This thread is for those who have followed the Rockets from as far back as at least the late 1980s. I'm sure that those who couldn't stand Rafer being the Rockets' starting PG and remember the late 1980s probably couldn't stand seeing Sleepy Floyd being the Rockets' starting PG as well. Am I right? The Sleepy Floyd era ended during the 1992-93 season, which was the season he would not be part of the rotation while the Rafer era ended abruptly with the trade Thursday. We can also remember the 1992-93 season being a start of greater things to come for the Rockets. While the Rafer era ended suddenly this season, could this also be a start of greater things to come for the current Rockets this season as well as the next few? One other thing I might want to add is that if the team plays a lot more of the kind of offense Coach RA wants, then there would be a good chance of T-Mac being expendable next season if he isn't already. IMO, if he was not injured like he is now, I would consider him trade bait--mainly for players who would step right on in and play within that motion offense.
I'll agree with that, it's true, he had bigger scoring games than Rafer ever did, but I'm sure that we'll all remember Sleepy Floyd having that Jeckyl & Hyde syndrom--there one night, disappears the next, which implyed that he lacked the consistency to guide the Rockets to greater heights. The season that he would not be part of the rotation would be the first postseason the Rockets would win a playoff series since 1986-87. Sleepy Floyd was really more of a shooting guard than a point guard. After the Rockets acquired him from the Warriors in the Ralph Sampson trade early in the 1987-88 season, they would spend the next three years (including the season they acquired him) trying to make him their PG. It was 21 years ago that Olajuwon criticized his playmaking abilities, saying he's a shooter, not a playmaker. He did have the tendancy to turn the ball over more than Rafer ever did though.
Yeah, he and Maxwell weren't a good combo because you have 2 streak shooters. With Kenny, you have a consistent shooter. Maxwell actually led the Rockets in assists one year too. But Sleepy had that massive playoff game as a Golden State Warrior, it was better than anything McGrady ever did, plus it was against Magic and the Lakers. This is what the Rockets thought would happen with Sleepy <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ab769jFPznE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ab769jFPznE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Both guys were good Rockets and fans should appreciate them.
I think it was Bill Simons who wrote an entire article which described Floyd's performance against LA. Wonderful piece. Not wanting to hijack this thread but was curious to find out if there were any other Rockets who made the list. I was glad that there were a few. Only disappointment for me was Hakeem's 6 game demolition job on David Robinson was nowhere to be found.
Sleepy had some good games against Dallas in the playoffs while with the Rockets. Sleepy could finish. He played with Dream during an era where he didn't pass the ball much and demanded of his point guards to give him the ball, so he couldn't do as much as what he could do. He just got bad pub from the Houston media that colors fan's thoughts but I know many people that liked his play
Maybe it's nastalgia, but I really liked Sleepy. We got him on the tail end of his career, but he was definately a level above Alston as a player. But even as a starter on the Rockets, in 88-89 he averaged 14.2 PPG on 44% shooting with 8.6 APG and in 89-90 he averaged 12.2 PPG on 45% shooting with 7.3 APG. I wouldn't compare his numbers off the bench with Alston's starting numbers. But for a career, hell he had 3 years with the Warriors where he averaged 9.1, 10.3 and 9.9 assists per game. I'm all for the enthusiam you have for a "changing of the guard" with Brooks though. Although, Kenny Smith began his Rocket career in in 90-91 and we didn't get our first championship until his 4th year.
If I remember right, it was only Game 2 of that 1988 series, the only one in which the Rockets won that squared that series at 1-1 before the Mavericks would uncerimoniously sweep the next two games from the Rockets at the Summit to eliminate them from the playoffs. One other thing we shouldn't forget is that Sleepy Floyd was one of the guards the Rockets tried using in replacing the likes of John Lucas, Mitchell Wiggins, and Lewis Lloyd, who were all suspended by the league for drugs. Guard problems were only holding the Rockets down during that time since the suspensions took effect on those three players, and went on until the likes of Vernon Maxwell, Kenny Smith, Scott Brooks, Mario Elie, and Sam Cassell came on board during the early 1990s.
Geez...I wasn't even born that time. But I don't think the Rockets ever have GREAT point guards. Judging by stats, SF3 may be among the best.
We didn't have "All Star" type guards. We had guards who could shoot the ball, and not turn the ball over. Sometimes, it's just not all stats.
stats don't tell the whole picture. francis was a TERRIBLE point guard. as for sleepy, I enjoyed his time with the rox. he was the best pg we had after lukie left and actally presented an outside scoring threat so teams couldn't completely focus on dream. as stated previously, dream didn't care for floyd's playmaking abilities, but if dream were the willing passer then that he would later become, sleepy's style wouldv've been just fine. sleepy was very good at the rim, a dangerous shooter if left open, an avg defender, and a great teammate...an oft-forgotten rocket that I'm glad to honor in this thread.
Hah, bet you read the article on NYTIMES too. I know stats don't mean everything, so I said judging by stats. I have been a Rockets fan for only 10 years, and I have been watching NBA for less than 15 years. I wanna know who is the Rockets' recognized best PG all time
The last time the Rockets added a pocket sized point guard named Brooks, they won a championship the following year. We drafted Aaron Brooks last year. Coincidence?
you can't judge by the stats. Steve was not a good PG, they based the whole offense on his ISO/one on one skills before we had Yao. once you saw Steve outside that system, then that was the fall of Steve Francis. Cassell was great from the beginning, he came off the bench, post Rockets career, he's been among the best. A point guard who can pass, shoot and score. Steve was more of the Allen Iverson type of PG.
Cassell was just one of those special players that loved having the ball when the game was on the line.
IMO John Lucas was the best PG we ever had...for a while, at least, until his drug problems derailed his career and the Rockets team. As I recall, Sleepy and Kenny both had plenty of detractors back in the day. They probably would have gotten the Rafer treatment if the message boards (i) existed or (ii) were as popular as today. Of course, Kenny helped get us the championship, so he gets a pass for some of his shortcomings.
Thing is Sleepy and Kenny were probably better players than Rafer, especially at shooting. I don't think they can pass like Rafer, but when you have other playmakers on your team...you need people who can shoot. Unfortunately, that wasn't one of Rafer's strong suits.
Those numbers look rather impressive when you compare them to today's standards while they wern't all that impressive then. The one additional element I would like to point out in this thread of mine is that as far as their respective eras are concerned is the level of play in the league, which is now significantly lower today than it was back then in the late 1980s or even the early 1990s for that matter.
