Sura was a solid player that played with a lot of hustle and was usually about the 4th option on offense. He didn't play here long enough for Clutchfans to hate him, so he has become a much loved figure at Clutchfans.
I think those in this thread have summed it up well. People romanticize his impact a bit because he was with us for such a short time. But he was a jack of all trades PG, and the key to making that work is to be hard-nosed and competitive. Plus he had charisma and personality. He was the proto-Chandler Parsons. Was really disappointed when his back finally took him out. He was a decent PG to have next to Yao-TMac in my opinion. Not a pure facilitator by any stretch, but a streaky competitor.
It all started on a normal day in 2005, through the imagination of a Yao-fan: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=92902 "While Baker and Sura liquor up ,Sura gladly ask him :"Do you know who is the boss in rockets?" Baker :"Boss is tmac!" Sura :"NO!" Baker:"must be YAO!" Sura:"Wrong!" Baker:"Maby Mutombo?" Sura angry:"NONONO¡_¡_" Baker:"is it possible that I am the boss?" Sura fall in a faint."
The two things that pop up in my head when I hear Bob Sura are heart and toughness. He always brought that to the game. We got him toward the end of his career, so he didn't have that same jump he used to but he played smart and gave it his all every moment on the court. He was pretty much a perfect teammate, stood up for anyone of his teammates. One time I remember someone took a real hard foul on Yao and the next play, Sura would hit back. He was the type that wasn't going to take any of that BS, which instantly made him into a fan favorite. He was a hot head and I remember more than a few instances he would get T'd up or ejected if someone did something he took exception to. But all in all, in that '04-'05 season he was the heart and soul of that team. He competed every game. One time against Jason Kidd, who was averaging crazy numbers during that stretch (like a near triple double), Sura led the team to a win with 35 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assist I think, and I think both TMac and Yao out too. He is one of my all time favorite Rockets. After I got a Yao and TMac jersey, the next one I wanted was a Bob Sura jersey.
He wasn't here long but quickly became one of my favorite Rockets. He was the glue to the team.. and that team with Jon Barry ect.. was one of my all-time favorite Rocket teams YOF's would bash him 'he doesnt pass to Yao enough!!!' but they seemed to say that about every single one of our PG's Sura was a hard-nose tough guy, he could do it all really, he could hit the three though wasnt as consistent as other players (JB) but he was clutch. He had the ability to drive to the basket and was a smart decision maker. I don't know how much longer he could have kept it up (if he didn't have injuries) but his play in Houston was absolutely amazing. His play inspired a cult-like following that hasn't completely died to this day. Sura didn't take sh/t from anyone, the perfect compliment to goody two-shoes Yao and T-Mac Heart and toughness with an high basketball IQ, didn;t detract at all from the team yet added so much.
Reading that old Sura thread reminds me that a group of CF's considered Sura to be a ball-hog. However this label was also applied to Francis, Alston, and later Brooks and Lowry at times, so take it for what it's worth.
remember the first game in Orlando against Francis Sura was like one assist short of a triple double and threw Francis on the ground haha
he was a tough SOB. played good D and was an excellent rebounder. got hot against the nets? scored like 35...wasn't much of an offensive threat but gave us alot of toughness and an edge
I live in the region Sura is from (northeastern Pennsylvania) and have lived here for some time. The people around here tend to have real chips on their shoulders and Sura had that, in a good way, on the court. But, he seemed like the coolest guy in the world off the court. Met him twice in the area, once at a bar and once at a local YMCA. At the bar, he was just hanging out and telling stories about his days in Cleveland (this was in like summer of 2001 or 2002 or so) and how tall Zydrunas Ilgauskas was. You'd never know he was a pro player, just acted like an average dude. At the YMCA he was there watching some rec league game that was going on. Game had just ended and the last person leaving was Sura with, yes, two hot chicks with him. Whoever called him the Proto-Parsons is dead on.
Here's the video of Sura taking out Howard for an earlier foul on Yao in the 05 playoffs. Starts at 4:40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On3mcD7LSaE
