[Houston Press] 93-94 Rockets vs. 11-12 Rockets, a Player Comparison (by Jeff Balke)

Someone was bored. Seriously.

 

At the time ONLY. If the board had existed in 1993, I'm pretty sure everyone would have been calling for Horry to be traded and he almost was the next year if not for Sean Elliot's bad kidney.

At that point in time versus at this moment in time for Budinger, it's not a reach. Now, fast forward one year and it's not really even close any more.

Thanks for the pimpage.

 

Interesting read. Obviously the Rockets this season do not compare to our championship caliber team. Bud vs Horry though? Horry everytime, twice on Sundays

 

I think Jeff underestimates just how great Olajuwon was. I'd take Horry over Budinger...easily, but I'd give Lowry, Hill, Parsons the edge.

 

Put the 08-09 Rockets (not counting injuries) vs the 93 team and that would be a matchup. Brooks, Tmac, Artest, Scola, Yao vs smith, maxwell, horry, thorpe, dream. I'm a strong believer that the 09 team was equal to or stronger than the 93-94 championship team. Rockets had talent and depth at every position until we lost tmac, yao, and mutumbo.

Current squad would get dispatched by CLUTCH CITY

 

Why is he comparing Scott Brooks to Jordan Hill?

I'd redo it like this:

Starters:

Lowry > Smith (come on, that's an easy call)
Martin = Maxwell (totally different players, but I think it evens out to a push)
Parsons < Horry (maybe too early to judge this one, though)
Scola < Thorpe (Scola has better post moves and a better mid-range J, but can be a liability on defense. Thorpe wins because he's a 2-way player, though this close)
Dalembert <<< Hakeem

Bench:

Lee < Elie
Dragic < Cassell
Patterson > Herrera
Budinger > Bullard
Hill > Petruska
Flynn < Brooks
Thabeet < Cureton
Williams > Jent/Robinson

 

Is this the one with NBA Purgurtory cover?

Was gonna pick it up, but now I won't have to if it is.

 

Jeff, your selection of Kenny (the "Jet" ) over Kyle is a head scratcher. Kenny averaged 11.6 points and 4.2 assists for the year and was not known for his defense or toughness. I remember Derek Harper stealing his lunch money so often it was embarrassing. 3 point shooting is the only area in which Kenny can even compare with Kyle. Other than that, good job.

 

Stopped reading after they said our lineup rotation could go to as many as 16 and then put Scotty Brooks and Jordan Hill next to each other in the comparison. WTF?

Who wrote this garbage? The music editor or the food truck blogger?

 

Swap 93-94 Dream for Dalembert and the 11-12 version would be among the favorites to win a championship this year.

 

Jeff is a super hero of Clutch fans.
like robocop in Detroit

 

Man if that 08-09 Rockets team could have stayed healthy... They would have won most of these match-ups, and deservedly so.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda...

 

Actually on second thought, maybe it would have been close... Either way, it certainly would have been much more interesting. That team was stacked.

 

I liked Jeff's comparison of Olajuwan to Dalembert:

lol

 

Vernon Maxwell vs. Kevin Martin

It's easy to romanticize Mad Max if you watched him prior to the game in Portland when he ran into the stands to punch a fan. The guy was a defensive beast and a clutch shooter. Michael Jordan has told people that no defender gave him more grief than Maxwell. Martin is a scoring machine and one of the most efficient scorers in the league.

Advantage: Maxwell

Nice! That gave me a warm glow inside, Jeff. I really enjoyed the read, and while I don't agree with parts of it, I certainly agree with this. -

 

i dont know, im thinking lowry over smith, i agree with the rest..cept bud and horry a push? come on son.

 

Well, that was depressing; reminded me of the cult movie, "Bambi vs. Godzilla." The reality is that the Leslie Alexander Rockets are on the outside looking in, not even close to being invited to the NBA party. We have to wait for another outsider to come along to have anything to cheer about. A high draft pick is looking better by the day, at least that's something. But it will probably be an undersized forward.

 

Lowry would own Smith. Own.

And not saying Horry is better than Budinger is a f'ing joke.

 

Jeff's excerpt was Pulitzer prize worthy!