I am a Mutomboholic. The ageless wonder certainly deserves to be appreciated. Not even because he's that great...he's a good backup center in the right niche, and he found that niche against Portland. But because this guy is still working his ass off at age 55 (give or take 2 or 3). Because he's the ultimate encourager and has helped Yao immensely. Because he's a wonderful man who has given back to the world like few others in the NBA. Mutombo is my freaking hero.
Yao only had to play 24 minutes and for that Dikembe Mutumbo should get much credit! It's amazing how popular the man is. I was over a a friend's watching the game, the room was packed and everyone went nuts when they saw that Deke was entering the game! He is a perfect big man to bring off the bench in the playoffs - he brings an entirely different dynamic to the floor than Yao, and as we saw last night both are quite effective.
Adelman didn't play Deke last year, too... for the majority of this year, too, actually. Guy's immortal.
Deke plays great, when he is well rested. Adelman's strategy was to rest the old man during the regular season. Some people thought it was a dumb idea to not play Deke more during the regular season. Adelman shows us why having Deke for the playoffs is more important.
Gotta give Adelman props. Most of us, and probably even McMillan, were expecting the coach to give major bench minutes to Hayes in order to stop Aldridge. Instead, he sends out Mutombo to match up against Oden and shut down the paint, and most likely disrupted Portland's game plan. Brilliant move.
Deke helped stop the 3rd quarter run they were attempting to make. There were 5 - 6 possessions where we couldn't get a score but Deke grabbed some key rebounds to help hold them off. He was a dominant rebounding when he was in the game. Pretty fun to watch I thought. Also, did it same like Oden was traveling when he would jump into Deke under the basket, bounce off and jump again to shoot?
Since he doesn't have to worry about fouls, he goes for the block everytime. Yao doesn't have that luxury, but I wish he would be more physical at the end of games if he has fouls to spare.
glad you made this thread , I was going to last night but too busy commentating on other threads, I feel he was the reason we won last night, I am shocked he used up almost all of Chucks mins
This is one of the first times I can recall both Yao and Mutombo having very good games. Usually its just one or the other. I like our chances if they both have a very good series.
Man The Mountain is the greatest rebound. Nobody Snags that crap away from him. If you do you get the elbow to your face. That was a great performance. Yao could learn a lot from this guy. NO MORE TAKING CHARGES YAO. Be the competitor Dikeme is and swat that crap out of here.
Do people really think RA is smart and has kept Mutombo on the bench saving him for the playoffs ? Get real, the only reason he's in there is because he had to prove himself again and did @ Warriors. RA is stubborn as they come and I blame him for not playing Deke more. We could've used him in sooooooo many games, you would go nuts thinking about some losses and how Deke could've affected this. A good example is the Lakers, 76ers (would score at will in the paint) etc. I too feel safe with Deke because he gets almost every rebound and tries to block many shots. The man is going to be huge for us and hopefully if we advance will be key in a matchup with LA. By the way, how about playing Deke and Yao at the same time ?
I want to give Deke his props for coming in, playing a great game and playing a ton of minutes (well, for him anyway). But I also want to give him his dues for almost always being up off the bench cheering his teammates on, barking at them, or barking at the refs. Almost anytime they showed the bench, it seemed like he was the one that was up. A great person, a great player, and a great teammate. What's next....a great coach? hmm....... Pugs
I want to SEX him up!!! He will be a key matchup for us as Yao takes his break, we got Deke who will provide help for us defensively. Deke would also help out with the lakers too.
Did anyone see how pissed again Deke was after Yao took a charge in the 1st quarter? It was hilarious.
