And until he gets a paycut, then I will continue to expect for him to live up to the contract. OR AT LEAST TRY. ------------------ Sleepless in the Bronx See Homepage for reason.
almu, what, may i ask, are your expectations for cato? not based on money earned. just based on the role he can fill for this team. i'm curious. humor me. ------------------ Lt. Roastabotch reporting for duty!
15pts, 10rebs, 3blocks. And I am being nice. But at least close to Theo Ratliff, or Robert Horry when he was here in 95-96 or something like that. And thats just 35 million of the 42 or 48 or whatever. The other I would give to him if he would just hustle and show some intensity and intimidate players from not coming into the lane. Look, I am not dumb. I know that there is a premium for players like Cato and we would be over paying just to keep him anyway. But, if you make damn near 50 million dollars, try and earn 40 million of it and I would forgive the other 10 just because there are no big men out there. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, he is damn near Mickey D's wages. ------------------ Sleepless in the Bronx See Homepage for reason. [This message has been edited by Almu (edited March 09, 2001).]
Almu, You hit the nail on the head so hard, it went through the board. Some of us are getting hung up on stats when comparing Camby to Cato, but you would you agree that Camby also does the little things, like diving for loose balls, playing better team defense, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, being CONSISTENT. Hell, at least Camby took the initiative to go to a big man's camp in order to improve. Bill & Calvin have pointed out SEVERAL times over the past few games that if the Rockets can get a CONSISTENT effort from Cato, the sky's the limit for the team. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I hope Cato starts dominating the competition over the last month or so of the season... IT WILL MAKE IT A LOT EASIER FOR THE ROCKETS TO MOVE HIS SORRY, UNDERACHIEVING ASS THIS SUMMER!!! I try to have patience with young, inexperienced players, but Cato is one of those guys who will only turn it on when the "writings on the wall", as he did his SR year in college when it looked like he might not get drafted, or preseason '99 when he was entering a FA year. He's one of those guys that, as Barkley puts it, "back up to the window for their check". I just hope the Rockets don't fool themselves with his "potential" and hesitate in moving him. ------------------
By the way, Cato should be AVERAGING 8-10 pts (Could be higher if he became a monster on the boards) 10 rebs (This is the stat that I look for, rebounding is an indication of hustle and hard work) 3 blks If he can do this (granted that he stays with the Rockets), there's no reason that the Rockets shouldn't be a playoff team and make a deep run next year. ------------------
verse nailed it. Expectations. How about reasonable expectations? It's been 10 games or so since he came off IR from an injury that kept him out of 46 games. Do we give this guy ANY time to get into playing shape and to learn the plays in practice before we crucify him? Not to mention the psychological aspect of not being tentative and not thinking about reinjury. Try and put yourselves in his shoes and think about the whole picture and not just the 20 minutes you see on the court. He's not superman. Conditioning isn't the only factor to injury. Kevin Johnson and Jayson Williams (NJ) were in pretty good condition and still succombed to injury. It's reasonable to expect more than we've gotten out of $42 million, it's not reasonable to disregard the facts. ------------------ "We're growling more...I would not say it's a growl. It's not a purr either." -- Rudy T.
No, I'm not happy with Cato, you've got that wrong. I just don't think he's that good. Just because he's tall and can jump, people think he should be an All-Star, but that's just not the case. I won't comment on his work ethic because I don't watch him practice every day, but I just don't see the skills right now. Your expectations for him are out of whack, and are based on nothing that I can see but his physical attributes and contract.
Excuses. Injuries are part of the game. Here is an example. LaPhonso Ellis is hurt 99.9999999999999999999999999 percent of the time he has played in the NBA. But that infintesimile time that he has been on the court, he has never been accused of doggin it or showing lack of hustle or using injuries as an excuse. All the NBA players are hurt. Iversons bad elbow didn't stop him from torching Kobe last month, did it? Alonzo Mourning plays hurt all the time. He wants to play with NO KIDNEYS and this guy breaks his nail and he is on the IR? Hell, Ostertags black eye didn't stop him from playing. Most of us here make 1/10000 of the salary as guys like Cato and we come to work with the freakin flu, 110 degree fever or whatever else its required to do the damn job. ------------------ Sleepless in the Bronx See Homepage for reason.
Freak, he is not that good. You are right. But he is making the money and I expect production for that money. If he isn't that good, get him out of here and I will shut up. ------------------ Sleepless in the Bronx See Homepage for reason.
TB-Cain, We put more effort posting responses than Cato does playing the game. Don't talk to me about giving him a chance! He's had his chance, I know all I need to know about Cato. ------------------ I am an invisible man.
Almu: I dont see why you keep bringing up Camby going to Kareem big man camp. Cato did work hard in the offseason, and he worked with Caroll Dawson. Does it really matter where he went to improve, as long as he made the effort? As far as his injuries, you can't blame him for that. The high ankle sprain was a freak injury. ------------------ PrEsident of The Danforth Langhford FAN CLUB... He IS our future All-Star Small Forward
kbm, I know this is off topic, but I noticed your signature. One of my favorite books, I'm almost through reading it. What was your favorite part? FYI, I thought the battle royal scene was unbelievable, along with the paint factory (I used to work for a paint company) and his first speech and... YOU GET THE POINT! ------------------
almu, let's try this again. until cato can get 35-40 min per game (which probably won't happen until post-hakeem era begins), he won't average those #s. can you wait until he gets those minutes??? i can. the flashes of brilliance will become more frequent as soon as he stops being so injury-prone. keep in mind what his role is almu, even though you conveniently avoided that part of my earlier question. what role do you want him to play? not in #s. in HeyP terms, please.
Sorry but I'm firmly against the use of the words Cato and flashes of brilliance in the same post. That's just outrageous. ------------------ ZRB isn't negative, he's just misunderstood. [This message has been edited by Timing (edited March 09, 2001).]
Yeah, I have a feeling when Cato gets conditioned, and is playing some real minutes, he's gonna quiet most of his detractors. All you out there who think he should be Shaq but with a 78 % free throw average will still hate him, but I think he's gonna fit right in. ------------------ Founding Father of the Refs Suck Club
I like all of the scenes with him and mister norton, meeting trublood, etc. But the best part of the novel is the prologue and the epilogue. I really think Ralph Ellison is an essayist more than a novelist. You can read the invisible man as an essay that uses kenneth burke's idea of a representative anecdote to illuminate his points. If you really like Ellison, I would recommend you read his essays, they're great! ------------------ I am an invisible man.
I'd rather not look at the contract when forming my expectations. Rudy and CD gave him that contract, that doesn't mean he's going to play well. To me, Kenny Thomas has been much more disappointing this year than Cato. I was really expecting him to turn it on this year, especially with Mo showing up, but he hasn't really shown much improvement. With Cato, I thought any improvement would just be a bonus. Although he's undersized, Kenny actually has skills, Cato really doesn't have many. ------------------ "****!" -Kenny Thomas
Minutes? Ok, minutes matter. But, if he can just show a little ooooomph, I wouldn't post about this anymore. Its not about the numbers because if that's the case, then I wouldn't of like Harrington when he was here. But, he did hustle and show more....well oooooomph in his pinky than what Cato shows. You won't hear me b**** about this guy anymore. Its just this thread. Let the record show that I want his ass outta here, though. ------------------ Sleepless in the Bronx See Homepage for reason.
So Mo Taylor is less talented than a blind squirrel? ------------------ "We're growling more...I would not say it's a growl. It's not a purr either." -- Rudy T.
