i wish the Rox would re-negotiate Andersons contract in order to kill the guarenteed start clause. give him an extra mill a year, and end this guarenteed start crap. Cat deserves to start at SG, and walt deserves to start at SF. Everyone makes a big deal about how good of a SIXTH-MAN Cat was, well I bet Anderson better fits the roll of a Bench player. he could come in for both Cat and Williams. OPINIONS??
There's no such thing as a starting clause. All Shandon has is a verbal commitment. And if both Cat and Walt start, who provides the offense when the bench is in? KT? Cat at the 2, Shandon at the 3, Walt as the 6th man. ------------------
The Voice of Reason: Adding to what NewGuy said about starting clauses, I don't think this is a big deal. After all, he only has one year left on his contract (two if he exercises his player option). So there's little or no point in re-negotiating Anderson's contract now. Also there's no need to raise his current contract by 1 mill/year...since once his contract is up he's probably going to receive a significant pay raise anyway with a new contract (assuming he re-signs)...this is a reason why his current contract is structured the way it is. BTW.....even if you wanted the Rockets to re-negotiate Anderson's contract, they simply cannot do it. A contract must be a minimum of 4 years in length, with a minimum of 3 years of the contract already completed since the signing of it, before any re-negotiation is allowable. I contend that Shandon Anderson is a better overall basketball player than Cuttino Mobley. IMO both players are good enough to start, but unless Rudy T goes with Cat at SG and Anderson at SF one of them will have to come off the bench. I don't see any major issues with Anderson starting and Mobley coming off the bench; both were effective in their respective roles. For example, Anderson at starting SG gives the Rockets a much-needed defensive presence in the backcourt from the get-go, and Mobley can be that spark plug and occasionally put up 20-30 points off the bench. Finally, just because Anderson is a more versatile player position-wise than Mobley doesn't necessarily make him the better bench player. Anderson should not and will not be relegated to a bench role. As for Cat starting...who knows, but I think it's best for the team as a whole if Mobley continues to be sixth-man, just like last season. ------------------
I thought I made this crystal clear: Anyone caught bashing, demeaning, or otherwise marring the name of the saviour known as Shandon Anderson shall suffer by my own hands. Go in peace... ------------------ It doesn't matter if I have a signature!
The Voice and Rocket Expert should join a bowling league or something. You guys have too much in common to not be buddies. ------------------ "Stranger things have happened, but none stranger than this" - Commentator after a parachutist landed in the ring of a Holyfield fight
Ok this one is going to bring me out of my slumber. What makes Cat better that Shandon? Is it the fact that Cat shoots .45% worse? OR averages more than 1 less rebound a game? Or that Mobes averages less assists, and steals a game? It must be the fact that Shandon plays excellent team, and individual D, as compared to Mobleys less than average attempt at defense. Blocks and 3 point percentage is almost identical, so how is it that Mobes sooo clearly has earned a starting spot over SA, considering that they average almost identical minutes and SA clearly is the much better player? Ohhh thats right, Mobley averages 2.5 more points a game than Shandon. Hmmm letss see....it only took Mobes 250 more shots to average that many more points a game. Actually if SA took as many shots as Mobley, hed average more points than Mobes. Not to mention, that I rarely pulled large chunks of my hair out trying to figure out why Anderson was launching a shot in the nammer of Cuttino like I did almost all season with Mobes. I hate that praises are always delivered to the shoot first at any consequense players of the league. Not busting on Mobes with that statement, just that D and well rounded ness is always overshadowed by flash and dash. SA deserves much more respect, than he is given credit for. And quite honestly, he deserves to start over Mobes every day of the week. ------------------ "I have amazing, powers of observation"...Pink
Dreamshake: It's gotta be the fact that the Rockets went an incredible 1-7 when Mobley started. The whole starting thing was assumed, and was a selling point of the contract. The OPPURTUNITY to start in Houston, while there wasn't one in Utah. Also, don't forget Mobley shot 100 more free throws than Shandon. Which adds at LEAST 25 shots to his total, probably closer to 35-40. I love Cuttino (except when he starts playing with the ball, and jacking up shots), but he is much better suited as the super sub off the bench. There's nothing wrong with that at all. ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated. [This message has been edited by NIKEstrad (edited September 13, 2000).]
If Cuttino should start over Shandon, then why didn't Vinnie Johnson start over Joe Dumars? Huh? Right! Shandon is just like Dumars. Cuttino is our microwave. Lets just keep it like that, shall we? Shandon is the better overall player. ------------------ I Want To Thank God For Making Me A Rocketfan
And the Pistons also went three guard a good amount of the time so both Vinnie and Joe D could play. ------------------
The Voice of Reason: Change your nick immediately. You're living in fantasy league world, where scoring is all that matters. Fact: Mobley's defense is abysmal Fact: Mobley jacks up way too many bad shots. Fact: Anderson is more of a team player Fact: Mobley is an undersized 2 who allows matchup exploitation Fact: Mobley is better suited off the bench, where he is allowed to be the center of the offense, playing against subs or tired starters. Fact: The Rockets won more with Anderson starting Fact: Anderson increased his scoring *every* month last year. Pretty amazing. Mobley scored more. Big deal. Anderson does everything else better. Anderson is the better player, period. If Anderson can score 17 pts per game (as he did in April), or even 15, then he's *much* more valuable than Mobley Voice: This argument is has been had many times. Mobley is not as good as Anderson right now, period. Try back in a year. ------------------ Shandon Anderson rocks. The lottery sucks. Playoffs 2001. [This message has been edited by haven (edited September 13, 2000).] [This message has been edited by haven (edited September 13, 2000).]
People can be so hypocritical. When Mobley was a free agent, everyone said that we had to whatever it took to bring him back and that other than Steve he was the most important piece to the nucleus. Now, noone has anything good to say about him. ------------------
NewGuy... no it's not like that at all, No one here will tell you that Mobes is not important , indeed he is but his value is increased by him not starting and being on the bench... He basically is playing the same role Sam Cassell played for us back in the championship yrs.. a sparkplug off the bench and in Rudy's system that is rather important . ------------------ Life moves pretty fast, If you don't stop and look once in a while you might miss it!! ... Ferris Bueler
MORE on my opinion. this was not intended as a mobley is better than Anderson thread, but it has become one. what i want is for the team to be better. why watch the rockets try and win games in the final minutes as Mobley and francais raise the dead, why dont we watsh shandon lock down the opponents holding off their comeback. "THE BEST D-FENCE IS A GOOD O-FENCE" if it comes down to who is better, than allow these arguments: first, look at Cuttinos improvement month by month for his first 2 years. it has become OBVIOUS that Cat can score. but he has showed an increased ability to rebound, and pass. sure he is no Francais, but he rocked the last 3 monthes of the season. otherwise, it was only Cats first full season. his D is pretty damn good concidering. why dont you check his points allowed stats compared to the competition. the point is that he is still new to the league, and will definately get better at D. his scoring will likely top out at 20, and his FG% has steadily improved. maby SA is better all around, but i dont buy it, and im sure it wont last. SA sucked in the begining of last year, and needed to see the bench. im no SA hater, but i wantto see my man Cat get some respect. i DO like shandon, but he is NOT the future. he is a good steal for that kind of money, but i havnt seen him produce like we thought he would. ------------------
The same arguments you use for Mobley can be used for Anderson. Shandon improved monthly. Last year was his first year as a starter and his first to get really big minutes. Shandon also "rocked" the last few months of the season. I have no problems with either being the starter, but I think that Mobley adds more off the bench than Anderson would. Keep in mind that for the most part Mobley plays starters minutes. In addition, he is also a "finisher" which is more important to many players (ask Bil Willoughby). ------------------
Fact: Mobley's defense is abysmal Well, that's subjective, but I'll agree Anderson's is better. Hard to call it a fact, though. It *was* Mobley's first season playing the 2-guard and first full season in the league. He was the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, so I could definitely see his defense improving. Fact: Mobley jacks up way too many bad shots. Subjective again. Depends on what you mean by a bad shot, which makes it an opinion, not a fact. Mobley's FG% improved dramatically over the course of the year. Fact: Anderson is more of a team player Those who cannot create their own shot tend to be "team players". They don't have a choice. Possibly a fact, but irrelevant. I would call drawing double teams that leave your teammates wide open being a team player as well. Fact: Mobley is an undersized 2 who allows matchup exploitation He also creates matchup problems by being able to play both guard positions. "Undersized 2" is a fact, but it's not necessarily a disadvantage. Fact: Mobley is better suited off the bench, where he is allowed to be the center of the offense, playing against subs or tired starters. He is usually the center of the offense at the end of games, playing against the opponent's best players. This is far from a fact. Fact: The Rockets won more with Anderson starting This one I don't understand, since Anderson played and started all 82 games. Fact: Anderson increased his scoring *every* month last year. Pretty amazing. See Mobley's FG%. Both Mobley and Anderson are integral to the team's success, and losing either would be huge. I agree Anderson should be starting, but not necessarily because he's "better". [This message has been edited by TheFreak (edited September 14, 2000).]
just another quick note on Mobleys defence he is a damn good defender, it just takes a little time getting used to the league. i used to watch Cat back in Kingston RI. and trust me he earned that A-10 award. Jordan played crappy D when he entered the league, and as far as anderson goes, its not like he is a defencive God. i didnt see him on the all NBA team. its not like he led the league in steals, or blocks ------------------
Shandon Anderson will start. Cuttino Mobley will start the game on the bench. Mobley provides instant offense off the bench. I have no problem with Shandon starting and Mobley coming off the bench. ------------------
