He played well tonight... but he doesn't seem consistent on his shooting. I like his D though, and yea flops don't work on Jordan.
I am not starting another thread to pose this question.... Should Charles Oakley have been charged with a flagrant foul for knocking Juaquin Hawkins out into next week. I thought it was unnecessarily rough. Van Gundy made me sick saying that another Rocket should have gotten very physical with Oak. Van Gundy said that if another Rocket did not retaliate, that it would leave an uncertain mood on the Rocket team- that they do not protect each other. I agree and wish we had a Kevin Willis or Charles Barkley or Otis Thorpe for retaliation on Oak. I wish we had somebody who could have immediatley taken it to Oakley or fouled him very hard-like an Artest.... By the way - I like Hawkins-he has heart.
He doesn't know how to play yet. Just like Ming doesn't know how to play yet. Both are talented in their own ways, but neither have learned to play the "NBA" game just yet. I don't like a lot of what the NBA considers "basketball", but things like the superstars getting the calls won't be going anywhere anytime soon. The only thing a Rocket fan can hope for is Ming will start getting those types of calls in a couple years.
Jordan has never been the Greatest in my mind and this complaining and fouling,takes him down another notch. Jordan needs to retire, not setting such a bad example for the future of the Game.
MJ got all the "Jordan Rules" calls. The goaltending was not even close. Hope the refs slept well. He just just keep his mouth shut. Hawkins, except for FT shooting, played a great game at both ends. Props to a guy who "brings it" all the time. He was better than Posey and deserved to be in there. THE REST OF THE TEAM COULD LEARN FROM HIS EFFORT and COMMITMENT. D R
I do wish Hawkins would get the ability to earn his spot back over Posey. It's as if, "Posey's here, don't need you anymore Hawkins". And all of you complaining about Jordan-Rules and star calls, would you be making the comments if Yao received those types of calls on a star basis? We don't have that STAR....Tmac/Kobe/Duncan/Shaq/KG...etc. We won't get the calls down the stretch until either Steve or Ming get into the same category of player as those mentioned. That's just the NBA.
There's a reason why Hawkins is a 29 year old NBA rookie. Poor jump shooter with mediocre handles. Hawkins just did what Rockets fans hate most about the Jazz and didn't get the benefit of a doubt. I would have been more suprised if Jordan HAD gotten called for charging...
I'm still trying to understand why everyone's upset. I mean, it's not like MJ said Hawk was trash, he just commented that Hawk is inexperienced (check).
Hawkins played a great game last night. Yea he missed some free throws, but without him and the couple of 3's and other shots, we are not even in the game. Props to Hawk!!
Ya know, I was very pleased with what Hawk brought to the game tonight. He hit most of his jump shots on offense which really is gravy. His defense on Jordan I thought overall was pretty good. Obviously those two calls in overtime were suspect and the Jordan Rules took effect. Hawkins knows how to play defense, he uses his quick legs to get position before the offesnive player does. I didn't think for a second that Hawk was flopping. Just not his style at all. It is too bad Jordan in a classy way couldn't tip his cap to Hawk's defensive play, but instead dismissed it as some hack flopper when it was quite clear that Hawk was playing strong all night long. Hawkins only downside tonight was the 4 missed FTs. But two of them were after the Oakley foul (which should have been flagrant). It was obvious that Hawk was hurting after that foul. Posey just did not have it tonight and Hawk was able to come in and play with a lot of energy and help out. I liked his play. Kudos to Rudy to keep Hawk in the game. His energy really helped the Rockets. And as an added bonus he knocked that punk Tyronn Lue out of the game on that lose ball scramble which helped the Rockets get back into the game by throwing Washington's offensive rhythm off. Chris
Hawkins was great and should be in the damn rotation. There is no excuse for Rudy to have Steve and Mobley be in the top ten in minutes when you have Mooches and Hawk on the bench. No wonder we are a tired bunch. Hawk is not looking tired though.
Hawkins is not known for flopping. But then, who outside of the Rockets knows Hawkins? I don't think he flopped on that play. If he did, he would be the most stupid player ever played against Jordan. Jordan should've given the rookie the benefit of the doubt. I mean, if it were Divac, Stockton, or Fisher, accusing them of flopping would have made sense. MJ, you won the game. The refs were on your side. What is the beef there? Just give some encouragement for the young players rather than dissing them.
Hawkins brings a lot of great energy to the team. He doesn't take anything for granted because he had to work his ass off for years to get to the NBA. I've never liked Michael Jordan and this just gives me yet another reason to hate him. Totally without class. Get ready for my Michael Jordan rant... Sure, he's a great basketball player, but that's it. He's one of the most famous people in the world. Has he ever done anything to help anyone but himself? All he does is cheat on his wife, endorse crappy shoes made by 10-year-olds in some sweatshop in Indonesia who makes ten cents a day, cash his million dollar checks from Nike while kids are getting shot over his ridiculously overpriced shoes, compulsively gamble away his money, b**** to refs whenever anyone even looks at him the wrong way. I think the only time I ever saw Jordan take a stand on an issue was when he was forced to wear a Reebok warmup at the 1992 Olympics, so he wore an American flag to cover up the Reebok logo. Way to stand up for something important and meaningful. The only thing he's willing to take a position or stand on is his paycheck. Remember how Jordan said he'd never play basketball again because then his father saw his last game before he was killed? Well, once he realized he wasn't meant to be a baseball star, he flushed that statement down the toilet. He couldn't deal with travelling in a minor league bus so he bought the team a luxury bus. Way to man up. If he wasn't Michael Jordan, he wouldn't have even made a single-A team. What was his baseball downfall? A curveball. So the greatest athlete ever couldn't even hit a single-A curveball? When you think about that, Danny Ainge is a better athlete than Michael Jordan because he was an all-star basketball player and well as being recruited for MLB. Remember how he said he wouldn't wear 23 in memory of his father. A couple bad games at wearing Number 45 changed that real quick. This guy's career has been propped up by the league and the officials for years. I love it when they show him nailing that shot over the Jazz. He practically pushes Byron Russell into the next area code, yet mysteriously there's no call. I realize he's just a basketball player but look at what some basketball players have done with their fame and wealth. Look at Magic Johnson, he works for AIDS groups, has completely rebuilt and revitalized an area of Los Angeles, works with community groups and politicians to actually try to make a difference in the world. Mutumbo built a freakin' hospital in Africa. The only thing I've heard Jordan do is put on a charity golf tournament.
Michael jordan has the same crybaby mentality that kobe bryant and the utah jazz have. they need to quit cryin and suck it up and play. It takes away from the game
I think a lot of NBA players need to go back to Yao Ming's school of grace and humility. It didn't surprised me at all as to why a lot of fans are pulling for the new Chinese kids on the block. They are tired of the arrogant that a lot of players had shown both off and on the court. I believed Yao will eventually have a greater impact than Jordan worldwide and kid from around the world will singing the phrase Be like Yao instead of be like Mike.
Obvious you have not been watching all the rockets game. I love Hawk but I am not a big fan of flopping. He flops - it is part of his "arsenal" but it is not necessarily stupid because it works sometimes - ask Kobe (who is arguable the best player in the NBA). Hawk used his excellent quick feet to stay in front of Kobe to draw a charge (with a little holywood) IN LA of all places just last week. It worked in LA that night but it did not work yesterday. Hawk is Houston BEST DEFENDER - with his excellent footwork, good hands and technique. It will be nice to have him see more minutes to help reduce the heavy minutes Steve and Mobley play every night. He can also knock down a few open jumpers. At least he is shooting 40% from the 3 point land.
Hawkins is the best defender we have. Posey gambles sometimes and get those high profile steals (I am not dissing Posey since he is terrific defesively). Hawkins just just his feet to get position. Solid fundamental defense. He had shown he can knock down those open jumpers. We got to get more minutes for him. Heck, him and Mobley swap roles won't be a bad idea (but with Mobley getting more minutes).
Jordan shouldn't be talking. Juaquin Hawkins was playing great defense on him. I am sure that if Hawkins defended against Jordan the whole game, we would have done much better.
