Hakeem would get his usual 30+ pts. Yao might get higher than his usual because of no illegal defense. He could go 1-on-1 with Hakeem and drop 20+ pts. The advantage of the old team is their chemistry and shooting. By the way, Hakeem was not that good in drawing fouls. You may say no respect from Ref. Shaq, Kobe, A.I., Amare are much better in drawing fouls, but they've never fouled out Yao in 10 minutes. I dont like too much exaggeration. 94 squad was a 58 win team, but they were not dominating. There was a reason people called them the worst champion in recent years.
Since zone defenses are allowed, it would be a bit closer than most people think. Hakeem NEVER had huge success against a zone defense (i.e. Seattle early-mid 90's) JVG would find a way to keep the games close but the old Rox have the clear advanage in overall talent. Hakeem >> Yao Thorpe > Howard Horry << T-MAC Maxwell > Wesley Smith = Sura 94 Bench > current bench I'd say old Rox in 6
I have been thinking the same thing. Carl Herrera from the 1994 season would be a perfect fit for the team we have now. And he played huge in that finals series against the Knicks. People remember Sam coming off the bench in those games, but Herrera was just as big of a factor.
Do you guys think Hakeem on prime time is much better than last year's Shaq? Even current Shaq could not dominant Yao, how can Hakeem do that for sure? one on one, Hakeem can not stop Yao, Yao can not stop Hakeem either.
Yes, and it's not even close. 93-95 Hakeem is superior to fat, broken down 2004 Shaq in virtually every possible way Considering that guys like Zaza Pachulia and Eduardo Najera have been able to stop Yao, I'm pretty sure Hakeem Olajuwon, defensive player of the year, all time leading shotblocker, and among the greatest defensive centers ever, would have a shot at stopping him. How exactly is Yao going to score on Hakeem? He's not as strong as he is, and he's about 10 times slower, he can't jump as high. Maybe if he drained a few outside jumpers, but the second he puts the ball on the floor Hakeem is going to steal it from him - Hakeem was probably the greatest "stealing" center of all time as well as a shotblocker. This is not a knock on Yao - it is just that Hakeem, in his prime, was basically kryptonite to Yao of today. Every single area that Yao is shaky in is an area in which Hakeem excelled to the point of being among the greatest ever at.
You let Dream, in his prime, play in a zone D? It's all over. Yao is already shaking in protecting the ball, and only Bill Russell was in the same league as Olajuwon as far as steals at the center position. McGrady would keep the current team in the games, but Max was able to give even Jordan fits on both ends (*by saying that I do NOT mean that he won out in match ups). Evan
Because they are ignorant and were whining about Jordan retiring, blah blah blah. The 99 spurs, among others, were not as good. The 94 Rockets started out the season winning 15 straight and then 22 out of 23 games. That's pretty dominant - in fact it was the most dominant beginning of a season ever.
That championship team was all focused on getting Hakeem one-on-one on the low block. No one else could create shots on their own (except for an occasional Mad max unorthodox fallaway). So I guess how effective would Hakeem be against a zone? Remember that he struggled at times against the sonics who were the best at countering hakeem down low with quick double teams and ,although it was "illegal", played a zone against the other 4 guys on the floor. Granted, Van Gundy doesn't go to the zone too often currently, but just a thought.
The 2004 Pistons were the worst champion in the last 25 years. The 99 Spurs weren't that good. To beat that 94 Rockets team you needed to be able to deny Hakeem the entry pass or long, athletic defenders who could pick off the return passes. Because nobody could guard him one-on-one, and if he found the open shooters from a double team, we had guys who would step it up. Really the Knicks might have done the best job of anyone by pressuring Smith as he was bringing the ball up and preventing the offense from flowing normally.
hell yea, destroy is the right word! yao is an up and coming player, not a stat monster like hakeem. The man did have a quadruple double. But why wasnt drexler added to the championship roster? because ****...hahaha..forget about it!
Yea, they beat a feuding Lakers team facing Phil's departure and Kobe's trial and free agency. Plus, they were saddled with Karla Malone and Gary Payton was atrocious throughout the playoffs. Even with all that, I still thought the Lakers were a better team before that series. Goes to show, any team with Karla is doomed to never win a championship. But I'm not going to look at a Pistons team who's best players are Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups and tell you that they are as good as any of the previous teams.
A better matchup, for guys who go back as far as 1986: Olajuwon Sampson John Lucas Robert Reid Rodney McCray vs. the current squad. Past in 5, maybe 6.
