Kelvin Cato appreciation -- who needs Griffin?

Kelvin Cato has been earning his contract since about January 2002. He is an exceptional complement to Yao, especially on defense, where he offers good weak side help. Of course he is still a bit raw, but his talent is through the roof when he is focused. There was a play yesterday where he got an offensive board under the basket, got good position, and just crushed the rim with a monstrous dunk.

Teams win championships with good defense, solid rebounding, crisp ball movement, and by minimizing turnovers. Van Gundy's coaching style accentuates all of these points quite effectively.

 

Did Rudy ever try Cato at the 4? I remember a lot of BBS'ers calling for it but never saw it. Of course, just being on the court the same time as a 2nd year Yao makes a big diff.

 

Cato was just simply emerging from an effortless center into a working machine! I like the new attitude!!

 

Props to Cato, so far so very good. But I do worry there will be nights when Yao and Cato are in foul trouble and I don't look forward to seeing MoT and Aemechi defending the lane - even for a few minutes.

KG in particular could probably get 3 fouls on Cato in 2 mins. if he wants to. Cato's going to have to be more careful than he usually is. On night like last night when Yao's in foul trouble he really needs to watch it.

But Cato's forced me to reappraise some of my opinions already. And considering what he's already done, improvement seems reasonable.

By the way, I saw that standing O the Boston crowd gave Baker Tuesday night. It was certainly the classiest thing I've ever seen a Boston crowd do.

 

Cato really looks good at the 4. 10pts/13reb/3blks would be a very productive avg line for him. I think that combined with our slashers and Yao's inside post-up game will be very effective. I just want to see who steps up with the consistent outside shot. All in all I'm very happy with the Rocks potential.

 

Cato has played this way for the last 2 years (where was the love then?).

His production and hustle just doesn't show as well (back then) when we lose (and when Yao had limited minutes).

 

Besides the moment the ROX scored 100pts to give free bigmacs to the fans, the other loud moment of the game came when the rocket's grabbed like 4 offensive rebounds and finally put it in for 2. I believe Cato had 2 or 3 on that possession. The crowd really got into it.

 

I think Cato didn't realize that it wasn't a preseason game.

Mad props to Cato. I wanted Cato to play the PF last year and was pretty vocal about it. With Cato, MoT, and Yao sharing time in the post, we have a really good front court.

 

Nice. I agree...people were overlooking Cato last season because we sucked so bad. He's been doing this for a little while now. It's nice to see a player not being bashed (unless it's Mooch...he's got to go). I also like rotating Mo and Cato at PF.

Start Yao & Cato
then Cato & Mo
then Yao & Mo
then Yao & Cato again

That seems like an ideal rotation to me.

 

I thought that guy Braggs is pretty solid. This guy is going to be a steal in the draft. He seems very fundamentally sound and can do it all, hustle and rebound. I am very impressed.

 

As I've said before...I was moved to call in and mention to Rudy T. directly that Yao & Cato should play together last year...We would have made the playoffs if we did... I understand why Cato didn't play more, but the decision was not based on winning...but to give Eddie/Yao playing time to grow...

...and Cato's transformation is not recent, but in January of 2002. He has been playing like this for a while...it's just the coaches are recognizing it...

...also I'd like to add, Steve seems to enjoy playing with him...the times I've noticed Francis enjoy dishing the ball is when he's lobbing the ball to Cato.

 

Cato is the type of players that hustle, rebound, defend and block. He is a perfect center/PF to complement a scoring PF/C. It is just that before we wanted him to be the scoring center. He is never going to be like that.

 

Oct. 31, 2003 11:33PM

Cato's muscle opening doors for Van Gundy
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle


For all the times Jeff Van Gundy told himself he would not consider the horror stories about Kelvin Cato and would not listen to those who warned him about the Rockets center, there was one source who was an expert on the subject.

Van Gundy had floated his idea of playing Cato at power forward. Before Maurice Taylor dislocated his left shoulder in training camp and before Eddie Griffin dislocated his career, Van Gundy suggested playing the 6-11 Cato alongside 7-6 Yao Ming in the Western Conference, which is rich with power forwards.

He was told it wouldn't work, and this bit of analysis came from someone who should know.

"He told me before the preseason started he was going to try to play me and Yao at the four and five," Cato said. "I told him, `I don't think that's going to work.' He said, `Well, let's give that a try and see what happens.' So far, it's been OK."

But one game into the Rockets' season and with Griffin far from sight, the Rockets consider their power forward collection to be better than "OK."

Taylor says Cato is the equal of Pistons All-Star Ben Wallace. Cato insists Taylor is the real starter at the position. And the Rockets further opened the door for Cato by beginning the countdown on Griffin's Rockets career.

The real tests of Van Gundy's experiment at the position are to come, beginning with Memphis' Pau Gasol tonight and moving on to the Bulls' combination of Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler, followed by Nets All-Star Kenyon Martin.

The Rockets seem more than satisfied with what has happened to the position since Griffin gave it away.

That begins with Cato and his response to the chance he said Van Gundy presented him after succeeding Rudy Tomjanovich as coach.

"I think Rudy T had it set how he wanted his offense ran with Steve and (Cuttino Mobley), and that's the way he ran it," Cato said. "This guy came in here and said, `I'm going to see what guys can do.' ... He watched a lot of film and (identified) what he thought I could do and what I needed to work on.

"I still look at it like Mo Taylor is our starting power forward, Mo Taylor or Eddie Griffin. Ed's not with us right now, and Mo's coming back slowly from his injury. I'm just filling in and trying to be as productive as I possibly can."

Cato was productive off the bench last season with 5.9 rebounds per game, despite playing only 17 minutes per game. But in the preseason, and especially in Friday's second half, Cato brought a burst of energy, a notion that had seemed unthinkable a few seasons ago.

"I'm a center and a question-mark power forward," said Cato, 29, a first-round pick (15th overall) of the Mavericks out of Iowa State in 1997. "It's (like asking), `I'm the starting power forward?' Mo Taylor is just working his way back in. I don't know how much of the starting power forward I'll be. I'm just playing basketball. I like playing next to Yao, though. He gets a lot of attention, and I can get a lot of rebounds."

Taylor said Cato can do much more.

"When Cato wants to do the things he's doing, he can be just as good as Ben Wallace," Taylor said. "He can block every shot. He can get every rebound. He can dunk everything he gets in the paint. He can defend with the best of them. Last year, I thought he was the best backup center in the league. This year, I thought he was better than that. Cato has a lot of talent.

"People are going to criticize. Cato was used as a scapegoat, partly because of the money he made (with a six-year, $42 million contract) and the minutes he played. But he can play. Regardless of what anyone had to say about him, right now he's playing good basketball."

If the once-moody and sometimes-uninspired Cato's energy and enthusiasm were not enough of a turnaround, consider this: Taylor said Van Gundy has spoken to him about being more like Cato.

Taylor said he was told to be "a total player" rather than just a designated scorer. With no preseason games to prepare him, Taylor had 10 points and four rebounds in 19 solid minutes off the bench against the Nuggets on Thursday. (Cato had 10 points and 13 rebounds in 38 minutes.)

"I was still kind of unsure of my moves and my footwork," Taylor said. "My timing was off. There were a couple rebounds that hit my hand three or four times and I still didn't get it. I thought my wind was better than I thought it would be. I thought I would be dead after two or three minutes."

Taylor said he was not fooling himself or worried about Cato's view that Taylor is the starter.

"He was the starting power forward," Taylor said. "You saw the starting lineups. I'm just trying to work my way in. He's playing great. He's played the whole preseason. He's played every practice. I don't know why he's saying I'm the starting forward."

For all the happiness after one game with Taylor and Cato sharing the position -- with a strong 16 minutes from Torraye Braggs -- there will be tougher tests.

In the Western Conference alone, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Karl Malone, Elton Brand, Chris Webber, Rasheed Wallace and Antoine Walker have played in All-Star Games. The past two NBA Rookies of Year, Gasol and Amare Stoudemire, are power forwards.

But for now, the Rockets lost one power forward, found another and are prepared to find out if they came out ahead.

 

I'm really encouraged by the team-spirit and humility demonstrated by both Cato and Mo Taylor in this article. Says a lot about them.

I also liked with Mo said about what Cato's critics focused on. Really great to see Kelvin Cato really starting to spread his wings.

 

He's come so far, it's unbelievable.

Two years ago he was bashed and criticized as much or more than anyone in the league. Now this.

He's quickly becoming one of my favorite Rockets. Back in the championship days, I always like Dream and Clyde...but guys like Elie and Horry were my favorites, the role players. Cato is becomeing just like that...he knows his role, he's accepted it and is working to get better at it.