Per 48 minutes of course! He is at 18 rebounds per 48 minutes. 2nd is Ben Wallace at 17.8 per 49 minutes. I know that this is not much to brag about but I think we can all use all of the good news we can find right now and as well as Cato has been playing he deserves some extra praise. BTW, as good of an asset as Cato has become will Les be willing to keep a back up with his type of salery when we could trade him? http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/7/016854-3127-036.html • Kelvin Cato, C, Houston. A report in Houston said the Pacers have made overtures. Would you want a 6-11, 275-pound backup for Brad Miller who is averaging 4.4 points and 6.5 rebounds? If we do not trade him then that is fine because he is a very nice asset for the team. But if Les decides we need to cut back on salary then I would think the value for a true big man the can rebound and play defense would be pretty high.
The good thing about Cato? It was a good learning experience for Cato to be in the spotlight, the starter, and be in a leading position. He knows now, that "being the man" isn't what its call cracked up to be (42-mil contract, not withstanding). He's now fit into his role as a good bench player. But, if we ever need him (in the playoffs), when Yao is in foul trouble, at least we know that he's had some experience.
I really don't see how the Pacers could make a a deal to match salary wise. Austin Croshere and Ron Mercer would be the only two that work straight up. I'll pass on both of those guys, and I don't think they can package players to make it work either, to many really small contracts. I'd love Al Harrington, but he's a full BYC guy.
I honestly don't think the Pacers would be willing to part with anything that we would be interested in anyway. My feeling is that Cato could certainly be had for the right price but that the Rockets would be more than happy to keep him with the way he is playing and probably prefer to keep him at least thru Yao Mings rookie year.
Cato has been great! But I am sure Ben Wallace will be #1 again. We can keep Cato until Yao starts dominating. Maddox can be his backup in the future. Yao won't need backup!
