Hakeem would *definitely* average 25 to 27 ppg in today's NBA

Care to explain why fronting works on Yao now but would not work on him back then? It was not illegal to front back then either. Fronting works on Yao because he is too slow and lacks the balance to catch lob passes, both of which is needed to negate fronting. So unless Yao would somehow get his hands on some magical elixir in 80s and 90s, he would struggle just the same with fronting.

And no you cant just lob it just over Yao's guy. If you could do that, teams wouldnt try fronting on him.

Bring it on!

 

i agree he would

 

Wait, someone was doubting that he could put up 25-27 in today's game???

 

I would buy that if Yao could seal his man properly. Yao still fails to seal his man, be it on fronting or with someone on his back. Combined that with his lack of balance and lack of mobility, lob pass to Yao will always be a turnover prone pass.

Also, the defender on the opposite baseline could still stay right outside the free throw box line. That's still close enough to give yao fits on a fronting play because by the time Yao catches the pass and gathers himself, the second man is already there, and that is IF Yao catches that pass anyways.

 

Do you know the old illegal defense rule? I bet you don't.

 

How does that make Yao better against fronting? Yao would get more space to operate with better outside shooters and that would be apparent in his back to the basket game. It would not make too much of a difference against fronting though.

 

You can't prove "what-if's", therefore this is quite a useless thread.

For argument's sake, Dream is much more athletic; he will excel in rebound, blocks just as what Howard is doing now; but his shooting touch/range is not as good as Yao. I'd say his stats will be very similar to Howard's (21pts, 14b, 3blk). You can probably add 3 poins due to Dream has a better skill sets and deduct 2 bds considering Howard is heavier and more athletic. So, 24 pts, 12b is my useless "prediction".

 

I would love to see what Hakeem in peak form would do to the Jazz. Probably introduce them to Mr. Elbow on his way up over the rim.

 

Howard more athletic than Dream? It is only March 30, not April 1.

 

I think the number will be less compare to before. I don't agree with less competition in the center position argue. Yao had good numbers facing great centers rather than "okur"s. Rules are different. I know dream was way quicker than Yao, but Yao is also stronger and taller. I'm not saying that Yao is better than the dream, but there isn't that much big difference. The league is different now, refs hate foreign big men.

 

Arguments over who would be better or worse in different eras just end up going in circles. For every argument there's a counter argument.

Sure, Yao might benefit from not having to worry about zone defenses but then again they allowed much more physical play down low. We have seen that Okur bothers Yao as much as any player in the league and he plays behind him, single coverage.

It's also a reasonable argument that the best players in any era would adapt to any set of given rules.

 

There's a much bigger difference between prime Dream and a 23-year old Howard then 3 points, don't be silly.

 

I agree that the 80's was on par if not above today's quality of play. Kareem's my #1 center of all time. It's the Wilt and Russell Eras I take issue with.

And you're right about the NCAA being a bad example. I totally forgot about a better example sitting right in front of my nose--the Euroleague. Euroleague is chalk full of players that have the skills to play basketball professionally but not the basal level of athleticism necessary to cut it in the NBA. I bet Redick and Hansbrough would have a field day over there, just like Wilt and Russell did to the inferior athletes in their times (ok maybe not Hansbrough, since he needs whistles to blow to get his game on). That still doesn't mean that any of those four are the greatest of all time. Which IS what we are talking about. Not "they would be able to hang with the players today", but "they would be among the best players in the league today". Looks like you lucked out of having to guard Bird, James Posey.

 

Let's not forget that Hakeem's level of competition in the 80's (and 90's for that matter) motivated him enough to know that he had to "learn" how to play the game rather than rely on his athleticism. Ewing one night, D-Rob the next, Moses, Laimbeer, Jabbar, Brad Dougherty, Parrish....you can go on and on......he HAD to learn how to play the game and work on his footwork and jumpshot etc....I remember Akeem's first few years and offensively it wasn't pretty. He averaged 20-23 but it was PURE athleticism and not much more.

Also remember that the NBA back then stood for No Boys Allowed and they took that seriously. You don't have places like Fonde where guys can elevate their games by getting the snot beat out of them on the court by someone like a Moses Malone. Go back and look at video of Phi Slamma Jamma, they looked like a bunch of grown men back then. These kids in college now look like, well, kids. AAU ball is killing the creativity of a lot of these kids. Guys in the 80's and 90's all had individual game. A lot of the kids who play(ed) AAU ball end up looking like clones as they progress through college and the NBA

What I'm trying to say is that the era that he came in had more to do with how he elevated his game than he did if that makes sense. Since we're playing games, yeah, dropping a '89-96 Hakeem into the league today, he would probably average 20-22 pts like Yao does (That's saying if he played the game the way he did then). The rules just aren't set up for a big man to succeed.

Now if you're asking what would happen if Hakeem grew up in this era that's a different question. I'd definately say he'd be more like a Stoudamire than a Duncan.

But to flip the proverbial coin, Yao today would have been a BEAST back then. With the different rules, higher IQ players in the 80's and early 90's and the fact that the shooting was so much better, he would have had a field day.

sorry for the rant.

legend215

 

Dream's stats in Championship year:

1994-95 Houston 72 10.8 3.4 27.8
1995-96 Houston 72 10.9 2.9 26.9

That is his best stats in his career. Don't forget, single coverage.

Can prime Dream average 25 to 27 ppg in today's game? It's absolutely possible, if Rockets are like Timberwolves, where Dream can get >25 shots per night. But I have my doubts if Hakeem can average >25 ppg in this Rocket team, where Scola and Landry are very good inside scorers too, both leviating the scoring pressure inside. Double teaming is another concern.

 

If you think Hakeem faced "single coverage", I suggest you look up the meaning of the phrase or read the book "Dreamland" by Robert Falkoff. Any team that gave Hakeem single-coverage was going to get torched - if you disagree, ask David Robinson.

 

... and the championship years were 1993-1994 and 1994-1995.

 

I hate when articles compare him with Wilt, Russell, or Kareem. NBA basketball has change so much since then. You can only really compare him along with Shaq in terms of domination, but remember the Dream did everything and did it well--officially 1 quadruple double (should be two). Only three other players have ever done that. Impeccable coordination and quickness. He is the greatest ever!

 

Blunder just confirms what I suspected. Him and plenty of newcomers on this board never watched him play.

Single coverage was not an option with Hakeem. When teams went single on him in playoffs, he easily scored 30+.

Such as...

a) The entire series against David Robinson when he was scoring 40 points a game.

b) Jazz did not like to double him. When he was single covered, he scored 30+ points and had 40 point games multiple times. The game where he won the MVP trophy, he went for 40+ points. The following year he went for 40 points after he came back from injury in first game of 95 playoffs in Utah. Two games later he exploded for 40+ points again.

c) Suns threw a mixture of single and double at him. When they went with single coverage with Oliver Miller and West at center, it was almost certainly basket for Hakeem. They were forced to double and Hakeem passed out to open shooters. When they played single coverage on him, he torhced them.

d) Knicks threw double coverage and mauled him with 4 rotating defenders for entire 7 game Finals series and he still averaged about 25 ppg I believe.

e) Buck Williams was no match for him in 93-94 playoffs. Hakeem shredded him and Rockets cruised past Blazers.

f) He went for big numbers against Shaq on single coverage in 95 finals. When Magic were forced to double, he found open shooters.

Lesson learned: You could not single cover a prime Hakeem. He was programmed to drop 40 on you. Even when he was double teamed, he still got his 25+ numbers. This is the formula Rudy used to win two championships. If Hakeem did not have the killer instinct to drop 40 point games on you when single covered, Rockets would never have won two championships.

Hakeem is one of the few players in league who raised his game to a whole new level in playoffs and the numbers prove it.