great defense and grab rebounds. Show some heart, CATO! I wanna see you foaming again! Why do you disappear after your triple-double?!
Cato is not use to so much playing time. He doesnt understand yet. Dont worry he will learn, His shot needs some work but his defense is really great. Dont look at the blocks, watch when he plays defense and the player shoots, He gets up so high to block the shot that the shooter gets scared and misses. This is what i saw him doing on duncan and duncan couldnt make his shots. I think he should of had more playing time against the Spurs. One thing I like about cato is that he is soo quick for a center. I dont think any center can catch up to him.
I am also disappointed in Cato's play, but he will still be a good center. As everyone says, he's got a lot of potential. Expect next year to be his blow out year.
Meanwhile he's 11-11 so far in the game.... sounds like a serious schizo case. Wow, what a game tonight though so far... ------------------ Clutch CLUTCHCITY.NET -- SPREAD THE WORD "We have to admit how disappointed we are in Kelvin Cato, the Houston center expected to be a shotblocking, rebounding monster but looking more like Shawn Bradley every day. If that's not reason to start playing better, nothing is" -- Eric Karabell, ESPN
Wow, Cato the hot potato had a monstrous night, the chatroom was boiling over him. Right after my post he came out to play, what a coincidence!
Final: I only see two real problems with Cato right now: consistency and the lack of a good post shot. The latter I think he has good potential for; he's got a nice jump hook (when it falls), and if he'd practice that shot a little more then I think he could max his offensive play (and average around 15ppg instead of 7). I think he'll eventually fix this. Consistency, well... Part of that is just luck, fate, etc. - uncontrollable. No one has an awesome night every night. But the rest he can work on. At times he does a really good job of making people take shots they don't want to take, mostly by being in the right place at the right time (also how he gets his blocks), but at other times you can see him just standing there when someone runs right by him and... I think part of it might be fixed by Rudy running his arse a little harder on D, and at the same time he himself needs to realize that if he stands still for even a second, in this league that means giving away points. I dunno, like alaskansnowman says, he's got great potential. Every once in a while he shows us that. If he can learn to be consistent (and it IS learnable), then he could even be a great center down the road...
Cato has talent that is exceptional in the NBA and uncanny for a man his size. He is capable of becoming a game-breaking force on the level of the post-'95 Olajuwon. He just needs to get his head together and his emotions under control the way Hakeem eventually did. Trading Cato this year would be just about the dumbest thing the Rockets could do. I'd build a frontcourt around that guy any day.
Did you guys know he wrote a kids' learning book? That's... One thing I've always loved about the Rockets is that they always pick nice guys. They pick good people. Rider and his ilk - they have no place here. This team cares about the community. This team never wants any loose cannons (Maxwell). Cato - a guy who writes a childrens' book on learning to learn (for the SMART program, or something like that) - fits in well to this organization.
Cato can be huge! It is so fun watching the joy on the guards' faces when he completes an alley-oop. Let's not give too much individual praise to Cato, though. His offense is always the recipient of a team effort. Cato does know how to get himself open...but the system needs to get him the ball. I'd like this to be more consistent in the 4th quarter. For that to happen, the guards will have to draw double teams. I slid down right behind the Rocket's bench Saturday. It was unbelievable how many times Potepenko simply lost track of Cato. Another thing about Cato that I noticed, I never saw him make eye contact with Rudy, during time-outs, coming off the court, etc. Mobley, Francis and Rogers are right there nose-to-nose with Rudy on time-outs. I could be making too much of this, but Rudy and Cato don't seem to be talking. It's great Cato has some pride and wants to stuff the competition, but there's a fine line between team motivation and individual motivation. Individual or not, I'll take that opportunist offense from anyone, but on the defense end, Cato needs to be a leader and learn better how to position himself to maximize his role for the team...not just look for sportscenter highlight blocks. Any analysis of Cato must begin at the Defensive end. Watch him there, and I'll think you'll see why Rudy can't start him.
