How are you going to put Vernon Maxwell in the same light as Jesus, but you can't mention Pippen and Maxwell in the same breath? That's ridiculous! No...Max is not Pippen, but he was definitely a bigger distraction. For every good game he had (and he had a bunch), he had more stuid moments. I mean, dude had more issues than Entertainment Weekly. Ok...he played hard, and he was my favorite Rocket because of his heart and his ice cold demeanor in pressure situations. But when he started doing drugs, he gave up on the team. The man lost his freakin porsche over in 3rd Ward because of some guys he got mixed up with. I know I am not the only one that remembers him waving a gun at Luby's and getting put in jail on game day. Then the Rockets got him out in time to play in the 2nd half of their game against the Blazers. This is a man that couldn't keep his emotions in check enough to stay on the court (again against Portland), opting instead to run up 11 rows and punch a fan. How did he hear this dude talking about his deceased daughter in an NBA arena? He gets suspended for an extended period of time and then gets mad because Rudy has him coming of the bench behind a future hall of famer? He gets mad at Rudy? The same guy that let him play in the 2nd half of the blazer game after he was released from jail? When he decided that he was going to do drugs, act incredibly ignorant and basically do his own thing, then he committed acts that are detrimental to the integrity of the team. I am not saying that Maxwell did not have huge moments as a Rocket because he did...both good and just plain dumb.
OK so you hate John Lucas also and Michael Ray Richardson. Vernon's emotions got the best of him, it was his weakness but also his strength.
I'd like to believe that very much. To me, Pippen is the most hated Rockets of all time. Pat Riley is a distant second.
It's not what got the best of him, but when. Did he say anything about playing time in the season. No...he waited until the Rockets got in the playoffs with one the our biggest rivals. He couldn't take one for the good of the team. When he was starting, he was ok. But when he came off of the bench, he wasn't. He never had the teams best interest at heart. It was all about him. Only a Crackhead would think he needed more PT than Glide (not saying he's a crackhead, just crack-ish)
Perhaps we will be able to say the same of JVG in ten years time (substituting "head coach title" for "uniform").
I cant hate on JVG, he took us to the playoffs last year. I can blame him for Weatherspoon, Ward, Ewing.. turning our team into the Knicks.
I think this post basically sums up Max's career with the Rockets. He DID help us win the championships and he also quit this team like Pippen and Eddie. "Once a quitter, always a quitter."
A player who played his butt off every night tends to get a free pass from me. Maxwell was arguably the second best player on the first major championship team in this city and who knows if they don't win in 94, they win in 95. And to say all he did was hit a couple of clutch shots is beyond ridiculous as well as him riding Hakeem's coattails. I know Hakeem loves Vernon, and I'll go with him on this one.
newsflash-basketball is not their ENTIRE life for these guys. other factors outside of the court are involved in their life and you can't judge that esp since you don't know their situation. tempers, the ppl they hang out with, drugs, etc are all factors. how many times in your life have you messed up or regretted doing something? does that mean the world should hate you for it? i didn't think so. what abt john lucas and ken caminiti letting drugs get to them? you have to give these people a chance instead of writing them off as quitters of not just their professional sport but their life. sometimes things just get so bad, it's hard to judge right from wrong or you feel caught up in a situation. griffin and madmax are alright in my book. ppl like pippen are the quitters.
I hate John Lucas more than anything because he almost single-handedly destroyed this franchise TWICE because he couldn't stop shovelling white powder up his nose.
I never said Mad Max should be hated - especially not Pippen hated ... I just said he was a quiter (but I like the "tragic hero" label) Vernon and the weed
