I started following basketball in late '94. My first image of basketball was, "Daddy why is there a van driving on TV at the same time as the NBA Finals?" So I apologize if my memory just cannot go back further. Lots of potential members to the club in our history: Mad Max, Cassell, Battier, Rafer during the win streak, pre-MWP Artest, hell I'm even a big fan of Jim Jackson as a representative from the Dark Ages. But these few guys are a cut above. They never got a huge payday from us, and they never cared. They were all about that business, boss. They rose up when it mattered most, showed up in the playoffs even if the entire team couldn't pull through with them. They gave this franchise their best playing days, and we will always thank them for it. Dog point guards are vital championship components. You think about PG's on championship teams, and they're not usually ball-dominant scoring types. Chalmers. Derek Fisher. Rookie year Rondo. Chauncey Billups. Those were all dogs when their teams won it all. And what about the "best" point guards of our era? Paul, Deron, Nash, Westbrook, Rondo-as-team's-leader, Tony Parker-as-team's-leading-scorer, DRose, Irving. Yeah. There's a reason for that. So let's look at Beverley and be damn happy that he'll be on our team for at least two years to come. No matter what happens in the playoffs these next two years, you can rest assured he will do EVERYTHING it takes to get us as far as we can go. He's relentless and I wish we had one or two more of him on our team.
This is a great thread. I would add the great O.T. to the dog list, however. He was not flashy, didn't have a polished offensive game and didn't show up in the highlights (except for that beautiful coast to coast against the Trailblazers - see below), but he was a tenacious defender and rebounder and elevated his game in the playoffs, especially during the title run in 93-94. The Knicks punched us in the mouth, but Otis kept his cool and battled in the trenches. He was the muscle behind the Dream - not an enforcer, and not a ballhawk, but a quiet, tough, s.o.b. who let his playing do his talking. His hands were so huge he probably could have palmed a bowling ball. I Still love the 15-footer to beat the shot clock near the end of game ... 6? Don't remember which one. The Knicks had defended the possession well, and he ended up with the rock in his hands and was forced to shoot an outside shot - not exactly his forte. He sank it with confidence and aplomb. That team belonged to Hakeem, but I maintain we wouldn't have overcome the thugball tactics of the Knicks without Otis. My favorite Rocket of all time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0mD8JckVYg
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That play with LeBron was really telling. LeBron could have backed him down with the size difference. But LeBron looked like he's scared of Beverley. The King is scared of dogs!
That picture is of Bob Sura, who was included above. And Ryan Bowen, who I believe you are referring to, was called the Germinator, jokingly by Jon Barry because of his defense on Dirk, when we jumped out to that early series lead, before getting smoked in game 7.
Pat Bev is incredible you gotta love that guys heart. I think he cares more about making defensive plays than scoring points. He gets fired up when he makes a big defensive play. I enjoy watching him I wish there were more pat bev's in the league.
I have loved watching Bev play these past couple of years. I know that he is a player that I wouldn't be able to stand if he played for another team but I love the way he plays for us. I have been wondering about that and his contract for a little while now. It seems like we will be in a pretty similar situation with him that we are in with Parsons. Besides the debate about whether or not to pick up Parsons' option, both have about 2 years left on their contracts for less than a million per. Both will receive pretty good pay raises when their contracts are up and it is hard to see them both getting paid while we also pursue that third star that morey wants so much. Who knows what will happen. But I sure hope he doesn't go to another team so that we have to watch that tenacity against us.
Verra verraa nice. But missing Mad Max and the Tru Warrier. Pat Bev fits in nicely with best hounds in Houston history.
I know who Sura is fwiw. I saved that picture when it happened. Did not mean to make that assumption. Just couldn't find a good Bowen pic to add to the post. talking about jyd's heh edit.. ok here's one lol
Nice call on OT! Dude was a beast. The list is pretty deep. Houston appreciates tough-nosed, blue collar types.
