Questions for those familiar with entire Rockets season

EG has been posting up a bit more from last year and every so often he pump fakes his man a takes a few DRIBBLES and gets a closer jump shot. he doesnt really drive to the basket. i can only remember him doing it once so far. in some games that actually started by going to eg in the post and he would hit his first 2 shots on turnarounds but for some reason they wouldnt go back to him? he has at times been hesitant to pull the trigger on some outside shots...

cat still takes shots that to other people would be bad shots but not for him. he seems to be more in the mindset that if his shot isnt falling early he will defer to steve and ming and concentrate on D. if the team struggles as a whole then he'll decide to be the one taking the shots.

Rice? my only guess is that he directs people into the right posiion on the floor on both defense and offense. i see him barking orders on where people should be for spacing. i guess that is his veteran leadership qaulities that rudy likes. i would rather see posey and boki get all of rice's pt.

cato...he's been playing more bad the good imo. he can still get rebounds but once again his only offense comes from allyoops. sometimes he actually tries to post up and try a turnaround jump shot to show he can do stuff ming does but it never comes close. if ming was able to go a full 45 min every night then cato would never touch the floor. i think cato played muched better last year.

steve doesnt seem to have any problems associated from last year. he's been in a slump latley but seems to be coming out of it. one thing that's different from years past is that he is getting the star treatment from the refs. he drives alot into the paint, travels half the time with his pseudo jump stop and gets the benefit of the doubt with thte fouls. so he's been going to the line alot. defense is still skeptical.

hope that helps.

 

welcome back finalsbound,

Eddie only goes down low a couple of times a game(if that).

I'm sure you saw that in the NO game, he posted and ended up making the shot off the glass. He has been erratic so far this year...

Cat, well, he is doing better..Starting to share the ball more than he is used to..Still has a tendency to jack it up with a man in his face rather than drive in and stop and pop.
I think he is showing improvement, and that's all I ask for.

IMO, the Rice/Posey thing is more about Pose not knowing the system very well. You know how Rt is, he will not throw a new guy in until he thinks he is fully ready...and even then, the veteran loyalty thing gets in the way.

I agree tho, I don't see how RT can justify not playin Posey more often with what he has shown already. I think we should expect Posey to get even more minutes next game.

Cato?

Man o man, I wish I knew why..but I aint arguing with a hard working Cato. I have slammed him in the past, but damn, am I glad to eat those words now.
Some feel that he is responding to the lesser amount of pressure that being a backup brings.

Steve, I see him wincing every so often, but I can't say that that's a lingering problem from previous injuries or just cause he gets beat around so often with his high flying acrobatics.

Things are weird here these days...it may get require some mental adjustments to deal with this board now.

And last thing...

The Rockets are still very inconsistent, but I think they will pull it together given enough time...
I realistically expect a second round exit this year, but am hoping for a miracle run to the finals...

 

Okay FB, I've been in Miami all yeat except for the past week. I've seen all the games on DTV and I attended the game in MIA as well as the past 3 games here in H-town so I hope I can answer your questions.

1. EG is playing in the post more than last year. He does get caught up in standing around the 3pt line now and again but he is taking mid-range-j's and the occassional turnaround jumper or baby hook. His shot is still flat and thasts why the fg% is still low. I do think he's playing better though.

2. Some might disagree w/ me on this one but I do think Mobes has shed the jack shots up-itis he might have had earlier in his career. He is not forcing the action at all, he's just bot hitting the shots he trakes w/ a lot of consistentcy. It looked like he found his groove last night though.

3. Rice gets PT because he makes a TON of doe and Rudy always hoping that he'll hit those open 3's he getting. And don't forget, Posey hasn't been hear too long and his jumper isn't excatly butter. Don't worry though, the D and the energy Posey showed at the Hornets game should prove that Posey will finish games on the court in the near future.

4. Cato is playing well b/c a 7'6" guy from China has taken his starting spot and a lot of his PT. Some might say that it is unfortunate that this is what it took to get Cato motivated but I could personally care less as long as he plays well.

5. Good news on that front, Syevie hasn't missed a single game and I haven't heard anything about headaches or foot injuries.

Wellcome back fb!

 

I agree with mostly everything except for Cato. Cato is playing awesome. He is playing with fire and gets as many rebounds per minute as Wallace. Cato is doing everything he was supposed to do 3 years ago when we gave him that crazy contract. His offense sucks but that has always been the case. The man just has no touch. On defense is very good while bordering on great sometimes.

To put it in perspective, he is "almost" worth his contract and would be easiest person to trade behind Francis, Yao, and Cat.

 

I was honestly surprised to read that red feels that Cato was better last year.

If you look around the board, you won't find multiple threads demanding Cato to be traded anymore (unlike last year)..

Cato has been a monster on the boards and playing better D than last year imo..
His only weakness is his near-total lack of offense. Which I can deal with..we dont really need him to do anything other than grab boards and put em back in.

I'm almost certain that if you check the stats from last year versus this year, you will see that Cato isn't the worthless waste of space he has been previously. Just my opinion of course...maybe someone can back me up here or correct me..I'll accept either one.

 

Welcome back. I agree with the general consensus.
I think the reduced minutes and pressure have done wonders for Cato. It's like RT has told him to play all-out when he is in. No need to conserve energy. Consequently, he is contributing more with less minutes.

I disagree with the contingent that wishes to see Cato play some 4. Foul trouble from that spot would negate his value backing up Ming. Plus, with more minutes, I believe we would see more of the "old Cato."

We are still inconsistent and struggling to find a groove but RT has settled on a solid 9 man rotation. He still appears to be juggling his substitution pattern for those 9.

I have said it all year long, and I still believe: No one will want to face the Rockets come playoff time. Rudy will have this team ready.

 

Welcome back finalsbound.


Have you noticed Eddie going down low more? Has he shown post-move prowness? Does his low shooting % reflect his play so far?

The biggest change I've seen from Eddie is that he's trying take a shot off the dribble a bit more. He's been barely missing on those shots lately, so he's still in a learning stage. If you remember when he was drafted, he said that dribbling was one the weaker aspects of his game.

The Cat, the Cat. Has he shed his "Jack" nick? He was injured for a lot of games, right? So, improved from last season?

He doesn't get a chance to Jack as much, but every so often you'll see him revert. He's been playing a team role more now.


Got to catch the NOH game. Any particular reason Rice is being given more minutes than James Posey (unbelievable trade, by the way)? Posey seemed head and shoulders above Rice in every facet of the game.

The only reason I can think of is that Posey is still learning the offense and getting used to playing in a new lineup. I think he'll start getting a lot more minutes in the near-future. I agree that Posey is a better defender and maybe better for the offense, but I'm guessing Rudy thinks that his lack of knowledge of our offense would be an another problem we'd be throwing into the mix when we have so many others that are just getting comfortable - hence, there's Rice.

Why is Cato suddenly playing well?

Who knows. Maybe Kelvin's happy the burden of being the main guy at the C position is off his shoulders. He's been playing pretty well this year and his per minute rebounding averages are insane.

Is stevie showing any signs from the injuries of last year? Foot, head, etc.?

Not that I can see or that he's willing to let on.

 

eddie goes in the post alot more that last season but still doesn't have the moves or strength to really demand alot of touches. plus yao is usually also on the court and it works out alot better to go through him. i'd say really with him still learning and bulking up he just has yet to figure out exactly what his role is.

the cat still takes his share of questionable shots but what shooting guard doesn't? what looks like an offbalanced jumper usually turns out to just be a comfortable shot for him. as far as ball-hogging, i don't see it. for the most part i've been very happy with his ball movement and i gladly trade his occasional lapses for the great scoring he can provide when needed. it was very obvious how much this team missed him when he was hurt.

rice was dreadful in the hornets game and actually for the past week if i remember right, but has had some excellent shooting, i guess, quarters earlier. as for more minutes than posey, i don't think he played more last night, and definitely didn't get in during crunch time. i expect rice to continue to start and posey backing him up but unless rice gets hot again(which would be nice) posey will probably continue to play the 4th quarter and actually get more court time.

cato is playing amazing this year. couldn't ask for a better back-up center and i'd say half the teams in the league wish they could have him starting at that production. who knows what the reason is for the turnaround but it might have to do with yao coming in and raising the bar with friendly competition. cato has taken the challenge and this is what we have.

hope any of that helps. i don't know what i'd do if i couldn't catch rocket's games.

 

Welcome back finalsbound.

I'm just going to address the EG question. I wouldn't say he's been more consistently in the post or more consistently not, etc, but, except for the last few games, it did seem like he was shooting less 3 pointers. Offensively, his biggest problem, and the reason for his low FG%, imo, is that he thinks way way way way way too much about scoring. This makes him move too quick on most of his post moves and, as a result, his shot is just off consistently.

The solution for EG is to forget about scoring and let that part of his game come to him. He still is a consistent blocker, but not nearly as dominating as he used to seem to be, and I know he is a better rebounder than he has shown thus far this year. If he concentrates on those parts of his game, he will certainly get enough touches to put in 12-14 points a night, get 6-8 boards, and a block or two.

 

I've probably seen about half the games, less than most here, but here goes...

1. Griffin has proven that I didn't imagine his post game in college. It's just not that good yet. And he's pretty predictable with it. He needs to develop more moves and improve his dribbling if he wants to become an offensive force.

2. Cat definitely plays within the offense more now. Unfortunately, when he DOES play outside the offense now, it seems to put the entire team in the slump. I think it was against the Jazz the other day that the team was rolling along nicely, they'd scored on 3 consecutive possessions... then Cat took a wild shot. After that, the O didn't get in a rhythm for a little while. Might have been a different game, though... the offensive flow is fragile right now, and seems to get detracked easily.

3. Cato is playing well, but not as well as most here think. Has anyone noticed that, more often than not, when Steve and Yao take a seat... the Rockets totally suck? As long as one's on the court, I think they're fine. But without them, there's no rhythm or flow. No single other player can really command the offense. Only Mobley can really control the game, and he's only capable of that sporadically.

What does this mean? Well, Cato, no matter how well he's playing, is a poor, poor substitute for Yao. And It's not like Yao is Hakeem yet. He rebounds very well. He plays good defense. But his complete inability to be anything resembling an offensive force really hurts, especially in contrast to Yao.

 

I was laughin at Eddie because when he has the ball on offense, he just stands there. He never looks to shoot if he's not open. He's a little hesitant to shoot. And he had to pass. I don't understand why he can't drive to the basket since he's so quick. I guess he can't dribble. Every single play, he just stands there. But then on the next play, Eddie went down low and called for the ball and made a little jump hook. I think he's good at that but he doesn't do it that often.

Cuttino Mobley has matured a little bit and doesn't just shoot every time he gets the ball. He's driving to the basket a little more and getting free throws. I think he's doing better but scoring less.

Rice is playing more than Posey just for now. I think Posey will take over after he gets used to the Rockets system.

Cato is suddenly playing well because I guess he wants to win and knows that he is a backup and wants to prove that he can play. I guess he is jealous. But he has been doing an awesome job in rebounding. He leads the league in rebounding per 48 minutes. Yao was probably leading the league in scoring per 48 minutes a few weeks ago when he only played 20 minutes per game. I think Cato is doing a good job off the bench and brings liveliness from all his alleyoop dunks. Cato WAS known as the least valuable player in the league. I think he's been doing a great job.

Steve Francis doesn't seem to be injured. Sometimes he falls down hard, but he hasn't been too hurt. He lives.

 

He's playing pretty much the same game as last year. Maybe a bit more aggressive this time a round. His shooting percentage reflects the fact that he's still being utilized as a 6'11" perimiter shooter.

Cat has gotten a little bit better at not jacking up shots -- but that's like saying Robert Downey Jr. is not smoking quite as much crack these days. Cat still has a long way to go.

My guess is that Rudy keeps hoping that Rice will shake off the injury rust and start lighting it up again. We all know that ain't gonna happen, so Posey will probably be in the starting lineup by the end of January.

Because he can be as aggressive as he wants. No pressure to stay out of foul trouble now that he's the backup. Cato is probably the best backup center in the league, and we're lucky to have him -- what a difference a year makes, right?

The headaches are gone, but his head nevertheless remains a problem at times.

 

James Posey isn't the shooter that Rice is, but he is a good slasher. Personally, I would like to see Posey get more minutes and Rudy use he and Cat to attack the wings and get other teams in foul trouble. That way teams will have to either stop Cat and Posey from slashing, or Francis and Mingfrom dominating on the perimeter and in the post. We'll see if Rudy uses that.

 

Oh and welcome back finalsbound!