Is Griffin's demeanor rubbing off ?

In today's chronicle it talks about Mobley and not celebrating as much.

Mobley says

"When I was younger, it was all so exciting. Now it's more about getting your job done. Don't celebrate on this one too much because the next one might sting you. It's more of an attitude of responsibility."


Could this be related to EG's emergence. The other Rockets see how calm he is, and how he goes about his business in such a professional manner?

I think EG is the best thing to happen to this team, we need that calm steadying hand out on the floor, and EG seems to be giving it.

I actually think he and Mo T, may work very well together with Francis and Mobley.

The Rockets will be real good, once they get everyone healthy and on the same page.

The sooner the better if you ask me.

DD

 

Here is the whole article for those who are interested:

Jan. 27, 2002, 8:47PM

Hot hand
Mobley finds comfort zone with shooting in last eight games
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

Cuttino Mobley knew he was on a roll. He didn't need a stat sheet or a calculator. Shooters know.

Mobley felt as if his hand temperature had heated up a few degrees. He could feel it in his body as if dropping 3-pointers had become as natural as walking.

Then he shot an airball. When asked what had changed, what fabulous adjustment had so dramatically elevated his game and restored his shooting touch, Mobley was stumped.

There was no change, no repositioned elbow or reconfigured footwork to point to and use the next time he needs to tinker with his shot.

The plays called for him had not changed in weeks. The shots had come from generally the same spots and at the same frequency. Even superstition failed to supply an answer.

Finally, he gave up.

"I'm just shooting," he said, sounding almost disappointed to be so stumped.

But there might have been a change too subtle to provide an easy answer. Shooters -- and particularly shooters for whom lights are permanently green -- go on streaks all the time. But with Mobley's recent run, as with his controlled, calculated shot at the buzzer Saturday, there seemed a more permanent change.

Unable to find a physical change, he said, the difference might be found a few feet higher than his feet or hands.

"I think it might be just being more comfortable, more confident," Mobley, 26, said. "I'm more relaxed.

"When I was younger, it was all so exciting. Now it's more about getting your job done. Don't celebrate on this one too much because the next one might sting you. It's more of an attitude of responsibility."

Mobley, a 6-4 guard, never has lacked confidence. But in recent weeks he has seemed more at ease, more secure, less volatile.

He still bounces around the court with his arms flailing and a look of shock and exasperation on his face after a shot or an official's call does not go his way. But the reaction has become briefer. And more important, after his initial disappointment, he said he gets back to work.

Mobley said he often waits for shots to come, rather than force them. He has, even in last week's scoring surge, deferred to Steve Francis early in games and patiently read the opposing defenses' adjustments before going on the attack.

In four games last week, Mobley averaged 32.3 points per game. He matched his career high with 41 against the Nets, sent the game into overtime with a pull-up jumper at the buzzer in Charlotte and led the Rockets in scoring in three of the four games.

Mobley made 43 of 79 (54.4 percent) shots last week, while driving so consistently that he drew enough fouls to live at the line, where he made 34 of 37.

His shooting streak has not been limited to one encouraging week. In the past eight games since the start of the Rockets' five-game road trip, Mobley has connected on 71 of 148 attempts.

Before that three-week surge, he had been slumping. In the six games prior to that, beginning with Francis' return to the starting lineup, he was 29-of-95.

The more impressive turnaround has been from beyond the arc. In those six games, he was 12-of-33 on 3-pointers. In the eight games since, he has made 22 of 43.

"I just think he's been in that great, confident frame of mind," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "He had that week when he had three big offensive games (averaging 34.3 points). But this last week, I thought he was pure in his movement out there and seeing the floor."

The difference, Tomjanovich said, might be Mobley's improvement in remaining poised while maintaining his usual intensity.

"He's getting there," Tomjanovich said. "Everybody tries. But sometimes it's about how you control your energy. Sometimes you need to be more relaxed. When he does, he's so quick and he's got all those weapons, when he's got it going like that with that outside shot, it's almost impossible to stop him."

If that has been Mobley's latest adjustment, it is far from the first. Francis' injury and migraine problems have radically altered Mobley's role, from running mate to go-to scorer and back.

"We try to feel each other out early in the game," Mobley said. "We spend a lot of the first quarter adjusting, getting a feel for where I'm going to be, where Steve is going to be. Especially when you've got another scorer out there that can give you time to get your blood flowing, maybe get a rebound, do stuff like that, and then look to shoot more."

Rule changes have allowed opposing defenses to send zone help against Mobley's explosive first step. The more liberal use of hand checks has allowed teams to use defenders that could not have hoped to stay with him last season.

"I think he has been affected by the rule changes more than any player in the league," Tomjanovich said.

With much of Mobley's usual attack virtually legislated out of the Rockets' game plan, plays were changed to get Mobley loose in different parts of the court. The changes worked for a while. But Mobley said it took another few weeks to feel as natural.

"It took me a little while," Mobley said. "We had to adjust to the iso in the middle or on the elbow instead of out on the wing. There's a comfort level when you see where you can get your shot. You just shoot."

But shooters know that. At some point, it comes down to "You just shoot."