Couldn't afford to go to the game last night, but watched it on TV. Best ROX game of the season (ok. the second half comeback was great. I spent halftime pacing around and b****ing and moaning over our lack of D). But I still felt sad afterwards. Dream looked terrible. He would post up and his teammates would look him off and pass to anyone else they could. Not that I blame them, the fluidity, his ballet-like grace, his powerful finish have all evaporated away. Why can't Dream walk away? Who is he fooling? He has nothing. He is one of the 50 greatest players of all time (top 10 in my book) and now it is debatable if he is even one of the top 50 post men in pro bball anymore. This saddens me. I am 22 years old. I grew up on Hakeem. He is the driving force for my love of the game and my love of the Rockets. I remember studying tapes of Hakeem after I did not make the basketball team in seventh grade. I remember trying to get my clutzy footwork right, so I could mimick my hero. I worked and worked until finally my coordination caught up with my body size. I never had Hakeem's size or tools, but some of my fondest memories are coming off the bench late in the game during my junior and senior year in high school, ripping down a few boards, blocking a shot, and hitting a Dream shake over someone. Or playing pick up ball and just busting out a move I saw him pull off the night before. Hell, I wanted to name my dog Hakeem when I was little, but my mom wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not and wouldn't let me. Hakeem is the best big man of all time. He may not have the championships (lack of quality teammates for most of his career), the longevity of Jabbar, or the dominating size of Shaq or Chamberlain. Skill-wise Hakeem was the greatest of all time. No big man has ever played like he did during the Spurs playoff series in 95. It saddens me he doesnt get his due. Partly becuase he's stayed on too long, partly because he played in Houston, and partly because no one respects post play anymore after the Jordan era. The game has changed. Time has passed. I miss the old Hakeem.
Maybe Hakeem doesn't care if he isn't the player he was in 1995. Maybe all he wants to do is play. It saddens me to see his stats so low, but if he is happy about still playing, then I am.
ZRB has a point. His joy might not be solely for playing particularly well or having great stats or being the center of attention but rather for simply playing.
Hakeem is a greedy idiot. He should have retired after last season when he could have said that he gave it a great shot. Now he is just a joke, as that article from Toronto which is linked on the front page aptly points out. I hope Toronto chokes on their two more years of Hakeem.
