There is no question that I would take Cuttino. Maxwell was a good player, but not a great player. He was very streaky and at times he hurt the team more then he helped them. Cat avereged nearly 22 ppg and is a near all star player, it is pretty obvious to me....
Max was a journeyman at best. Mobley is a starter or the best darn sixth man in the league. The fact Vernon made D. Rodman look mentally stable by comparison decides it. Mobley in a walk. A one-on-one at their best would be interesting, Max was all D - he was one of the few guys that could shut down Jordan - but his O was dreadful. Cuttino is the exact opposite. The winner might be the first one to score!
What????? Cuttino is HALF A PLAYER. ONE HALF! You can't say the phrase "overall player" and the name Cuttino in the same breath. No D = HALF A PLAYER. That is half the game! Also, he's a ballhog and turns the ball over in the 4th quarter every game. Vermon Max had problems, but HE at least was an "Overall" player. You guys are a joke. Allen Iverson is an overall player? Hahahahahaha = Cuttino
Think about the feeling you get when Cat gets the ball late Now think about the feeling you got when Max got the ball late Hands down, Max is the man.... ...although Cat has better looking chicks!
Cuttino. Cuttino's defense is extremely underrated. He's made significant strides in that area, and he had his moments this year where he looked like a very good defender. He's definitely a lot better than Steve Francis on that end, but you don't hear that complaint too often. My problem with evaluating defense is that too many people form reputations in their heads for certain players, and it can take years and years for that reputation to change, since there are no decisive statistics like there are for offense. So many people still call Michael Finley a lockdown type defender, though in the last two years his one on one defense has greatly declined. It's the same situation with Mobley, and some other improving defenders. I've noticed a lot of people posting in this thread are ones that live outside of Houston and don't see Rockets games regularly. Instead, they see the few games a year the Rockets are on national TV, and other than that have to go by statistics and reputation to evaluate players. And I'd love to hear how Cuttino doesn't have "it". It doesn't always mean making that last second shot. Kobe Bryant missed one the other night. Michael Jordan missed plenty throughout his career. "It" is that special courage and desire that it takes to really want the ball and take over the game when things are close. Cuttino Mobley, in that area, is special. You could see it in his first game in the NBA. You can just see the look in his eyes, and the leadership he displays both on the floor and in the huddle, and you can tell that this is a player who wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. And no, it's not because he's "selfish" or wants statistics. Mobley has made a ton of clutch shots in his short career in Houston, and though he's missed some too, who hasn't? When the game is on the line, he has those special qualities that allow him to elevate his game. It's not often I get to agree with Timing, but this time he's nailed it. Many are simply romanticizing the past because of the championship victories. (which Dream carried most to) Max hit some clutch shots, and was capable of catching fire, but as a whole his shot was very inconsistent. For a 30-40 game stretch this season, after Mobley was said to regain strength in his hurt ankle, Mobley had almost identical statistics to Kobe Bryant and other superstar two guards. And he's still consistently working every offseason to improve his game, something a very small percentage of NBA players do (Maxwell didn't). Max, to me, will go down in history as a Derek Fisher type-- a championship role player with slightly more explosion than Fish. Like Fisher, Max played with a great center inside, was a good defender from the perimeter, and hit a number of clutch threes. Max was better at creating his own shot off the dribble, but with his inconsistent shooting, it doesn't give him that much of an edge. To compare it to the current game, it would come down to this... would you trade Cuttino Mobley for a Derek Fisher with a slightly better ability to create for himself? I wouldn't. Cuttino in a landslide.
Cat, I love Mobes. I think he very well may be an All-Star in the not too distant future. I also have League Pass and suffered through this season, but still enjoyed it (LOL!). But I also saw Max play in his prime, before he went nuts (Sorry, Max!). He was just about the only guy that could put the clamps on Jordan... at least enough for us to win every season series against them. He was also CLUTCH when it mattered. You could say he shared that trait with Horry. A very famous coach, I can't remember who, but perhaps someone else can, said that he could have been one of the best ever. Ask me in a couple of years if Cat is in the same league, and I may have a different answer. Right now, it's Max. Like I said, for me, it's easy.
Maxwell kind of reminds me of John Starks for the Knicks. Streaky, but was tenacious on both ends of the floor and could hit the clutch shots. But if Maxwell could guard MJ well, then I would give him a little more credit than Mobley. Also I think Maxwell was better than Fisher, Fisher is strictly a shooter, and his defense was no better than Maxwells in their respective positions. Fisher would get dominated by a Jason Kidd or Gary Payton, even a Tony Parker or Mike Bibby. Fisher hits clutch shots and gets loose balls, but Maxwell could do the same while playing defense, and when Maxwell was at his best he dominated, Fisher's best ball is hitting a few wide open threes and playing solid D. Maxwells best ball is playing good D, and carrying a team with his offense and ability to score 20pts in a quarter.....hes streaky, but tenacious on both ends of the floor. Fisher is not exactly explosive and his best game is/was not as good as Maxwells best game.
Over the course of an 82 game regualr season, I would take Cat. But come playoff time, ESPECIALLY had we played the Bulls in the NBA Finals in either '94 oir '95, I would take Maxwell in a heartbeat. Maxwell-MJ could have been a classic matchup in the Finals had it happened. So if I had to choose one, I give MadMax the edge over the Cat.
Max, he played better D and had the size to harass any 2 and some 3's. Cuttino will never get any bigger.
I'll say this... the current team needs a Vernon Maxwell more than it needs a Cat Mobley....a guy who plays with tremendous intensity and gives it up on the defensive end of the ball. I'd trade Cat for that kind of player TODAY, particularly given the fact we already have an offensive-minded player at the point guard position.
Maxwell was an execellent defender and really came through for us in the clutch. However, he took alot of ill advised shots too, and I don't remember him being a great assist man either, he got alot of dumb technicals. I don't believe we still would have won without Max. But, I just remember Elie and Horry coming up with almost as many big shots to win big games. Mobley hasn't proven as clutch as Max but atleast he is willing to take those shots. I read somewhere on this board "You can't be the hero, if you're afraid to be the goat" (sorry don't remember where i read that) So I'll take Mobley because he is actually on the current team.
Let's see....Vernon Maxwell, before he joined Hakeem Olajuwon, was bought for 25K. Maxwell after he left Hakeem Olajuwon, was, well, out of the league. Despite being largely an afterthought to defenses most of his career, he managed to routinely carry a field goal percentage in the 30s. Was he a great defensive player, or did he benefit from having the best defensive player of all-time backing him up....hmmm.
I like Cat, but his D sucks. He hasn't done anything like this, the MOST important event in Rockets history, the game that changed the whole team's attitude. Two hours after blowing the biggest lead in NBA playoff history, the Rockets flew out of Choke City down 0-2 to the Phoenix Suns. Four days later, the Rockets flew into Clutch City with the series tied 2-2. In Game 1 of the 1994 Western Conference Semifinals, Houston built an 18-point lead but lost. In Game 2, they had a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter but lost in overtime. "I'll never forget getting on the charter flight after Game 2," Rockets television commentator Bill Worrell said. "It was like a morgue." The Rockets didn't rise from the dead until the second half of Game 3 when they found themselves behind 49-41 at halftime. Then Vernon Maxwell got hot, scoring 31 points in the second half as the Rockets won 118-102. Houston finished "Desert Sweep" by winning Game 4, 107-96, to even the series.
