Mobley has been tearing it up on the defensive end of the floor lately. He is right up on top of his man. He is causing deflections and turnovers. I think that might be contributing to his shooting woes. He has realized that he is not going to be the focus of the offense, so he is expending all of his energy on the defensive end. Maybe some of y'all in your clamoring to trade him for the likes of Jamal Crawford have missed it, but he has been playing good on the other side of the ball. Once his shooting touch comes back, he will leave nothing for all of the hatas to complain about. As well as Steve has played on offense the last two games, Stock lit him up. Cat looked solid out there, but was bricking everything. Unfortunately, I think only one of them is going to turn it around. Luckily, three of our starters are playing good defense, and even Griffin contributes some shot blocking.
One, Stockton really didn't light Steve up tonight. And two, I agree wholeheartedly, Cat really is showing alot of heart on defense. Even if it's something as simple as knocking the ball out of bounds, it breaks up a play and really shows that he's giving it his all. And I hope his offensive game starts to click too - but not at the expense of his D. And by the way, three of our starters don't play good defense. Cat and Posey are it. Steve, Yao, and Eddie are all horrible one on one defenders. Shot blocking has nothing to do with it.
I agree with StupidMoniker. And I hope Mobley keeps his role as the third scoring option and focus on being the best defensive stopper. If he can make 50% of his shots while focusing on the defense... men... that'll be awesome. Problem is sometimes Yao Ming seems can't score. Maybe because of position, fatigue, double teamed, or whatever. Somebody else in that situation needs to step up, and who else can better step up than Mobley? That's why Mobley has a hard time sticking to his role. Rockets is still trying to be consistent people.
Yao Ming's scoring touch has been affected by his weight training I suppose. His arms are clearly thicker than when at the start of the season.
While Ming's on ball defense is average-above average, his presence in the paint totally changes the offensive strategies of opponents. Teams just make a lot fewer layups when he is in there. Griffin's shotblocking doesn't provide this presence, he only really seems to affect the shots he actually blocks.
Yeah, I've been very impressed with Mobley's defense this season. And honestly, Stevie's defense has improved considerably over last year. Of course, a big part of it must be attributed to the defensive scheme the Rockets have been using. I must say that what I'm most impressed with is how well we defended the pick & roll last night. Particularly, I enjoyed watching Mo Taylor stepping out to impede the guard on the p-n-r. I don't think I've seen us defend the pick & roll as good as we did last night since the early 90s when I'd actually started looking at that sort of thing. That really gave me hope for this team.
this is not true because if lifting weight has affected his touch, his free throw shooting would be suffered, but he has been making most of his free throws, especially tuesday game against the jazz when he made 11 of 13 and two crucial with 4 seconds on the clock. if i were yao, i cut to the basket every single time down the court and sit within 5 feet from the basket. since i don't get the ball that much, i'm going to try to get in great position for offensive rebounds and put ins. that's why i say the rockets should hire moses to tutor yao on how to get in put himself in position for offensive rebounds and draw fouls. if he knows how to use his body to draw fouls on his opponent, he'll be able to take shaq out of the game.
Someone just tried to point out something positive from the last couple games, and all you can do is make fun of it? I know how much it would pain you to send any praise Mobley's way, so rather than make yourself look like a troll, how about you just try not to respond, okay?
Have you noticed how long our offense takes to set up? He would get called for three seconds every time down the court. I would also disagree that he doesn't get the ball that much. Recently the ball has moved through either Ming or Steve.
Good call. While I'm singling out UTweezer, some people will hate on Cuttino just because they have nothing better to do. Some people just want to bash the Rockets no matter what happens. They want to see a particular Rocket fail just so they can go "see I told you he sucks". Personal hatred should have no place in the heart of a true fan.
I'm all for anything that increases his trade value. seriously, for those who like to quote announcers, Bill Worrell made a specific point about this after the game (and it is not like Bill refrains from pointing out Mobley's mistakes). He said Mobley came out in the 1st quarter and set the tone for Rockets by playing aggressively on the defensive end...steals and charges out of the gate.
Cuttino at least tries to keep his man in front of him. Steve on the other hand, frequently lets his man get the first step. Cuttino works hard, and nobody can deny that.
Good Lord, did heypee just write that? As for the whole thread: Is this true? If so, it's hugely important, and I can't believe nobody's point it out until now.
mobley has been a STOPPER so far after the break. yes, he's really good at shutting himself down. he could be on the all self-stopper team, which has the starting lineup of jason kidd, mobley, artest, rasheed wallace and david robinson.
Mobley played great defense on Kobe in Houston last time they fought. Kobe still almost achieved a triple double, but his point total was in the low 20s. And he had a lot of bull**** calls going against him that game, which should of made Kobe's point total in the high teens instead. Nevertheless Mobley despite not having the height advantage took care of Kobe, he played Malone like defense on Kobe. Slapped the ball as Kobe was about to put the ball up over his shoulders and shoot. He also covered the passing lanes really well too. I admit Mobley frustrates me sometimes with some stupid plays, so does everyone one the team as well. I was really frustrated with Yao passing outside to a shooter around the perimeter when he actually had good position in the paint. I want to see him shoot more, and be more agressive. I get frustrated with Yao's passiveness sometimes. I get frustrated when Francis tries to put all the weight of the team on his shoulders, and forces bad shots, while not getting his teammates involved. I get frustrated when Griffin clangs his three pointers and keeps shooting them even if he's missed the previous couple of attempts. I get frustrated when Mo Taylor doesn't crash the boards as well as I know he can, and plays flat footed defense. I get frustrated when I see Posey shoot sometimes, because I'm just not really confident in his shooting abilities on certain nights. I get frustrated when Moochie runs the clock down without setting up a play. There are lots of other things I could get frustrated over as well, but the list is long. People for some reason like to single out Mobley is all. I actually think he's one of the better Shooting Guards in the league, that simply doesn't get much recognition. When he plays smart ball, he's one of the best role players any coach could ask for. He has a hard work ethic, is a premium defender, shooters a good % from the floor, is a great free throw shooter, and is always striving to improve his game. That's not to say he doesn't frustrate me, but then again everyone on the Rockets has at some point.
