I seriously think Mobley needs to get a good dosage of pine...At least until he picks up his game. He almost single handedly gave the game to Chicago after the Rox were up by 10 with 2 mins left. His rap sheet in the final minutes read, Miss, turnover, turnover, foul. Its one thing to be a point guard and have alot of to's trying to distribute the ball, or a Big man whos being mercilessly doubled. But a shooting guard, who primarily shoots, there's almost no excuse for 6 of those bad boys. Which leads me to why SA has to continuously sit through 4th quarters. His D surely would of been nice in attempting to stop all World Maloney from getting layups to bring the game back into hand in a matter of a nanosecond. So his shot was off tonight. I believe he has the second highest shooting percentage on the team. He has great overall D, and brings so much more to the table. He had 7 boards without getting to play in the 4th, and typically doesnt turn the ball over as much, and typically passes much better than Mobley. So am I to believe that just because he doesn't jack idiotic shots every time down the court, he doesn't deserve time out there, because he does every thing else much, much better than Mobley. Now Im not saying theres not a place on this team for Mobley. Or that Rudy is an idiot for not thinking like me. But what exactly is the problem with SA getting more minutes?
I dont know what to say. I was also getting really mad that shandon had to sit the end of the game. I dont like Mobley at the end of the game. He just plays like an idiot. He can become such a great player if all he would do is pass more, ALOT MORE.. And just take the ball inside. But I would never, never have shandon on the bench at the 4th. 1st- He knows how to win 2nd- He has excellent defense 3rd- He plays SMART
Dreamshake (TDS99), Is this "playground game" something that Cat will eventually outgrow? I am trying to think of another NBA player that had similar traits and eventually overcame them. Can you think of one? Mango
if i was shandon i would be mad now. he took less to come here and is not getting a fair chance. rudy is ticking me off.
I don't know what's up with Mobley. The only thing that I know is that the only reason he jacks up those 18 footers is to keep his defender on his toes. If all he does is drive drive drive, then the defense will adjust and it will be harder for Mobley to drive. But if he drives, shoots, drives, shoots, then it will be harder for the defense because they won't know what he gonna do next. But don't forget, he's still a rookie... He'll learn.
You guys tell me who deserves more time??? One man: 29.7 mpg 48% FG 35% 3's .730 FT 4 rebs per game 2.2 TO's per game 3 assists per game 1.14 Stls per game .48 Blks per game 10 ppg 282 Shots for the season Other man 32.2 mins per game 38% FG 31% 3's .843 FT 3.1 Rebs per game 2.3 TO's per game 1.45 Steal per game 2.8 Assist per game .37 blks per game 14.4 points per game 433 shots for the season Thats not to mention the First guy plays much, much better on the Defensive side, and plays team ball on O. Mobley shoots much worse, 10 percent worse, but takes 65 percent more shots? How does that work? Rudy, give the time to the man who deserves it.
TDS99, The most telling stat is the assists line, even though Cat has more time spent with the ball in his hands to make something good happen. Or not happen. Mango
I agree, Dreamshake. Mobley needs to be set straight. His "lone horseman" style of play has really gotten out of hand over the past 2 weeks. He just isn't being a team player and I don't understand why Rudy isn't upset with him. Alaskasnowman, you don't keep your defender on their toes by shooting 18 footers when you can barely shoot 38%. His defenders are allowing him to take those shots. They don't have to play him strong when he takes the long distance shot. They only time they are giving him "respect" is when he tries to go one-on-one and take it to the hole. That is when they will double him when he takes it low trying to cause a turnover or a bad shot. As I've said before and I'll say it again, Cuttino could be one hell of a player if he would learn to make the middle distance jumper. He's too quick for 90% of the defenders in the NBA to defend when he has a shot like that in his arsenal. All he has now is the drive to the basket and the long range 2 or 3 pointer. I guarantee if he would work the entire summer on getting himself open and making the mid-range, 10-12 footer, he could easily score 20-25 ppg and shoot at least 40-42%. ------------------ Tanking is not acceptable. End of story.
I can think of only one theory that explains all the data in this thread: the PT, the PT in crunch time, the free rein, the tolerance for Mobley's showoff moves, the incessant and excessive praise for Mobley from Rudy in the press, the constant benching of Anderson to keep Mobley on the floor as much as possible. Rudy is fattening Mobley up for a trade. If that's so, then Mobley should at least do his part and look good.
Will, I was thinking the same thing last night and from listening to the conversations in the irc channel in the past few weeks (since I can't see the games). Rudy will usually yank players that play out of control. Examples of this would be the times he's pulled Francis for too much one-on-one. There were other times when he pulled the entire team off the court for no-defense/all-show play. With Cuttino, he doesn't even flinch... seems as if he's encouraging the play. Let's face it, if Cuttino can get that shooting percentage around 40-42%, the guy would make for excellent trade bait. Isn't the trading deadline something like February 15th? If so, should make for an interesting month or so... ------------------ Rocket fuel pumps through these veins...
By the way, Walt seems to be getting showcased also. Does anyone know if the Rockets will be more receptive/active in making a trade compared to their reluctance earlier in the season? Mango [This message has been edited by Mango (edited January 16, 2000).]
Mobley really pisses me off whenever he misses those long range jacks, and also whenever he travels, steps out of bounds, or throws lazy passes like in the end of the Bulls game. Sometimes, he makes those shots like against Pippen or against the Warriors. Overall, however, Mobley is better than Anderson cuz he is more explosive on offense and handles the ball a lot better, and he is learning a lot about the game whenever he plays in crunch time. RocketsPimp- Mobley does keep defenders on their toes with his 18-footers. Since he makes them consistently when he is hot he forces the defenders to keep second guessing what they are going to do.
Let me just say that Mobley is likened to a streak shooter. When I think of Streak shooters the first thing I think of is a label attached to players who jack a ton of shots, rarely making most of them, who once every 20 or so games has a good night. Vernon Van Excel Iverson...Yes Iverson. Yeah he scores butt loads of buckets, but at a cost of of going 13-30 most nights. I dont want any of those players on the Rox for just one reason. The amount of games youll win as compared to the amount of games youll lose with those types of players is not worth the trade off. When they are the leading shot takers for their teams. Im almost inclined to go along with DaDakota on this and think that Rudy might not be so keen on winning. Now be that for the good of the team in the future or not, I want the team to get used to winning. The Rockets are 5-7 in their last 12 games. When the Rox were up 10 with 2 1/2 mins left, Mobley went miss, TO, TO, Foul. All the While allowing Matty to get free a few times for easy layups. All that was in a span of 1 1/2 minutes. When the Rox called a Timeout, Mobley was begging to be sat at that point. Why not bring in the defensive presence in Anderson? Someone who has more offensive descipline? I mean even Carlos Rogers, who next to Lil Stevie, has been the Rox most consistant player, and cant get time in the 4th. Enough rambling. Point is, Id like to see Anderson getting at least 35 mins a game, and Mobley cut down to around 20 mins.
I really think that we <strong>should not</strong> trade Mobley. Sure, his shooting percentages are down a bit from last year, but keep in mind some things. 1.)He's got a ton of potential 2.)He already has some talent. 3.)He is still pretty much a rookie. He has only played about 80 games in his NBA career. 4.)He has shown that he has a lot of dedication and is willing to work hard. Mobley said that he wants to be an all star in this league. And with the dedication, hard work, and desire that Mobley has, there's no doubt that in a few years he an become an all star. 5.)He has heart. 6.)His shooting percentages are down this year because he his forced into becoming the focal point of an offense. And he is not ready or good enough to play that role. In a few years, possibly even next year, he can grow into/get enough talent to play the role of one of the main go-to guys on this team.
But I also think that Shandy should get more playing time. But it doesn't necessarily have to be Mobley's time. Rotate Shandon at the 2 and the 3 spot. Then he can get 30-35 min. a game. I say our sf's should be shandon and walt, with a lil bit of matt bullard.
I agree with snowman. There is no way the rox trade Mobley, cuz if they do whenever Mobley plays the rox he will have a great game against us. SA does need more playing time, but definitely not at the expense of Mobley, since he is one of the go to guys on this team. Also, Mobley has a much higher freethrow percentage than SA.
Alaskansnowman has it right. Mobley is too talented to let go. Yeah, he can make a hasty decision every now and then, but that's what this season is for: learning. If you have any other delusions, you're going to be a frustrated fan. Rudy's got to be looking for progress from his rookies at this stage. Although team play must be the focus, the 4th quarter (especially the final minutes) invariably is dependant upon individual play. Mobley, like Cassell back in the day, will not back down from the challenge of taking the last shot. From his first game as a Rocket (where he won the game against Golden State), Cat's shown he's got the cajones to perform. In how many other players' hands on this team (besides Stevie Franchise) are you willing to put the ball for a last second shot? At the very least, Cat's not going to do something stupid like pass the ball out of bounds because he's too afraid to shoot. I'll take my chances with Cat on the floor. If you want Anderson out there too, play him at SF.
I am a little puzzled, I forget who was it that took over in the forth quarter against the Warriors??? Geez we really are critical on our young players, in a rebuilding experience gainging year.
Here's a twist on this string, which I was considering last night while watching Cat bounch the ball off of his forehead and out of bounds. A) Mobley is an excellent streak shooter. B) Mobley is an excellent penetrator. C) Mobley is often out of control. Solution ? I feel the MAIN solution is returning Monday night against Dallas. Yes, exactly. Hakeem in the middle. Why? a) Mobley will be REQUIRED to pitch it in to Dream in the forth period, leading to collapses on Dream, leading to those open 3's Kenny and Sam loved. Yes, I believe Mobley and Francis are about to discover the wonders of Rudy ball mixed with our new movement game. It will be a good mix, IMO. As to Shandon, definately he deserves more PT, and I think with Dream & Francis in the game, Rudy will have his two GO TO guys, so Anderson's defensive and rebounding prowness can be introduced. Or if Mobley is hotter then a firecracker, then Francis can sit. Dito for Anderson, but Having Dream is the main key here. Agree ? [This message has been edited by jscmedia (edited January 16, 2000).]
