Since there is no basketball games going on, I thought we have some discussion about this. I will have a post and a few of these may some old timers.
Oakley, Mark Jackson and the Old Knicks who played for Van Gundy for like 3 games doesn't count as Real Rockets
That’s who would get my vote. also the Nigerian nightmare wasn’t anyone to be ****ed with when he entered the league.
This is list is strange dude Should be Otis Thorpe Barkley Ron Artest Vernon Maxwell Chuck Hayes Dream Larry Smith Ralph Sampson
Larry Smith. He didn’t play around and had no issue smacking or taking down someone for disrespect. He also made sure every foul he gave was a hard foul and he would just knock up against and body his man even when they were not involved in a shot going up. He also apparently had no problem confronting guys off the court for what happened on the court. I will say I know a lot of players were afraid of Kevin Willis (including some teammates).
Hmm, tough call. Enforcer has always suggested a power forward-type who dished out some punishment when warranted. Maurice Lucas was the perfect example. Rick Mahorn another. Really, that type of player is extinct now because the game is a lot softer and stricter. Seriously, if this happened today, there would be year-long suspensions. I don't think PJ Tucker qualifies. Honestly, Trevor Ariza might be more enforcer lol. Chuck Hayes was tough and a great defender but not a fighter. Charles Oakley and Antoine Carr late in their career were here. Moses was a tough dude but was more star than "enforcer". Charles Barkley has to be considered because while he was a star, he didn't take crap from anyone. This is a tough one.
Good vids yeah. the game much more physical back in the day I remember players fighting/taking swings that landed on each other and still able to finish the game I think one game barkley had a black eye pretty much shut and still finished the game
And he never missed a game, he played like 500 straight games Most underrated feat in Rockets History
Ariza was our enforcer for a few years, but it was always out of a quiet respect that everyone seemed to have for him. I’ve been watching since 1994, and my answer would be Artest in 2009. Until then, for the entire Yao Ming era we had nobody, and he got beat up and abused and treated unfairly by the refs as a result. Pat Bev filled the void of nastiness a few years later, but you’d classify him more as a ****-stirrer rather than someone who actually prevented fights lol.