How can Dream not get a shot off? He is making good spin moves but looks to dish out to the 3-pt line before even considering a shot. Kareem was 59 and still sky-hooking. How can Hakeem not get a shot off. If Akeem could see himself now (Hakeem) he might kick his own ass. At the very least a jump hook in the lane...we definitely haven't seen this so far this season. (Yes..I am well aware it has only been six games.) ------------------ "That's two years, Two rings, and I'm thinkin' about going for another one...YEAH!!" --S. Cassel
AT, you are so right. I have been saying for the past year-and-a-half that all he needs is the jump hook. In fact, that is his only hope to score at all. Dream needs to be quick and strong, not double pump on his shot like he does every time. I love Dream and he will probably always be my ultimate Houston sports hero because the Man finally brought us some championships. But now I can also say that Dream is so done it is sad. He cannot do the Dream shake any more. He is slow on offense and the jump hook is the only way he is going to be able to contribute. Thank god for defense. ------------------
What in the hell is "no Fockass"? ------------------ "That's two years, Two rings, and I'm thinkin' about going for another one...YEAH!!" --S. Cassel
"We need to fockass" -famous quote by Hakeem back in the glory days of the early-mid 90's. ------------------ "Oh No..." -Bill Walton in 97 just before Stockton's buzzer beater
Thanks Baqui. I am humbled in the presence of your and HP's fan-ness. Hakeem should still be able to Jump-Hook though. ------------------ "That's two years, Two rings, and I'm thinkin' about going for another one...YEAH!!" --S. Cassel
"calling kevin willis. calling kevin willis." ------------------ Mobley and Francis ...are not the two best players on the team. - Rockeem 11/2/2000
It's called hesitation. If you go back and watch the first 4 games and then watch the Lakers game you will see that when he doesn't hesitate, he looks alot like the Hakeem of 2-3 years ago. Even last night he looked good at times when he didn't hesitate. ------------------ Only in America....do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.
Hakeem doesn't know what to do. He is no longer what he used to be, but he is not what he is showing now, either. He looks comfortable on the court as far as breathing goes, so he can still play. Problem is, he doesn't know his role. He seems to not want to get in trouble for trying to be any part of the offense. He simply does not shoot. Pimp is right, he hesitates too much. He has a hook, can do a few spin moves every now and then, can do spot-up jumpers, and every now in then finish a play with a dunk. Doing all of that, he should reasonably be able to get 9 ppg, if healthy. Give him time to realize that is ok, that there is ground between being "the team" and being a non-factor. ------------------ EZLN
Surely nobody on the bench is telling him to not take too many shots. Rudy should be telling him to go back to the jump hook to get comfortable again. Basically, I think he needs to be taking more shots to get comfortable. Making moves and dishing out to the 3 is not going to accomplish this. ------------------ "That's two years, Two rings, and I'm thinkin' about going for another one...YEAH!!" --S. Cassel
I think it would be VERY difficult to learn a hook right now. Hakeem's always been so much better physically then everyone that I guess he never bothered to learn it. Also, Dream doesn't have the height that kareem had to make the shot as effective. I really wish Dream would have played b-ball when he was yougner, he would have been the greatest. A cross between Garnett, Russell, and Wilt. Maybe even a little Magic, who knows. ------------------ "I know how hard it is to put food on your family." George W. Bush
All you need to make that jump hook successful is minimal lift with your legs. That shot is not going to be blocked very much. The way Hakeem can get around that is by making much, much quicker decisions when he receives the pass inside. Once he gets it working he can continue to make quick moves to the middle, go up for the jump hook and if he starts having someone come over to double team - which will not happen - he can dump it off to the guy slashing in the lane. Jump hook! Jump hook! ------------------
And by the way gr8-1, Hakeem has a jump hook. When teams finally started way overplaying for the dream shake, he worked an entire season on adding the jump hook to his aresenal. If you think about it, the last half of his career he used his hook much more than anything else and had great success with it. ------------------
JEff, I don't think it is about the lift, I think it is more about not knowing your role. Hakeem at this age still has more LIFT, then most big men. DaDakota ------------------ If Mankind evolved from Monkeys and Apes, then why are there still Monkeys and apes?
LEARN a jump hook? Dude, what Hakeem have you been watching all these years. Hakeem has had the jump hook for a long time!!! ------------------ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
I reiterate, Hakeem just needs to get over his hesitation, realize that he is still allowed to score and that he CAN still score. Just because it will not be as much does not mean it should be nothing. Jeff, yeah, his hops are reduced, but many players have whole careers without hops. He could still get by if he gets over his mental issues. ------------------ EZLN
I don't think that the problem is Dream not having the skills or him not having the desire or drive. I think that Dream knows it is not his team anymore. He knows that the young guys can carry the team. Think about it, this is the first time in his career he knows that he can do nothing to help the team and the team can still be a playoff contender. Rudy probably encourages him to shoot and demand the ball, but I don't think it is Rudy's endorsement he needs. I think he is deferring to Stevie and Cat. He's not going to demand the ball. Stevie hasn't played with Dream when Dream dominated games. Stevie has always had the ball and been the creator. Dream is content to be a role player. That would be noble, if he was playing for Portland or the Lakers; a great team, that didn't need him to do big things. The Rockets need 12 and 8 from him to be more than a contender for 1 of the last 2 playoff spots. ------------------ - Beck Dream...bring back the goggles
Aside from the obvious hesitation, I agree with Jeff that he also doesn't have the "ups" he used to have. For instance, a few games ago they had a 2-part expose on Hakeem. In the first part they showed some highlights from the Chapionship years. Man, there was there were so many plays where, quicker than lightening, Hakeem sprung from the floor to dunk over guys and one where he did a Jordanesque side slam. My jar hit the ground because I had forgotten just how good he really was. I WANT BACK MY HAKEEM!!! ------------------ Only in America....do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.
