I've never been a big fan of the Bill Lambeer's or Dennis Rodman's of the basketball world. The thug is not usually my favorite guy on the floor. But there is something I miss about the players up through the mid-90's. They weren't afraid to lay the hard foul on a guy. Sometimes, I just think you need to flatten a guy once as a warning that they aren't going to be able to just breeze through the lane. I remember Hakeem would, when he didn't block it, would just knock a guy down. Even if the player still went back, in the back of his mind, he remembers. The Rockets and many other teams caused more missed shots just through intimidation than they got through blocks. Tonight, I was watching and thought that a good way to keep Amare Stoudamire from just dunking home every ball he got his hands on would be to give him a good, hard foul at least once, maybe twice. Chances are, he'd think twice about coming down there again.
I think thats why Rick Mahorn played into his 40s or close to it. Mark Eaton was also underated as one. Maybe with Ming on board and eventually getting most of the starters minutes, we can look to Cato to fill a similar type role where giving up fouls wouldnt be an issue.
Coaches often tell players, "go out and put a body on...;" strategic violence can turn a game. It is an ugly little secret, but teams do it and it works. However, it is absolutely wrong to try and injure a player. Hit them hard, but keep it clean. They will try to rough up Ming, but he is not as fragile as he might appear. If he starts swinging elbows, folks are going down.
we're not talking violence, we're talking getting 'into' the head...kind of, 'when you've got'm by the gonads the head and heart will follow'. This is why Cato is a dog -- he won't 'defend' the middle, he won't 'own' the paint. That guy in LA does. He owns it. So does Duncan, and he's 'nice'.
I thought the same exact thing about Stoudemire, but did you notice, we just started blocking his shots! I will say this....Stoudemire is the best young talent in this league in a long time and can make an immediate impact! he is so quick and strong. He is also 20, not 18! But, with all that said, the Rockets had 9 blocks tonight and can you imagine adding 3-4 more from Ming!
KT is the toughest guy the Rockets have right now, which is something this team needs for success. I certainly wouldn't call him an enforcer out there, but he battles inside for the boards. I think he will grow tougher with age and experience, his work ethic is a big plus. I'm getting on a KT kick here... Clean hard fouls send a message and take the player out of the game mentally. They are necessary in any sport, especially when a player is getting really arrogant (Kobe) and owning the game. I think one of Jordan's points to Stevie was about gaining respect throughout the league so you don't have players gunning for you.
Amare will score even if you did foul him hard. He's one of those freak of nature athletes. He's Shawn Kemp -- when he was in shape -- he's automatic inside the lane. Put backs and dunks are his forte. It's going to be interesting to see how well he does at the FT line. As far as the Lambeer's or Rodman's. Well, the 70/80's reminds me of those players. Not the mid-90's. The "Enforcer" days are gone. ... The reasons: Commercialism and political correctness (the NBA cleaned the league up for the kids). By the way...yes, I do miss the old hard-foul days.
Maybe Cato can turn into that sort of guy? He can be thrown out of the game with our depth. I say why not? I just don't want to be labeled as dirty.
Personally, I'd rather not have those kind of hard fouls in basketball at all. I'd use it only on players who simply bull through the lane (so I can say, "You started it." ). For those who use their quickness and skills to penetrate, they should be "intimidated" by skillfull blocks, rather than physical punishment. JMO
Larry Smith was a good enforcer also, even though he didn't always foul people hard. I miss the old days too, especially the mid 80s. The growth of the NBA and the resulting commercialism that you spoke of definately hurt the enforcer type. It also hurt players with good fundamentals and work ethic.
Used to it? I rather have him not injured. Hard fouls are not the answer. If you wanna make someone think twice before driving the lane, be like Eddie and just swat the mofo.
A cheap shot is cutting under someone or elbowing them in the head, a hard foul is putting a little extra body into what was going to be a foul anyway. To many hard fouls and yes that is cheap.
