Hey as far as I'm concerned, MJ/Dream/Magic..They're it. But the truth of it is that Vernon guarded MJ better than anyone in the NBA. When you combine that with Dream's presence inside it was tough going for MJ against the Rockets. Sure MJ had games where he went off...He's arguably the greatest player of all time. But he often "struggled" against us.
I forgave Maxwell along time ago. He has shown regret for leaving the Rockets and made amends with his coach. Dude wasn't happy he didn't get a contract extension at the beginning of the year, then his pal OT gets traded and then he's suddenly the backup Shooting Guard? They call him Mad Max, not Ghandi or PM Dawn. The Rockets fans love him Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE Date: FRI 03/01/1996 Section: Sports Page: 1 Edition: 3 STAR ""My boys Sam (Cassell) and Mario (Elie) will come back, and the Rockets will still be tough in the playoffs," Max said. ""I'm all right. I'm showing people I can play again. I liked the reaction from the crowd tonight. They remember me."
http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=jordami01&p2=maxweve01 Look at the Chicago VS Houston stats the most he scored on Rockets Maxwell was 35, the least he scored was 22. He averaged 29 points against the Maxwell Rockets, while averaging 32 against the league. Remember this? Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE Date: FRI 01/29/1993 Section: Sports Page: 1 Edition: 3 STAR A case of perfect matchups Then, of course, there is Vernon Maxwell versus Michael Jordan, a.k.a. the Main Event. These two have mixed it up more times than Ali and Frazier -- this time out was no exception. "I'm not looking to start anything when I play Jordan," Maxwell said. "But I do come to the game with kind of an attitude. You can ask my wife how I am around the house all day. She knows not to talk to me." Just the way Jordan must know that eventually Mad Max is going to take off the gloves and mix it up. Thursday, there were just under three minutes left in the second quarter when Pippen was called for an offensive foul. A shoving match broke out between Horry and Grant on the right side of the basket, then Maxwell and Jordan engaged on the left side. "I've got a lot of respect for him," Maxwell said. "I admire the guy's game, and we would have never had a problem. But I was trying to box out, and he grabbed me around the throat and slammed me onto the floor. I'm not putting up with that. Not from him. Not from anybody." As in the past, they squared off. As in the past, they yelled and pointed. As in the past, His Airness claimed it was no big deal. "A few X-rated words," Jordan said. "Nothing really heated." No? "I told him I would break his ... neck," said Maxwell. "I told him I would take him down. He told me I was trying to get the crowd involved, and I said, "Yeah? Well, do that again and I'll break your ... neck.' " Jordan would prefer to downplay these incidents, saying they are not distractions. But he did respond seconds later by ramming home an alley oop dunk from Pippen and hanging on the rim long enough to point at Maxwell and taunt him. And then he did shoot just 12-for-27, finishing with 26 points, a half-dozen below his average. Call it coincidence. Call it matchups. "I'd like to play them every night," Maxwell said.
I've posted this before, but my favorite Maxwell memory was a game in which he started jawing with Rodman. I don't remember if it was against the Bulls, or the Spurs. The refs looked back and saw two players mouthing at each other but I guess they didn't think it was big deal because they just kept walking down the court. All of a sudden it was like a simultaneous light bulb went off and the refs started to panic. "Wait a minute, That's Rodman and Maxwell!" Suddenly, they all ran down to separate the two. It just really struck me as funny.
I remember the '93 WC semifinals against Seattle. Derrick McKey had some big FT's late in Game 7 I believe. McKey was already at the line before the players lined up for the FT's. Max was completely up in McKey's grill trying to psych him out. The kinda crap you hate if you're a fan of the opposing team. Kinda cool when your guy's doing it, imo. The Rockets lost that game and series but they won the first 15 and 22 of the first 23 to open the '93-94 season.
A bunch of interviews of the Rockets mentioned that series gave them confidence going into the next season, and higher expectations. Clutch City, just words to some people, but to us, it transcends time, space, and eternity.
I just looked at the thread, tinman. That's Max? Hell, he looks to be in great shape. I bet he could give us ten minutes! ;-)-
No need for propaganda articles in the NY Times, no need to give up lottery picks, no need to talk about intangibles, no need to look for abstract numbers to demonstrate how "well" he's playing, and no need to talk about choking in the playoffs...On offense and on defense, in the clutch during the regular and post-season and on the biggest stage, Maxwell just got it done on both ends of the floor. I don't care what he does. He turned Choke City into Clutch City. For that he will always be a good guy in my book...no matter what.
No matter how great we think he is, it shocks me how much people overrate Drexler on his time with the Rockets and how quickly they forget about Vernon. If Drexler makes the 1990s all decades team over Vernon, I am going to be pissed. Sure the guy made some mistakes, but we won 90% because of it (no conscience thus leading to many late game winners and clutch plays, trying to get into some1's head, firing up the team and crowd, amazing defense because he thought he was the best). If I had to choose between Vernon staying in 95 or old Drexler coming in, I choose Max every time!
Some people here just remember Maxwell leaving in 95, if that's what your memory of 95, then you missed out on the greatest playoff run of all time.
Besides that run, Drexler didn't help and we lost OT and who knows how Maxwell would've played if the Rockets gave him the extension he deserved.
Parking at the Summit was free..... People parked away from the garage because it was a b**** getting out after the games. One of the cool things at the Summit back in 80's early 90's was the players entrance/exit behind the Summit. You could go back there and meet the players as they came out. Vernon was nice to the fans back then, Olaujuwon....not so much until he became Hakeem and even the not as much as most of the other guys.
