On sports sunday, they always have a little conversation with Elvin Hayes. they talk about how the rockets are doing, what they need to do, and all that other stuff. When asked about Hakeem's role with the Rockets, Elvin spoke what many of us have been thinking about and writing about in this forum. He said Rudy's going to have to sit down and have a talk with Hakeem and basically tell him that we need him as a contributor and not a superstar. Of course, Elvin said a hell of a lot more, but I'm just basically summing up what he said. He said Olajuwon's gonna have to adapt his game and work to help out this team as a contributor. Well, that does it; someone has finally said what everyone's been thinking about out loud in public. GO ELVIN! BTW, he said the rockets have a really good team also.
I hope Hakeem will see this. Rudy needs to straighten his panties and sit down with this man and tell him what is up. DaDakota
You only take the negative and leave out the [positive. Elvin said more and you deliberately omitted that. Listen to Kenny the Jet, Bill Russel and other great stars what they think about Dream. Ask the team, and the answer is Dream is the man, weather you like it or not. I think for him to be out, at this point is good for the Rockets as now some guys are forced to step up, but trust me Hakeem aint the one to come spoil systems, but one to make them better. Yall sitting there and commenting ills 'bout the man when you knowledge of the game of basketball is dismal.go change your diapers.
"Yall sitting there and commenting ills 'bout the man when you knowledge of the game of basketball is dismal.go change your diapers." Now who can argue with that?
I am a big Dream fan, however, there are 2 parts of his game that really concern me right now: 1. Endurance - It seems that by the time he gets warmed up he also gets tired. This is really bad because the time they really need him is the last 6 minutes of the game. 2. Poor shooting percentage - I've never seem him shoot so bad. He was missing the fade and the wide open 10 foot jumper. Other parts of his game are very good but not his normal dream level. He is fairly quick for a center, blocks shots, plays smart D, and passes well. He doesn't run the court very well and thus will miss out on some easy buckets he use to get. However, I think the other players can compensate for that. What the other players can't compensate for is a 4 for 17 shooting performance. Is it a slump, is it the hernia, has he lost the endurance, is he a little slower? Or is it a little bit of all of the above? What I think he needs to do is: 1. Accept the endurance problem and adjust to it. Plan to give Francis the ball at the end of the game and get out of the way. Francis has both the game and the attitude. He can make the shot or find the open player. However, having Dream in the game at the end is good for his defense. So he should pace himself in the game so he ready at the end to play D and charge the glass. Barkley is also not an option at the end of the game because he has the same endurance problem as Dream. 2. Play smarter with the new talent on the team. Why is that Cato and Rogers get easy dunks off the alley-oop pass and Dream doesn't? I think Dream is too stuck on the inside-outside game. Francis is a great passer and Dream can take advantage of this. 3. Play a smarter post-up game. The fade is hard to hit and puts Dream out of position to play D. Use the jump-hook in the middle of the lane ala Kareem. If he misses, he's in a better position to rebound off a tip or slow down the other teams transition offense. 4. Play outside to make room and drive in. Instead of a 15 foot jumper, drive the lane and use a floating 5 foot jumper or finger roll. If he misses, he is in position for a rebound or steal or just to slow the other team down fighting for the ball. Dream has the skills to do this that other centers do not. ------------------ Doesn't Rudy know that there are geniuses at clutchcity.net!!
There's an article in the Chronicle today that basically said Hakeem may have had a hernia since the start of the season. Maybe this is why he has looked so bad ? Maybe this is why he hasn't been running the floor ? Sound's to me like he has been in pain but was to proud to say anything .
I found it just as interesting, though, that Hayes said he thought this team could be just as good as the '94 squad.
daddy-o, Freak, et al: Actually E-Man said neither negative nor positive things directly about Hakeem. I taped the conversation and watched/listened to it twice. He commented on Hakeem's injury briefly. He applauded the team roster and stated he thought that this team is as talented a team as they have had in a long time. When questioned further, he stated it was as talented a team as in 1994. He commented on the team's progress without Hakeem, he commented on Hakeem's adjustment to this team when he returns, he commented on Hakeem's "need to adjust to this team's play". At no time did he say anything derogatory or negative about Hakeem. He quite simply stated the facts and then opinionated that it was time for Hakeem to assume a certain role if this Rocket's team (as talented as it is) was going to be successful. If I read anything into "E's" comments. It is: That it is up to Hakeem, what role he wants to play. If he takes a more contributory role ( being less Hakeem focused, but allowing the team to work within their game { my phrases not his} ) and less superstar ( a ball possession-focused player {my term not his}) then this very talented team will be successful. IMHO: Frankly, the same can be said of Charles. Unfortunately, except for rebounds,Chuck needs the ball in his hands to be affective, whereas Hakeem is very adept without the ball ... clogging, blocking, defending, making opponents think before they challenge, cutting off the big men, sealing the baseline, passing out of the double, starting the fast break out-pass, on floor generalship, etc... . I guess I am saying or agreeinmg, that his scoring remains important, but not as integral a part of this team as it has been in the past. He is more valuable to the team doing other things. That is not a bad thing, folks. Veteran Superstar Elvin Hayes: that is exactly what Elvin was trying to get accross. PS: Although, entertaining, what Kenny Smith or Bill Russell or anyone else hypothesizes for the media about Hakeem's role with his team, the real proof is in what Elvin so truthfully and factually pointed out: This team is talented. It certainly will not be less talented with Hakeem on the floor. But it will be much more successful with Hakeem accepting a role that befits his past experience, his present ability and this teams overall talent. [This message has been edited by popeye (edited December 07, 1999).]
Actually E-Man said neither negative nor positive things directly about Hakeem. I taped the conversation and watched/listened to it twice. I know he didn't say anything negative about hakeem. He just said that Hakeem's gonna have to adapt to a newer role on the team. I'm just saying that it's about time that someone publicly said this. Frankly, the same can be said of Charles. Unfortunately, except for rebounds,Chuck needs the ball in his hands to be affective, whereas Hakeem is very adept without the ball ... clogging, blocking, defending, making opponents think before they challenge, cutting off the big men, sealing the baseline, etc... . I don't know. Charles has shown that he is willing to adapt to a newer offense. He gets rebounds, runs the floor when he can, and tries to get other people involved off the post up game. If you don't believe me, read the article by Jeff Blake on the main page of clutchcity.net You only take the negative and leave out the [positive. Elvin said more and you deliberately omitted that. Listen to Kenny the Jet, Bill Russel and other great stars what they think about Dream. Ask the team, and the answer is Dream is the man, weather you like it or not. Daddyoh, What I posted wasn't really negative you know. I know, Elvin knows, and everyone else knows that Hakeem is a good player. But he would be more valuable to this team if he were to adapt his game. Nothing negative. By the way, the reason that the team and Kenny Smith and all haven't said this yet is because it wouldn't sound right. YOU NEVER GO OUT AND CRITICIZE YOUR TEAMMATES. Especially someone of Olajuwon's status. But they have hinted that they would like an offense less centered around Hakeem. If you read the paper, you would know that.
Basically, I agree with everything elvin hayes said. I absolutely agree with popeye(everything except the barkley stuff). Even though no one has really said so, this team would become much better if hakeem were to accept a lesser role on this team. Fewer touches, more pick and rolls, more jump shooting, and more defense is what we need from hakeem. Elvin hayes was the first one to be frank and say it, while everyone else was just "beating around the bush" or whatever.
Popeye, I can't agree with you on the CB part, the Rockets' so called running game is showing sign of success as they finally use the post up guy in a flexible, or smart way. They maintained good spacing, made big men like Cato and Kenny stay away from the basket, and then let CB demand the double teaming every time then capitalized on it. It's simple and effective. All this offense originates from the post up guy, take CB out then you got nothing to run this offense. The Rockets' offense now is similar to the Spurs, but they are not as good as them yet. That's why CB is playing big minutes recently. Let's face it, the Rockets is still not a good team in terms of play making, their pick-and-roll, give-and-go etc. are in their infancy. They will be so much better if they practice these things to perfection. Factors like Cat's sudden explosion in his penetration ability, unselfish passing, nice players movement without the ball, less TOs as players getting familiar with each other, good defense and fast break points from good D, and everybody hitting the 3s are what makes it up for the Rockets. CB is playing a role that is vital for the recent Rockets success. They dumped the ball to him like 35 times a game, he took about 15 shots, the rest all goes to the open teammates. Hakeem can do the same thing too I still believe, but would he demand the double teaming every time like Charles Barkley? I hope so but I don't know, in the beginning of the season some teams chose to double team CB but not Hakeem. Hopefully it's because of his hernia that made his FG% goes down.
"unfortunatly, except for rebounds, Charles needs the ball to be effective." My point in the post is to say that I feel the contrary: fortunately that CB is effective with the ball in his hands.
Hakeem is no longer a SUPERSTAR. There I said it. Look I am in no way saying Hakeem is not a good player, but he is not the dominant player he used to be. Age has taken its toll. Now, that being said, I think the Rockets can be WAY better with Dream playing his role. What role is that you ask, a rebounder, spot up shooter, shot blocker and occasional post up player. This would do wonders to help the team. I found the most disturbing thing that Hakeem said, is that after shooting 4-19 or so in a game, he was saying we should be going to the post more. Ah, Dream it is time to take a step back and take a reality check and see exactly how you fit on this team. 15-18pts 10 boards and 2 blocks would be great for this team. I love Dream and appreciate what he has done for the Rockets, but to watch him outplayed by the Pollards and Rooks of the world is very disturbing. DaDakota
In that 4 for 19 game, Hakeem missed most of those shots when he was spotting up and taking jump shots. I don't think Hakeem will be very effective standing around shooting jumpshots. He's always been a guy who needed a lot of touches in the post to get into an offensive rhythm. Also, he doesn't have the legs to shoot well from the perimeter. This may also be why he's so bad from the line this year.
I'd also agree with FF on this one. I think CB has given up a few touches for the Rockets, but he still has the ball quite a bit. Biggest difference is when he gets doubled we actually have guys cutting to the basket, like Cato. Chuck has been setting more picks, but often times he sets a pick for Francis and then he gets the ball back. Popeye did have a good point the Dream can do more defensively than CB, but I think Chuck can be just as effectively offensively w/o the ball as dream, because CB crashes the offensive board harder.
