Our old friend Sammy seems to never get in the discussion of great point guards. Some think he's just a scorer, but if you look at his stats, they are wrong. Top 10 in assists in 4 seasons and #30 all time. In 99-00, he was #2 behind Jason Kidd. he averaged 18.6 points/game plus shot 46 percent from the field. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/cassesa01.html Assists 1997-98 NBA 603 (8) 1999-00 NBA 729 (2) 2000-01 NBA 580 (10) 2003-04 NBA 592 (4) Career NBA 5939 (30) Career 5939 (30) He helped take 3 bad franchises to the playoffs and took them all pretty far. The TWolves? the Clippers? the Bucks? I would say taking Clippers to the 2nd round of the playoffs and almost winning would deserve an MVP vote. Let's not forget "two years, two rings". This guy was always clutch, there's not a clutch stat, but his would be extremely high. Alot of point guards who were considered 'better' than him were destroyed when playing him face to face. Bibby, Baron Davis, etc. Also noted whipped the the overhyped Orlando Magic team in 01 (bucks win 3-1). http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200105010ORL.html would Sam get more cred if people didn't care about the way he looks or the way he talks all the time? he was more than a dude who hit a bunch of mid range jumpers. He'll ALWAYS be beloved in Clutch City. <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KBJ8MfQKmQA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KBJ8MfQKmQA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EWsEeyoq0UE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EWsEeyoq0UE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ioUhoBZq8Ak&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ioUhoBZq8Ak&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
tinman, I remember the glory days of Hakeen and Clyde leading us to 2 championships, but the name Sam Cassell is not ringing any bells????
what?? Cassell only hit what is debated as the most important shot in Rockets history (game 3 NBA finals vs the Knicks) Cassell was an important piece of the championships <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/l1eRqQYNm04&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/l1eRqQYNm04&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
He's the most underrated point guard of all time. He just didn't have a flashy game but he had an awesome mid range game. He would literally just dribble slowly to his spot and take his shot almost anytime he wanted. I don't know how he did it.
I loved his game. His midrange shot was amazing. He was a very good point guard. He was a great role player - borderline allstar. He was not a player to be the main man on a team. But a great sidekick. Similar to the way Scola is a sidekick in our current team.
Just off of strait up homerism....Sam I am is one of the top 7.5 pg's of ALL TIME....right behind Matt Maloney.
Sam Cassell's appreciation in NBA: Case #1: http://www.nba.com/playerfile/sam_cassell/ "Given player cannot be found"
I don't know where he ranks all time, but I'll go to war any day with Sam I Am. I don't care what all time great pg the other team has. Sam can hold his own with anyone.
He is the best alien to play the game! :grin: Seriously, he was very important to the rockets championship, he played great those years.
It goes without saying that without Hakeem Olajuwon the Rockets would not have won those back to back championships in '94 and '95. The same could be said about Sam Cassell. Cassell is a very special pg and basketball player. When the topic of Rockets' history comes up his name should be mentioned.
Great complimentary player to Hakeem and can definitely hold his own game. He's a bit underrated but by no means HOF standards. Move on!
