Cato can only play the Power Forward position when the other Teams Power Forward is playing under the basket. In the last game we saw how when the Power Forward is playing out on the Court Cato is lost. He can't play defence, he doesn't stay with his man, his mind set is still concentrating on rebounds as his mark of excellence.
MacBeth, Issue well stated. My thoughts: if MoT had been healthy and available throughout preseason, and had not been suspended, my sense is that MoT would have been our starting 4 from the getgo. Cato would be a backup 4 and 5 - a valuable commodity these days. He's a much better 5 than 4 because of the aforementioned offensive weaknesses beyond dunk range. Credit JVG for turning chaos into opportunity, and credit Cato for responding to the challenge by getting into shape and playing hard 100% of the time. I've come to appreciate that he is a very intelligent player, and is the enforcer we need. However, he continues to be frustrated by his offensive ineptitudes. Teams are figuring out how to play 5 on 4 defenses that prety much ignore Kelvin, and are hurting us. As an aside, Pike's available should help. If Mo continues to progress (and stays out of trouble ), I would not be surprised to see him evolve into our starting PF over the next 5-10 games. He's a decent defender and shows flashes of being an improved rebounder. And remember last year when he and Yao really played well down low, passing, screening and really wreaking havoc inside. Right now, he's a bit of a black hole but I see him becoming more of a playmaker as well as a scorer. As you would say "just my thoughts." D R
Another thing that bothers me about MoT, he never passes the damn ball once he gets it. In the Portland game i saw him give up the ball 2 times, 2 times in the entire game.
Did you notice too U]when[/U] he got the ball and where he got the ball? Last year Mo was one of the few who could consistently make the entry pass to Yao Ming. So far this year Yao has been double teamed which virtually required him to take the in-close shot. Many on the board has been giving Mo grief, but he refused to let an ankle injury keep him out of the game because he knew he was needed. Mo has the size, ability and heart to be a key starter for the Rocks.
I also saw that. MoTaylor rarely passed the ball. When MoT is in court, he will take 60-70% shots. Probably he brings this problem from clippers?
During olajuwon's era we were dead last in offensive rebounding. When the ball goes through the post on offense it seems natural that we we would suck at offensive rebounding. Especially when the Center is a 50% shooter. Cato is the best PF for this team. He bails out Yao Ming on defensive rebounds all the time. And on a team that leads the league in FG% we'll need all the rebounding we can get. If Cato's man doubles it should be a lay up or a dunk. In my opinion there's no weakness to Cato's game. He's the perfect compliment. And who's to say he won't develop that 15 footer. Most of us never thought he'd come this far either.
In the defense, the weakness of Cato's game shows when the PF of the opponents is good at long-range shooting or is quick. You can see these when Rox met Dallas and Portland. Sure other PFs in Rox may not be better than him in these situations except a mentally healthy EG.
The problem i have with Mo Taylor is he never hardly look to pass when he got the ball in the post. He never seem to think of an alternative option when he's posting up. So when someone doubled team him, he either going to force it up or turnover, never look to pass it. When you're good player, you always think of different possibilities when you post up. But this guy only have one possibility, that's driving to the hoop. When he makes up his mind that he's going to drive to the basket, that's what he will do, never look to pass in his mind. It's like he is sooo selfish with the ball that he's going to put it up everytime he got it in the post, even when he's not comfortable shooting it...even when he's out of position; that could just killed the team chances. That to me is not smart basket and that is the difference between a good player and the so so player.
Good post Macbeth. I keep viewing Cato's starting as a short - term solution, but I am afraid that Van Gundy may be done fiddling with lineups. From the looks of it, Cato is our starting PF, and I am not sure that it will work out. Cato actually plays TD pretty well, but I think that the Garnett's, Nowitzki's, and Webber's are going to demolish him. He is not fast enough to chase them out to the perimeter. He suffers from Shaq syndrome. Also, I can't stand all of the missed dunks. Cato would be the king of the three-point play if he could just convert some of those dunks.
I definitely like Cato in there as the power forward. There's enough people willing to shoot on this roster. someone needs to grab the boards, and do the dirty work.
O you mean the time in the 4th quarter, when he got double teamed and tried to dribble right thru it? or the time he was posting up and Cuttino Mobley wide open for a 3? Or the other numerous times when as soon as he started to post up he wouldnt even look for a pass, unless he had no where to go and was trapped?
