I don't think there would be as much of an outcry against Cat all the time if: a. He made the shots every night he was making last night. There were a couple of times he heaved up shots and I thought, "NO NO....YES!" The problem is that he doesn't always make those shots and it gets annoying to keep seeing him force things that aren't there. Honestly, I think the guy could be a devastating offensive weapon if he played more under control. b. He wasn't so stubborn about it so often. There have been games where he has passed well, shot well and looked like a mature veteran. There have been other nights where he has flung up shots that didn't have a prayer and ignored his teammates to the detriment of the team. Last night, he was amazing and he deserves praise for that performance. But, I recall one point he took a wild shot on the baseline that missed and he was convinced he got fouled. At the other end, he fouled Paul Pierce and the Celtics eventually missed. When they came back down to the other end, Mobley, predictably, took the ball one-on-one against Pierce and flung up ANOTHER bad shot. That was in the 4th quarter when the last thing they need is a forced shot. I LOVE Cat's competitiveness. I love his shooting skill, particularly when he gets open looks. I love that he can often worm his way to the basket. I am increasingly impressed with his defense this season as it seems to have improved. But, I still get tired of the immaturity he displays at times and the unwillingness to give up the ball at other times. If he could correct that, the guy might be one of the most deadly accurate scorers in the league. He and Francis COULD be Thomas and Dumars if they were so inclined.
it was not like that at all actually. Maybe on tv everyone cant see the other defender coming from the weak side every single time. i mean every time! Boston's whole defense revolved not letting Yao even touch the ball. Battie was fronting the whole night, and another defender, usually the guy defending Posey, Hawkins, or T-Mo, came from the weak side behind Yao. But major props for the Rockets for great execution. Instead of forcing it into Yao, or jacking up 3s which would have been very tempting, they moved the ball around, for 25 assists!! All those baskets that Hawkins, and T-Mo made, and even some Cat made, came at the expense of the double teams Boston was putting up. And all this came w/o Rice and Mo, two of our best shooters from the perimeters. I think thats why more teams dont do this more, because if the Rockets move the ball well enough, they will get easy 16-18 footers. Thats what they talked about on 610 after the game. The only reason Boston did this was cause they dont have a true center. Other teams wont do this cause its too big a gamble leaving NBA shooters wide open, even if its just Hawkins or even T-Mo.
Chemistry problem or selfish? Too many arguments here, but no clear picture. Time will tell. Another 20 games? another season? It depends on fan's and Rudy's patientence.
Jeff, It is somewhat ironic that your post almost perfectly describes Paul Pierce, too. Not meaning to compare players, but I think this bbs should be awfully glad we are not Boston, or even Boston with Yao. Do you realize Pierce has been blocked 51 times this year and is shooting 39% and 28% on 5.4 3s per game. We won and Pierce lost, while trying to involve two guys who don't play much. good game
Another <b>good</b> thing about Cat is how he pushes the ball up in order to see an opening for a break every time he has the ball. The time he pushed it and gave it beautifully to Posey for the slam was awesome! Also, he could have had more assists off penetrations, but the shooters missed their shots. He had 24, 6, and 6, and people diss him. Poor Cat
Speaking of transition: How about the time he gave up a wide open 3 to find Eddie wide open under the basket on a transition play...and Eddie had a lane to the rim from about 6' away...just turn and attack the rim Eddie, but no, Eddie hears the 3pt arc calling his name, so he takes a dribble *away* from the basket and does a ridiculously unnecessary turnaround J when no one was even guarding the basket...brick.
While I did see times Yao was open, and yes, Steve and Cat boneheadedly did not pass to him, but more often than not Yao was being double teamed from the front and behind. And yes, he's 7'5" but guess what? Seven foot defenders can jump. I also thing our guards aren't the greatest at entry passes... as I said in the channel, man if only Kenny Smith would come out of retirement.
Well, the Rocks did try to pass the ball to Yao several times. However, the passes were just awful, which were either stolen or intercepted. Why not take high pass? Anyway, this is the first time this season that I see Yao getting double-teamed the whole game. Celtics were having one guy fronting him, and one guy behind him for the whole game. Yao's biggest contribution was to have forced Celtics take perimeter shots. After he blocked 4 shots and altered several shots in the 1st quarter, the Celtics did not want to go to the hoop anymore.
Hey, maybe those Chinese guards in the World Games weren't so bad after all. They couldn't get Yao Ming the ball either!
The bottom line on this game is that the outside shooting was there in the 4th quarter. Cuttino and Franics hit those back to back outside jumpers and hugged and mid- court. It's not a recipe for winning consistently, especially when it's just one-on one plays, but heck it worked tonight, so let's not complain. I think Rudy will adjust to the "collapse on Yao" defense that the Celtics used. The guards looked a bit confused, and Yao didn't get very good position either.
Wait a minute, didnt we just already do that yesterday. I mean, we had 25 assists, got open looks, got everyone involved......i am a bit confused
I agree that the Celtics were trying to suffocate Yao. But last night wasn't the only time that this has happened. Steve, Cat, and Mooch all have a hard time making the pass to Yao in the low block, particularly when Yao is being fronted. The result is that Yao doesn't get the ball where he should get the ball.
Do what yesterday? Adjust to the "collapse on Yao" defense? No! When Yao doesn't touch the ball that's not good! As far as getting other people involved, yes that's good but I posted about Yao specifically. But the Rockets won and that's what matters.
The Rockets made a lot of outside jumpers last night. In that respect, it was great. But I think part of the complaint is that the Rockets hit more jump-shots than they can ordinarily 'expect' to hit. Let's put it this way: if Mobley, Morris, and Hawkins all plan on shootin' 50% from jumper-land (Mobley is actually from the neighboring area of jumper-with-man-in-face-land), then I take back everything I said before. Yao shouldn't get the ball more.
When teams front players, like the Rockets usually do, teams have to move the ball from the guy who is trying to dump the ball to the post up player(usually the 3) to the guy(usually the 4) who is standing usually the top of the key. The 4 then can dump the ball to the post up player in the paint. These 2 passes have to happen quickly for the post up player to have a good chance of catching the ball. Some teams get this done against the Rocks, others turn it over or go to different options. Well, specifically for the Rocks and Yao, one of the reasons we could not get him the ball had something to do w/ Mo being out. I just dont think Eddi is a good enough passer to dump the ball in the paint area w/ that much precision. Mo can. Although, even Mo might not have been able to yesterday, since the weak side was too good. But then again, i will take that everyday and so will Rudy T if we get wide open looks from 17 feet.
It has probably been said a thousand times, but the NBA is about ME, ME, ME. (Nobody But me Allowed!) NBA players need to get their points, rebs, assists, blocks, etc. to get paid. Paid by teams, paid by advertisers, paid by reputation, etc. The only way to get paid is to have the touches. Francis, Cat, etc. are all still relatively new to the league (if you call about 4-5 years new), but they still seek to get paid. It's great that Francis got the max contract in the offseason and was an All-Star, but getting endorsement deals and being called "The Franchise" are still important for him. Cat also needs to get his due. When analysts talk about LeBron James, they don't see him making an impact as a rookie, because they believe that other players, esp. veterans, want to get paid, so they will get the touches. The same is true for Yao. He's a rookie. He has so much hype and impending endorsements that he doesn't need the touches to get exposure. Is it jealousy by the veteran players? Jealousy is too strong of a word, but players need to look out for themselves if they want to get paid. Look at Kobe and Shaq when they were new teammates on the Lakers. They couldn't stop squabbling about touches at first. But eventually they became teammates that respected each other and realized that the sum of their talents will get them championships and get them paid! The Rockets team needs to be comfortable with Yao and with themselves (financially and reputation-wise) before they can become a real team that will win championships. I believe it will happen. Francis has definitely shown that he will both score and dish out assists recently. Cat is not quite there yet. Give it a year or two before the team is comfortable enough to truly become a team and play together like a championship team should.
Yup, this is exactly it. Mobley and Francis were so excited to hit back to back jumpers yesterday. Francis was so excited he didn't give Posey a high 5 and went straight to hugging Mobley. It's nice to hit some outside shots off one-on-one situations, just don't make it the focal point of the offense.
I hope you are right. I've noticed that Mo more than anyone else converses with Yao during timeouts and before the ball is inbounded. They have a good chemistry going. And Horry was great back in the day getting the ball to Hakeem.
