http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-34-31/Mario-Elie-on-Hakeem-Olajuwon.html This brings back some memories. I think we can excuse him when he says Hakeem was an 85% foul shooter.
LONG LIVE DREAM!!! I was actually watching a youtube of the game 4 of the '95 Finals the other day, since I hadn't seen it since................................it actually happened. Although Shaq's stats were somewhat close to Dream, he dominated and was a better player in so many aspects of the game, that I almost find it hilarious how one could say Shaq was better. Marve Albert and Bill Walton even said repeatedly through the game that shaq wasn't his normal self during that series. There were times in that game where Shaq would be raising his hand asking for a breather, because he couldn't keep up with the older Olajuwon. His arsenal of moves was just amazing. The devastating Dream Shake (which included about 5 moves, and 10 counter moves), that unstoppable jump hook across the middle, facing his man up and crossing him over, etc. And then the defense was just jaw dropping......We all know about his shot blocking ability, but people forget about his quick hands were and his ability to rip the ball from his opponent. Bill Walton (who adores Hakeem, lol) always mentions that Hakeem was the greatest player, when it came to playing with 5 fouls and still being aggressive.......and that is the absolute truth. I can think of numerous situations in big games where Shaq has picked up the 6th.........Dream never did.......he couldn't afford to. He would out quick bigger opponents, over power smaller opponents, run the floor, get the ball dumped into 80% of the time, anchor the defense, etc. night in and night out..........................To hell with one of the greatest Centers, Hakeem was one of the greatest players of all time..............PERIOD. The only 2 players that you can say were on Hakeem's level when it comes to playing both ends of the floor in a dominating fashion, are Wilt and Kareem. Finally, basketball experts always like to bring up the fact that Jordan didn't have good teammates for a stretch of his career (which I agree with), but the same can be said for Dream. Oh how easily do the "experts" forget about how great the rockets were in the 80's before Hakeem lost his "Pippen" in Ralph Sampson, and was forced to play with mediocre talent afterwards (until the early 90's). Do they forget about the young rockets, beating the veteran Lakers (Magic, Kareem, Worthy, etc.) in 5 games??? What would've happened had Sampson stayed healthy????? Maybe no one would want to be like Mike at all...........I mean they already had enough trouble beating the Rockets (read the sig), so one can only imagine the difficulty they would've had beating both Hakeem and Sampson.........I mean we're talking about Hakeem wasting the majority of his prime with mediocre talent. There were even years during the bulls first title run, that both me and my father believed Hakeem was "the best" player in the NBA....he just didn't have the team around him. This is why using championships (although they are important) to determine a players greatness, is not always a good measuring stick. Our championship days were the last couple of years of Hakeem's prime............he was "The Dream" up until the end of the '95/'96 season. After that you could see his decline.....
Below is a link to that Game 4 on youtube for all those claiming shaq was better than Hakeem. If you are a true student of the game, then you should enjoy this video (click link at top for links to all 19 parts of the game). You can see throughout the game how Hakeem was better than Shaq in so many areas. And the excuse of shaq being "young" is lame, because he was still the same 30 point scoring freethrow missing dominating force that he has always been, lol......... [video=youtube;9s5BoOYdGNM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s5BoOYdGNM[/video]
Well the Rockets didn't exactly dominate the Jordan-less Bulls; we've discussed this at length already. I think you had some solid points though.
lol....okay they split 2 games with them.....If they played well against Jordan + Bulls, I'm pretty sure they would've done just fine with a team lead by Captain Migraine aka Scottie Pippen, lol.......
The point is one can bring up issues with your title runs as well. Jordan and Hakeem were practically the same age too, I'm not sure why it matters that Hakeem wasn't at his absolute peak after 95-96. The following year the Rockets won 57 games and had a pretty nice team, but they didn't reach the Finals. I don't want to knock your entire post though, I'm just talking about a couple of points I disagreed with.
Congrats to Dream making it to the HOF. It is true Hakeem doesn't get the credit he deserves for the two-way ability he had in dominating games.
Which "issues" would that be? Did we win the championships unfairly? Did we cheat? Were we not the most deserving championship team in 1994 and 1995?
So defensive, I'm just speaking hypothetically the way Dream does. In our long discussion a while ago, I also stated the Rockets deserved their rings at the end of the day.
I'm fine with your disagreement, but your best player not being in his prime does make a bit of a difference, lol. And that '96/'97 team looked good on paper, but was not at the same level as the title teams. Hakeem was beginning to decline, as were Barkley and Drexler. On top of that Matt Maloney was our starting PG...........nuff said, lol The thing is when one brings up the issues (which equate to Jordan not being in the league), I have evidence that shows the rockets did just fine against the bulls when they played those bulls teams in the 90's when a.) hakeem was still in his prime b.) the title teams were still in tact
I am defensive, because too many people imply that there should be an asterisk next to the Rockets titles and that's BS. The Rockets titles are no less legitimate than any other team's. Hypotheticals can be brought up against any team, in any year. If people want to believe that the Bulls would have won 8 straight if Jordan never retired, swell. Rockets fans can play "what if?" and believe in their own fantasies as well. At the end of the day, the Bulls won 6 championships, and the Rockets won 2. And neither team has to apologize for anything.
Hakeem needs to be at his absolute peak huh? Sounds like it hurts your case. The title teams were "just fine" against the Bulls, but playing "just fine" should not lead to a large amount of conviction.
uuuuuuuuuuh yes????!?!?!!!! When your best player is past his prime that might effect your title chances "slightly"....................Just fine = owning Jordan and the Bulls in early 90s.......... Bulls players, coaches, etc. made statements that the rockets gave them problems, and some players even stated they didn't want to play the rockets in the finals.........Like I mentioned in another thread you just started watching basketball when Kobe came along, so you have no idea what you're talking about here..............
I was a big fan of Hakeem all along. Given pure 20-20 hindsight, I'd still pick him over Jordan in the draft; no mistake was made. The guy would block a shot at one end and finish with the dunk at the other on the resulting fast break. He had every move you'd want as a post player and a decent enough outside shot, too. He was a top defensive player as well. Shaq was more of a dominant player, for which he gets rated highly. And deservedly so. That's not the same thing as being the complete player that Hakeem was. Of all time, I'd have Hakeem as my #4 center. Behind Wilt and Russell and Kareem. No shame in being #4 behind those guys.
Again, with 20-20 hindsight, you don't take a wing player over the dominant center. Hakeem every time. He didn't disappoint, either.
