too bad Mr. Mean was a Mr. "WTF are you doing?" coach. geez, that last week of the Rockets season when Rudy T got sick was absolutely atrocious. from the timeouts to the substitutions, that guy threw the Rockets into one big cluster**** that they couldn't get out of.
from what I remember the rockets only lost one to one team that had a worse record than them when he finished out that season. there's a word for how the board reacted to his coaching. scapegoat
hmm, i remember we were up a game with the 8th seed with about 5 games to go. it seemed like every move made me scratch my head. it's been awhile so i could be wrong.
LOL, that's because he did it with his huge arm, attached to his giant muscular body (which his head seemed to small for, another story) held up, straight up, elbow locked, in the air, statue of liberty style at a 90 degree angle, while palming the ball. He'd sort of jump, not very high, reach his apex, and then descend towards the backboard and release the ball with a straight trajectory rather than flick it with his wrist or put any spin on it. It was like a caveman style layup, lol.
I'm not saying he did a great coaching job. from what I remember he coached more games, and they had a losing record during his stretch. i just remember specifically, they lost one game a team that had a worse record, I believe seattle, and they beat one team that had a better record. now that I'm thinking about it, I also remember specifically that season the rockets lost a few games to teams they should have beaten. that was my defense of mr. mean at the time.
the rockets used to practice at my h.s. before westside was built. I saw thorpe and sleepy flowd in the gym one day. he wasn't as big in person as he looked in the game, but I guess his body was so ripped it made him look bigger. he was definitely muscular.
there's a clip of one of his many "lay-ups" in Clutch City. it was during one of their losing streaks. lol, the ball never even touched teh rim. i know that's just one example but it's one that has stayed in my mind since.
I remember Miss Candy@$$ (Carla Malone) tried to back OT down in the post in the playoffs one year. OT just stood there with one arm bent on Malone's back and didn't budge an inch. Then Carla would throw his weight on OT and OT just backed up letting Carla fall to the floor for a traveling violation. That used to piss Malone off so much. God I loved it when he did that.
These pf's nowdays are a joke. They are lazy (if they aren't getting the dunk why run}. They are soft (how many pfs can get offensive rebounds or are rebounding machines any more} They are horrible shooters {too busy practicing 3pts and dunks, and can't consistently a 10 footer}. They can't pass, they can't read plays, they aren't team players......their aim is to be a superstar. ITS PLAYGROUNG PRIMADONNA SYNDROME Any guy like OT nowday are not OT like because their one dimensional That's why this league is dominated by guards because the big men are not used enough because they don't do enough inside. I wonder everyday who our next OT is...any guy that comes close is not trade bait....ie..BRAND. OT would be a center exclusively in this league today. AND FOR ALL OF YOU THAT OT COULD NOT FIT ON THIS TEAM BECAUSE THE LEAGUE HAS CHANGED, I STILL ASK WITH A GUY LIKE YAO ON OUR TEAM, WHY DO YOU WANT TO CATER TO A GUARD HEAVY LEAGUE? WHY CAN'T WE MAKE THOSE SHORT WEAK BASTARDS ADAPT TO US?
I love OT, but I really miss Granville Waiters. Remember him in on the '86 team, and realize that despite his look, he was only in his mid 20's. It just makes the man that much greater. Add to that when someone asked about his role on the team, the Rockets staff replied that with Ralph and Hakeem they needed someone big to practice against. He was possibly the greatest Rocket ever.
Are you high? or is my scarcasm meter just not turned up high enough? Seriously, one of the things that I remember most about OT was that he actually cut his salary to bring or keep someone here and the front office traded him the next year...a la D.A. or 'Stro (after coming for a reduced price) just like a bag of moldy tangerines. Can't remember the exact details, but OT seemed like a real stand up guy. Anyone remember the details?
Am I the only one that remembers OT traveled pretty blatantly on most of his layups, and got away with it. I think Gene Peterson even called him "the inventor of the double jump stop" a few times on air.
I used to think so as well. But you are allowed to take a stride with one foot, and then let that carry you to where you land, and then jump off of two feet. I don't know if I described it well, but OT used that move often.
When I saw this tread title I thought of OT myself. We could really use a 2006 version of him next to Yao. I was really sad to see him traded when we got Clyde, I think? I don't know about the Ben Wallace comparison (maybe offensively) but a strong, steady guy that really paired well with Dream down low.
yeah, and more athletic. I actually think howard can be just like david robinson. not necessarily a brute, and not as graceful as hakeem. more a quick player with a lot of strength. I never thought of david robinson as a back to the basket center like hakeem and ewing, more like a slashing, face up foward. thorpe wasn't really a back to the basket type player and he wasn't as much of a brute as thought of. he could definitely defend and hold his own against post ups but he really relied more on first step quickness on offense. like howard and david robinson, a trully gifted physical specimen. players like charles oakley and anthony mason, and those big fours from the eighties didn't have thorpe's speed imo.
