Well it goes the other way too don't it? You can't use Hakeem the greatest post player in the history of the sport and then say see, it's not dead. If Hakeem played of course he would dominate. I'm using Dwight because he has no finesse. Shaq also had little finesse to his post game and I seriously doubt he would be as successful in today's game. I'm telling you man watch what happens when a smaller guys guard a low post player. I bet you the smaller player will flop. When you are a big guy you loose some coordination, it's going to be very rare to find bigs with the finesse of Hakeem. It's a small man's game now, it's no coincidence that every year we are talking about how many good PGs we have in the NBA because they have changed the rules to benefit those guys the most. Yes, if a player comes into the league with Hakeem's skillset will dominate.
Man, I miss Hakeem... Stop posting this **** The rockets really haven't been the same since. Don't get me wrong I liked Yao/Mac and even like H&H, but.... It's not Olajuwon, with him in his prime he was on a mission for a championship and with our current group it's like making the WCF was their version of 94...unfortunately they haven't even shown up like the 95 rockets yet (Yes, I know Harden is young and 95 wasn't a great regular season for the Rockets, but they did start out hot at least) ... Hopefully it changes, but Harden didn't quite show up like Hakeem did in 95 when Robinson stole the MVP trophy, unfortunately he turned the ****ing ball over, hakeem would have dunked curry through the basket. And I agree with Olajuwon about post play. He could have dominated in any era of bball, he was truly one of a kind on both sides of the court.
With the zone rules, A lot of teams will do what Seattle used to do with their illegal defense and that is to put two guys on Hakeem before he gets the ball. Granted Hakeem was so great facing up he'd still get his points but once he posts up, putting two on him before he gets the ball would force others to have to step up. The zone rules really started the downfall of post play. You saw it with Yao where players would have such a hard time getting the ball to him in the post because he had one buy behind him and one guy sitting in his lap. That's why it was so crucial to have a player with great 3 point shooting and creative post entry passing. imagine someone like Curry or Harden passing the ball into hakeem. Pick your poison at that point. Clyde and Hakeem worked that play pretty damn well.
Yes, it does go both ways. Shaq was allowed to bang because his opponents were to bang him too. Defenders can't get as physical either. Nowadays, they aren't allowed to put 2 hands on the offensive player.. when the offensive player faces up, they aren't allowed to put one hand on them (handchecking). Aren't defenders not even allowed to have their forearm on a player nowadays? Could be wrong. Yao had problems getting the ball when fronted/doubled because he had horrible hands and wasn't athletic. You could never lob him the ball or throw a speed-pass because he had trouble catching them.
How many post player teams are successful now days? The kings aren't good. The grizzlies haven't made it to the finals. Post play is dead.
What Olajuwon is describing would make even mediocre post players a lot more effective. You don't have to be a phenom like Hakeem for it to work. If Dwight consistently set the pick and roll and mixed in some back to the basket plays, where he either quickly takes it to the hoop with no more than one dribble, or immediately passes out of a double team, he'd have way more offense success, even with his limited skills.
40 is hyperbole... But yes he's dominate and average a lot. Clearly. But I think it's fair to say ... So? I just have a hard time believing it would matter anyway as far as winning rings.... If what GSW is doing now continues then I think a team with Hakeem and Shaq would still be in a dog fight. What the GSW are doing now is crazy. What Steph is doing now is crazy. That said... I'm not sold it will continue. They'll revert a bit to the mean and have some better teams to still play. BUT... If it does continue, and even if it reverts a bit, the Warriors are still showing that small ball can certainly work. Statistically last years Warriors team ranks as an all time great. They are meaningfully better this year. This is a dominant team in the annals of basketball at this time. Again I'm not saying it will continue but am just pointing out it at least makes sense why so many youngsters, even bigs, focus on the three ball right now. All that said, a big shout want to be dominant these days in every way. Have a great post game. Hit the outside shot at a decent rate. The problem isn't that there are no bigs with good post games.... There are no bigs with great offensive games at all. Cousins is the closest but he's incredibly inefficient.
We just have to look at what a healthy DMo was able to accomplish last year with his post moves. He comes closest to the 2nd coming of the Dreamshake. Of course, today's defenses eventually try to take away your strength so DMo able to shoot midrange or the 3 is an additional weapon. Dwight's range really is limited to the pnr and putbacks.
Dream is just too nice. I bet what he really wanted to say was: "Put that punk ass Green on me and I'd own his ass all ****ing day long. This 6'-7" midget has nothing on me." Oh how I wish our current team had the hunger of those Dream teams.
Dream was a once in a lifetime kinda player. His moves on the court cant be replicated b/c he truly started at the very beginning....and LEARNED how to use his feet offensively and defensively. He mastered his footwork first, and then learned counters to each one of his primary moves. IN today's NBA, he has seen that players dont command space. He owned the paint. He may have received the entry pass on the low block, but he was able to work up and under, go to a hook, pivot with two long strides and take a mid range jumper from the FT line..or force you to foul him. He truly maximized the use of the pivot foot, and how to operate using a ton of space. He never feared the double team. It always seemed he made the right decision when teams tried getting the ball out of his hands. If the trap came from the baseline, he would look for a cross court pass to the wing or a cutter to the basket. If the trap came from the wing, he would spin baseline for that sick jumper. He was a center with a triple threat position. How many centers have ever shown the ability to play as a guard. Ever? Finally, he OWNED interior post defense. He wasnt letting players come inside the paint without CHALLENGING the shot. Offenses always had to account for Dream when attacking the paint. His shot-blocking timing was impeccable...And forced countless other shots wide A LOT. Furthermore, he was excellent enough to guard perimeter players outside the paint. He was the complete defensive anchor any team hopes for...
