...for owning his attitude problems. A difficult thing for anyone. And he proved it on the court against Golden State. He has my genuine respect. Rockets summary Thinking positively Kelvin Cato knew just where he needed to improve. Cato missed three games after the death of his grandmother and did not play in his first three games back with the Rockets. But after brief cameos against the Clippers and Trail Blazers, on Wednesday at Golden State he had 22 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots, all season highs. The Rockets knew the difference in Cato began well before the game. "He was talking to me, telling me, `Make me keep my head up,' " Moochie Norris said. "Even in Atlanta, he was calling me just to talk. He just kept saying, `Don't let me get down.' " To say Cato has been prone to moodiness is like saying Grant Hill has had issues with his ankles. Said Citizen Cato: "You know me. It's hard for me to keep my attitude good. "But I'm playing hard, man. That's all I can do. The coaching staff ... has a dilemma because they've got a lot of guys on this team that can play. That's how the league is everywhere right now. That's what (coach) Rudy (Tomjanovich) keeps saying. Everywhere you look, there's a lot of guys on benches that can start on (other) teams. You just have to stay focused, and when it's your opportunity to shine, you have to go out there and play." `Family' gathering The Rockets held their annual Thanksgiving team gathering Thursday in Seattle. The Rockets have been on the road or traveling on Thanksgiving in each of the past four seasons, but coach Rudy Tomjanovich said there are benefits to having the team together for a holiday. "You miss your family and your loved ones, but this is a family, too," Tomjanovich said. "It's great for us to be together. "But for me, just what the day symbolizes, it's funny we do it just once a year. I try to get in that mode all the time -- being thankful and grateful." Board horde Though their rebounding has improved from the past few seasons, the Rockets have not been satisfied with it, especially when they play zones. But against the NBA's top-ranked rebounding team Wednesday, they became just the fourth team in 15 games to outrebound the Warriors. The Rockets' rebounding edge was just 52-51, and the Warriors got 25 offensive rebounds. But the Rockets outscored the Warriors 17-11 in second-chance points.
Cato's been just great. That game will really help him get through this stuff. I'm sure it means a lot to him that he basically won that game for us. Hope he keeps playing this way, because if he does, we'll be one of the biggest teams in the league, with a top 4 C rotation. Props to Cato. Keep up the brilliant work.
Props to Cato.... The Apocalypse is coming. He's truly a changed man. At least it appears that way. I hope this Cato never leaves us. If you ask me, I say Rudy further expand his experimental attitude and try starting Yao and Cato. Wonder how well that would work....althought I'm always against starting someone out of position. But I think it would work well. Beware the two-headed monster.
I would really like to see Cato and Yao together and more of MoT (if he can improve his 37% shooting).
Part of Kelvins success was , when the Warriors doubled KT (KT had scored 20 and l0 against them previously) Kelvin took advantage and made them pay. The Warriors play by play guys mentioned Stopping KTs drives as a focal point of their D. Kelvin also had an exceptional defensive game, Dampier had scored 31pts against the Bucks the game before, but only had 6 pts against the Rockets. This is the Kelvin Cato we expected to see last year, Maybe he has it in him, the skills are there, lets hope the fire keeps burning.
Props to you, Kelvin Cato. Even as a great critic, I sincerely wish you all the best, and great personal and professional reward from your effort. God grant you peace and strength, and the will to seek it.
Your statement sounds like coming straight out of heypartner's mouth. Seriously, I agree with Relativist. Cato should be commended for owning his attitude problem. The first sign of good attitude is recognizing it's hard to have good attitude.
Yes if I'm GOING TO DOG HIM WHEN HE SUCKS i SHOULD GIVE HIM PROPS WHEN HE DOES GOOD. NICE GAME CATO!!!!1
It's good to see Cato playing up to his potential. The man can definately be a force in the middle when he wants to. However it will take more than a few good games to make me think that he has come around for good. The man has some issues and it doesn't look like it would take much for him fall back into his old ways. But mad props to his play lately!
lol HP would have noticed this legitamitly,,,I was prompted by the Warriors play by play,,they said KT has been abusing the Warriors during his whole career. You make a good point about Cato..its encouraging to know he is aware he need to stay fired up.
wow... i never knew that KT has reach the level where other teams have to "focus their defense" on him... so that forces opposing teams to focus on stopping: 1) Francis 2) Cuttino 3) Yao 4) KT assuming they all require double teams, doesn't that leave Griffin being guarded by -3 people? if only a team with so much individual talent can learn to swing the ball, they'd be utterly unstoppable... and if we add an unstoppable Cato to the mix...
In the Warrior game, it was Rice and Hawkins who went uncovered. They just didnt hit their open shots..8 for 21. When Cat returns, that same defense aginst the Rockets wouldnt work. And you have to think Rice will hit open shots if he continues to play. Steve is always the focal point of any defense against the Rockets, but, the Warriors have always had trouble with KT too. Thats why they resorted to a zone that stopped drives to the basket and left open outside shots. Rice would have shot them out of that zone, had he been hitting his shots.
Going through this thread, it hit me that, we should keep Cato if he continues to play this way. I'm talking beyond this seaosn, and I'm not talking 25pts, 12reb, 6 blocks. I'm talking 15pts, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks PER 48 minutes. Of course, he won't get that many minutes, but that's the level he should be playing at. Cato can very easily play 3rd string PF along with backup C. Again, my solution (to every problem we have it seems) is trade KT. Ming/Cato Griffin/MoT/Cato Rice/TMo/Boki Mobley/Hawkins Francis/Moochie Don't you guys feel this team is UNABLE to reach a rotation that consists of 8? even 9? I mean, common: Ming Cato MoT Griffin KT Mobley Francis Rice There's 8. Without Hawkins, T-Mo, Boki, and Moochie. I think this is the best we can do when it's time to go to 8 guys: Cato(24)/Ming(24) MoT (by playoff time, no rust)(26)/Griffin(20)/Cato(2) Rice(30)/Hawkins(12)/Griffin(6) Mobley(45)/Hawkins(3) Francis(45)/Moochie(3) Those are the MAIN 8. Moochie will probably get like 5-6 minutes, so he's not counted as part of the rotation. Because, when the playofs are here, you know Francis will be playing at least 40 and up to 47 minutes. Same goes for Mobley, who plays 40 REGARDLESS, so I expect him to go tp 46 during this time. That's a big, yet very wuick in the backcourt, line up. I think we can be very succesful against the Mavs and lakers especially with that line up.
Cato is playing tough team ball mad props to Kelvin for showing what he can do on the floor. He is stepping up and filling the "enforcer" position which is what the Rockets desperately need. Doing the dirty work (Def, boards, blocks, and put backs) on a team of scorers will provide Cato with security on the Rockets. I hope he can keep his attitude positive, which will directly influence his performance on the court.
