Are the Rocket's Recent Troubles due to Hakeem Being Gone?

no.

no.

no.

Hakeem would have been another problem and distraction "if" he would have decided to stay.

 

no no no...... i think bullard may have been more of a leader in lockerroome etc than hakeem lol

 

No. If Hakeem were still on the team, either he wouldn't be getting lots of PT, in which case we'd be hearing the kind of crap we just heard from him (in San Antonio) three times a week, or he would be getting lots of PT, in which case we'd be hearing complaints from the rest of the team, missing the playoffs again, and going through the same growing pains a year later.

Off the court? Hakeem led by example, which is to say, he kept to himself and had no influence on his teammates' behavior. Willis is doing more to guide Cato than Hakeem ever did. There is zero chance that having Hakeem on the team would have kept Steve from the bottle or Mo from the reefer.

Hakeem's recent slams at Rockets management were a cheap shot. Note to Hakeem: You were never a clever speaker. You made up for that lack of cleverness by being gracious. If you're not going to be clever or gracious, do your legacy a favor and shut up.

 

I agree - we are missing Air Bullard! He's the difference. Trade Walt for Bullard!

 

Hmmm. Curse of the Dreambino?

 

I don't buy it...

 

Since English is not Hakeem's first language, its not very gracious of YOU to make fun of him for not having 'clever' words for the media.

And there isnt much he said recently that isn't true, so not sure why it'll hurt his legacy. Those of you criticising his recent comments are the same ones who've been jumping on his 'legacy' for awhile, so I'm not sure of your point.

I do think his defensive presence would have made some of these games come out in the Rockets favor...Who would be griping about his PT? Mo? Franchise? Willis? Rice?

However, its not realistic to say that if Dream had stayed then Mo would have avoided pot or that Franchise would have stopped at that red light. Or that Mo wouldn't smoke pot while running a red light.

 

Rudy wouldn't have played him anyway, so it probably wouldn't have mattered. Although the departure of Bullard has left some 4th quarter minutes open at the 5 spot....hmmm.

 

No.

 

It is patronizing of you to assume that people for whom English is not their first language are incapable of communicating well in that language after two decades in this country. Hakeem could do this if he tried. The problem is not a matter of having an accent. The problem is that for whatever reason -- shyness, inward focus, laziness -- he doesn't seem to care whether he says anything thoughtful, significant, or entertaining in postgame interviews, or even whether he makes himself understood.

Here's a tip: Try not to see everything in life through the prism of ethnicity or nationality. Most of the time, it insults the people on whose behalf you purport to speak.

 

my reference to bullard was really just that i've heard he probably had the most locker room influence of anyone.. maybe someone who knows more behind the scenes than I do can confirm if this is true?

 

Dont be silly. Athletes train themselves never to say anything thoughtful, significant or entertaining. Only a few like Oakley break the mold on purpose. They are taught to speak in cliches:-
"I just went out there to play hard"
"Individual awards don't matter I rather the team win"
"Losing is tough on the whole team, we just have to go out and play well the next game"
"I want to thank my family for believing in me"

Sound familiar?

 

To answer the original question:



No.

 

What? That's ridiculous. English is one of the most difficult languages to grasp, especially the nuances of making a 'clever' utterance. He's a tip: don't assume someone is lazy because their command of your native language is not where you'd like it to be, most of the time it makes you look stupid. For example, my father is an immigrant. He's been in the US since the fifties. He speaks 11 languages. He still has problems with things like sarcasm and humor because of the way the translations happen in his head. The translations can come out literally and so the point is missed. Its not debilitating and it doesn't stop normal communication, but it can make it seem like someone is humorless or dull witted, when he's not. Could be the same for Hakeem, and you don't know so its pretty bad for you to assume the worst about the guy. Why are you still hatin'? Get over it.

 

That used to be conventional wisdom, but I don't believe most linguists still think that's true...

 

I don't think there is a new consensus on the issue. But you can check what i added to the last post in way of personal narrative about the issue...

 

I'm sorry, could you rephrase that? I'm just a stupid (rich, cosmopolitian, fully integrated, constantly interviewed) immigrant who's only been in this country 20 years, so I couldn't understand what you were saying.

Forgive me for assuming Hakeem is lazy. Well, actually, forgive you, since I never made that assumption. Read the alternative explanations again.

You'd like to make it look like I'm saying he's lazy and you're saying he isn't. How clever of you. Here's our actual disagreement: I'm attributing his bad interviews to personality, and you're attributing them to ability. If you want to feel pious about that, go right ahead.

 

confession: I never really cared much for Hakeem.

Sure, I can recognize his contributions, and I certainly consider him to be the strongest player we had during our championship years. But I never really understood the "carried the team on his back" mentality. Sure he was the best player, but I never thought of him as a leader.

I thought of him more as like a petulant little child trapped in the body of a very talented big man. Sure, he had long stretches when we were really good where you only saw him happy, but when he was unhappy, we always knew it 'cuz he'd let the press know it.

By the way; this isn't "retrospect" on my part. I've always felt this way. So to answer the original question: HELL NO!