a player i miss

Agreed with you 100%
Thorpe is the type of PF Rox need now!!

 

While i miss OT alot and agree that he was an excellent PF and a type of player you don't find often in the NBA today, i don't think his style of play would compliment Yao very much.

As much as Hakeem would post up, he also loved to set up his man from the outside and make his move (read my sig). Hakeem loved to work from the outside in and finish with a variety of moves. Also, because he loved to fadeaway so much, this would leave the paint unmanned for rebounds if not for OT being there to gobble it up and put it back, or kick out to restart the offense.

Yao is ALL low-post in the JVG era, his size and skill makes him unstoppable in the paint, thus he needs a PF who can shoot from long range, even out to three point range so that Yao can not be easily double teamed. On the defensive end, a big rebounder would be a great help to Yao at the PF position but there are not many players who can shoot out to three, defend, and rebound.

Players these days who would compliment Yao extremely well would be Lamar Odom, Rasheed Wallace, Troy Murphy, Mehemt Okur and Dirk Nowitski. Obviously, these PF's are all impossible to obtain without giving up alot of talent and alot of money, which is why many here are hoping Steve Novak can round out the rest of his game to compliment his suberb shooting ability.

Otis Thorpe is a Rocket legend, and he will always be remembered by fans.

 

i liked otis thorpe a lot. he was a solid player next to dream and no one will over forget how big his freaking hands were. he's not a perfect fit next to yao but certainly i'd love to have him starting here over juwan. maybe even the current OT

 

Im with u 100% because that is the type of power forward we've been lacking since he left. He would be perfect along Tracy and Yao, he could rebound and do all the hustle work I wish he was on our team.

 

i dont think you will find a member on this board (unless too young) that wont appreciate OT! he was amazing.

 

i loved those full court lobs he threw and thunderous dunks off fast breaks. but i hated those baby hook shots that would clank off the side of the backboard. nevertheless, OT was the consumate role player and still a favorite of mine.

 

Whats strange is there really aren't any players in the league that match OT's description. I dunno if it that expansion has turned them all into stars or what. The closest player I can think of off hand is Haslem and he doesn't provide the physical presence.

 

There is only one OT baby!




But Elton Brand wouldn't be a bad 2nd option IMHO.

 

not trying to brag but why did you wait 4 years untill your first post?

 

Ben Wallace is probably the most Thorpe like, IMHO. Defensive and rebounding specialist, worse than average on offense.

 

I thought about Ben Wallace, but atleast Thorpe had that sort of strange hook shot he held in his hand too long and those one dribble drives from the top of the key. Its alway been a mystery why Wallace didn't try and develop a little 'baby hook' to use in a pinch

 

OT > Wallace for offense.

#3 in the NBA during the 1994 season in field goal %
56%

OT!

 

thorpe was weird, but weird in a way that i hope that battier will be. the kind of guy that you keep on forgetting about because what he did doesn't show up on the stats. definitely an offensive liability, but it was something that we didn't need from him. thanks for bringing up the good memories, francis li.

the closest guy that i can think of that resembles his play is a stronger version of bo outlaw.

anyway, to stay on topic... i miss sam cassell. somebody who could play his arse off, but more importantly had personality. no one on this team does right now (last i think was jon barry... whether it was rolling on the floor when yao did the behind the back dribble, throwing up the three sign after a three-pointer, or making light of jvg). hopefully battier will bring his ultra-spirited, super-dooper community service attitude to the court this season.

 

I saw him in late june at IAH. I do not know where he was heading but I was heading to Vegas. It was an early flight and I think he was trying to buy a slice of pizza but they were only selling breakfast items. He looked good. People noticed him but did not recognize him.

 

'94, so great year for the Rockets of course but that's just one particular year for OT in his career.
He finished in the top 10 in FG% NINE times in his career including 6 straight years from 90-95. Finished high as #2 twice. Career .546% puts him 13th All Time, doing that most the time with the heavily taped hands and still played darn near every game So yeah there was a lot to like about Thorpe. Cant think of a similar player in the league now at the moment...

 

Don't forget he is a Providence College Alum like myself and Ryan Gomes who I think would be a great addition to this team. brings a lot of the same hustle to the game and can shoot mid range.

 

OT was one of the most under-rated players in Rockets history. He was the perfect fit at the power forward position. His defense and passing was excellent and quite overlooked. He had brute strength and intensity and never seemed to have a problem with defending superstar PFs (Malone, Rodman, etc). If we could clone an OT in his prime, he would be the perfect fit for the current Rockets team with the intangibles he would bring to battle.

 

didn't otis have a 50 point game. he was no where near as inept as wallace on offense. he was also a very good passer. he had a lot more offensive skills than wallace. but probably not the defensive player wallace is. otis was more of a grind it out post defender while wallace is more like hakeem on defense.

 

Not even close. Thorpe was the primary scorer for the Kings early in his career and was posting 20-10 seasons, though he finished as a bit player and his career average was 14 ppg or so. Thorpe was also not much of a shot blocker.

Wallace meanwhile has never averaged double figures in scoring for a season and is a career 6.6 ppg scorer.