Achece has it right. As an NBA player Mobley is a second year player, but last year he had virtually no opportunity to show any part of his offensive game. His job was to get the ball to Chuck or Dream. Give him some credit. 1) He can beat most defenders one on one. 2) His jumpers aren't falling. Keep in mind many NBA players haven't developed their outside shots until a few years in the NBA (look at MJ, when he came into the league he didn't need a jumper because he constantly blows by the defender). I hope Mobley continues to work on his jumper. 3) He is a streak shooter, so there will be nights when he carries the offense, and others where he looks totally out of it. 4) His teammates love him, and seem to listen to him (usually). 5) He is an emotional player, something we have dearly missed since Chucks injury. Mark me down as a Mobley supporter, no he probably won't be a superstar, but he will be a real good NBA player. I see Mobley as a bigger V. Johnson (old Pistons). He can give a spark off the bench.
Those of you who really miss Dickerson, don't feel bad. The point isn't that we shouldn't have given up a young guy who was that good and team-oriented. The point is that by picking a guy who was that good and team-oriented at #14 -- and another guy who was solid and team-oriented at top of the second round -- we were able to get a franchise-caliber superstar in return for both of them. Remember what Sam Cassell said about bring traded for Charles Barkley: It's an honor.
Here is my take on Mobley: I love the guys fire, his hustle, his attitude towards the game of basketball. I hate his shot selection, his not understanding the concept of WINNING basketball. He is young, and I want him to learn. What I think he needs is a good dose of PINE when he is out of control. Sit him down, then explain why he is sitting. Cuttino is a decent player, who THINKS he is a great one. I think he needs to realize that he is not THE MAN here on this team, and slide into a support role. Will his ego allow this? Perhaps, give him some time, if he does not learn, trade him. DaDakota
Another thing to consider about Dickerson's stats: He is averaging 37 minutes per game. Vancouver has no bench!! Lainey, there is a lot more to defense than how you handle the man with the ball. A scorer better get past one-on-one coverage at a high clip, or he doesn't need to be your scorer. We apparently chose not to double Mercer. Watch Anderson away from the ball. Some games he is excellent, like what we expect. Other games he is just not into it. He won't take the contact necessary to slow someone down around the pick. Basically, sometimes he looks like he's tentative about getting injured and losing out on the Leslie promise of more $$$ With that said. Anderson can be outstanding. I love both their defenses. And has anyone else noticed how Francis is a jack rabbit out there now. No rookie wall I can see. He looks so fresh on his feet with or without the ball. Last comment about Mobley: will and achebe, I only saw two ISOs called last night. I think we might say now that the heavy ISO calling was a Rudy experiment. But note, Mobley still got his 17 pts. That game is what we all want from him. The sneaky 15-17 points. Also, he handed two slams to Hakeem and Hakeem was too tentative and let McDyess foul him. Mobley had another less perfect (but convertable) dish to Thomas that didn't covert. He had another fantasy attempt at a behind the back that was a dream only. I counted 5 drive and dishes from him. These were in the flow of the offense slashes to the basket. Denver had to converge on Mobes. He found the dish 4 times last night, one TO on a dish. I love it. Dickerson, last year, did not drive into crowds like that. That's why I say taking Dickerson over Mobley is a matter of taste: one is a pure shooter/slasher, the other is a streak shooter/creater. Mobley can relieve Francis when stevie is resting or being hounded by double-teams. I don't see Dickerson being about to do that. I prefer Mobes over Dickerson for this team.
jscmedia: Still, he's got the nerve to go in there strong to the rim, and Rockets fans gotta love that. We've been asking for it for years. Right on!! Pippen wouldn't even do it for us.
