I think having Thorpe and Horry at 6'10 would hep for Yao. Thorpe alone is a good rebounder and Horry would've averaged more if Dream and Thorpe didn't get most of the rebounds. But Yao will never be able to get to those long rebounds off of long shots. Just one of his limitations at his size. I think against Robinson and Dream, Yao's biggest problem would be trying to run with them down the court...those guys had exceptional foot speed from end to end.
Wow...I was out of line about Max being a role player?? Your saying a guy who shot 39 % from the field and 29 % from 3pt with some good defense and good ball handling skills was better than: Clyde Drexler - Hall of Famer, Max's superior replacement...Superior in everything except defense by a little. Reggie Miller - Future HOF, one of the most clutch playoff performers ever. Led team to 6 ECF and 1 NBA Finals. Shot 50% and 42 % and 90% Mitch Richmond - One of the best shooters/scorers in the NBA during this time, almost shot 3's better than Max did field goals... 39 % 3's Richmond to 40 % fg for Maxwell in their careers. Latrell Sprewell - Just as athletic and almost as good defensively while being a better slasher, averaged almost as many assists, averaged more steals, more rebounds, shot better % from all areas of the floor. Steve Smith - bigger, could handle the ball just as well, and shot much better than Max. Joe Dumars - basically Maxwell was a very poor man's Dumars with an attitude and much worse shooting and polar opposites as far as character. John Starks - had an all star season...not a big fan of his, but he did average 19 ppg and 6 apg, and shot slightly better than Max and averaged just as many steals as Max and was a solid defender himself. A mentally weaker clone of Max in my opinion...based on how he choked in Game 7. Nick Anderson - was bigger, stronger, and shot better than Max. not much of a playmaker, but he could play solid defense. He did choke in the playoffs as well, so he loses some points for that. Jeff Hornacek - A very good shooter and underrated defender and averaged 6 apg that season with the 76ers in 53 games (led team) and 4apg with Utah (Stockton avg 12 apg). Had a much better career than Max. I just listed 6 shooting guards who were better than Max (some MUCH BETTER) than Max. 3 that were equal. I would say he was equal to Anderson and Hornacek, and Starks. Those guys were a part of successful teams and played very similar roles to Max on the court. To say Max was better than Drexler, Reggie Miller, Richmond, Dumars, Sprewell, and Steve Smith is just wrong on many levels... One common theme with all these players vs. Max...they ALL shot the ball MUCH BETTER than Max...some shot 3's better for their career than Max shot regular field goals... Theres a reason why Max was never and all star, or all nba selection. He was a good role player WITH Hakeem before and after Hakeem, Max wasn't doing a whole lot except coming off the bench and bouncing around from team to team. Maybe he had the talent to be an all star shooting guard, but it didn't happen, and he's the only to blame...just look at the differences between him and the other shooting gaurds I listed.
You're out of line for claiming Vernon could simply be replaced by any player whose stats equaled or rivaled Vernon's. As I said before, you can't compare the stats of players on championship teams with the stats of players on non-championship level teams. It doesn't work that way. Now instead of the likes of Rex Chapman and Anthony Peeler you want to replace Vernon with Hall of Famers like Reggie Miller, Mitch Richmond, and Joe Dumars. Then you throw in Starks and Anderson who pulled two of the biggest choke jobs around when it counted. Next you'll want to replace Kenny Smith with Magic and Mario Elie with Vinnie Johnson and Pete Chilcutt with Kevin McHale. Geez.
Dude, you said outside of JORDAN Max was as talented a shooting guard there was in the NBA...well I gave you 9 players that had better seasons/careers than Max. If he was so great why couldn't he shoot 40%?? He knew he was going to get those shots with Dream...everybody else on the Rockets seemed to be able to shoot better than 39% and 29%. and oh ya, Elie replaced Maxwell, and we beat 4 harder teams and still won a title.... Ohh ya, everybody I mentioned in my last post were on playoff teams, so the losing teams argument I can understand, but it doesn't apply to what I wrote in my last post. Whether you like it or not MAX WAS A ROLE PLAYER. Also, The Spurs seem to be able to replace starters every year outside of Duncan...it is possible. They had Elie, Elliot, Stephen Jackson, Turkoglu, Van Exel, Finley, Bowen, Richard Jefferson, Ginobili, Steve Smith, Brent Barry, Udoka, Roger Mason Jr., George Hill, Avery Johnson, Steve Kerr, Jarren Jackson, Terry Porter, Antonio Daniels, and Tony Parker. Thats 21 guards who got significant playing time in the last 10 years...only 6 were there for a long period of time (over 3 years)...they seem to be in the title hunt every year. Lets not mention how many centers they went through post Robinson. I would think Pop would agree with me that role players are replacable...its worked out well for him.
LOL Cometswin, you're dropping names without using wikipedia or hoopshype! its like you are using your heart and your memories as a basketball fan. who would have known? Basketball isn't a baseball lineup. It's a game where you have to develop trust in your teammates, where you play offense and defense. you battle adversity. Nobody knows the right combination of players to have, it's not the New York Yankees and no salary cap. many things have to happen at the right time to win a championship. it's not about if Maxwell could shoot like player A or player B, it's if Maxwell could make the right plays at the right time. That's what it means to be a basketball fan. When it's game 7 and it's that time to prove if you are a championship team or if you will go down in history as the team that loses... As Billy Ocean would say (blackknight can google him too) When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going Many years have the Rockets and the Dream have been romancing the stone but it finally happened and heroes are immortalized in our hearts not on basketball-reference.com You can throw all the stats about Maxwell you want, but he was the one who was chosen to ice the game for the Rockets, he was the one despite his shooting percentage, his teammates trust in making that shot Hakeem passed him the ball like that dude gave Moses those commandments The sea of misery parted and the righteous Rocket fans walked to the Summit As his people who bought furniture from Mattress Mack and watched his wrestling at the Sam Houston Coliseum and avoided restaurants with slime in the ice machine were free. you can't replace people in the holy book, so you can't replace people in Rockets History!
Don't EVER COMPARE A BASKETBALL GAME/PLAYER/LINEUP or SPORTS PERIOD to the BIBLE...I find that very offensive. Basketball is JUST A GAME, not a religion or faith.
Apparently nobody told Spike Lee about you. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GofVmD5lNAI&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GofVmD5lNAI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> If you found that post offensive, report it.
I don't wanna report you, you seem like a good person. I just think we could leave specific religious history out of the GARM, not just christianity, but any religion. Theres no problem comparing Max to Tupac like you did earlier (even though Tupac had a much bigger impact that Max did). But, I will always feel that basketball is just a game and for fans a form of entertainment. Nothing will ever change that. Thats just me though.
How am I taking it too serious?? I think its an insult to compare A GAME to a religous faith in which millions-billions of people pray to and believe in. I'm not perfect by any means, but I don't think we should mix A GAME with ANY RELIGION
I have a Yao question that doesn't really warrant a new thread, so I'm just going to ask it here: Can some one clear up some of my confusion... is there any word on whether there is even a *chance* that Yao could return to action for the 09-10 season?
you obviously don't go to the D&D much. What I posted is rated G like Bambi or Snow White compared to what goes on there. As mentioned above, Spike Lee made a movie where the main character's name is Jesus and that it was marketed as the HOLY GAME (not gonna spoil it for you, but there was obvious imagery associated with the analogy). I doubt people on Channel 14 were causing an uproar about it.
I will give you a better modern day comparison to Max...Stephen Jackson. He can score, he can handle the ball, and he's got attitude. Only difference, he's got 4 inches and 20-25 lbs on Max, therefore Max is a better athlete. But offensively, neither of them shoot that great, though Jackson shoots 3's much better. Both attack the basket, while SJ gets to the line more often. Jackson isn't the defender Max is, but he's not below average either. I think personality wise and game wise, this is a better comparison. He was an imoprtant part of the Spurs team...but they replaced him right after they won a title.
If Clutch City 1 didn't happen then Clutch City 2 wouldn't happen. The pressure and the experience of the first experience helped in the 2nd championship. Regardless if Max wasn't on the 2nd championship, the 2nd championship would not happen if Max wasn't part of the first. So you can replace every player on the 1st championship team with whomever, Stephen Jackson, Tito Jackson, Michael Jackson, that changes everything and you CANNOT guarantee that will happen. Cause it only happened with that specific group of guys.
I saw the movie, and I know many people named Jesus (hispanic community), Christian, Moses, Jeremaih, Daniel, Joseph, Mary, Ruth, etc. I have no problem with his name being Jesus...and I did see the movie (a long time ago though). It was an okay movie, nothing great to be honest. But all I'm saying ism IN MY OPINION, its wrong to compare religion to a game, thats just my belief. I think basketball should be compared with other games, and entertainment, tahts fine. Religion, could be in a discussion about morality, other religous studies, and stuff like that. I'm sure worse things go on in D&D...I don't care to debate with them...I have a life, and its not spent in front of the computer 24/7.
Of course the experience helps, when doesn't it? It helped Parker and Ginobili just like it helped Horry and Cassell. Dream and Duncan were just that good to be able to lead them. But ROLE PLAYERS are replaceable. I'm not saying its a guaruntee that they'll win it again (Spurs won 2 years later), but with a right fit of talent, theres a very good chance. Luckily, we upgraded to Drexler, but Max couldn't hanldle that, so we moved on without him, and won a title despite not having depth or rebounding. BUt you also don't know what will happen if we didn't win in 94, maybe we make the trade for Drexler earlier, all kinds of stuff could've happened...you just don't know. ANYTHING could've happened if we didn't win it in 94.
ok if you saw that movie then based on your offense with comparing basketball to religion, Spike Lee shows the temptation of Jesus by going to the NBA after high school and all the beggars asking for his help the even have an image of Ray Allen on the cross so did you find it offensive?
