Peak Seasons: Thorpe 20.2 ppg 10.2 rpg 3.2 apg Maxwell 17.3 ppg 3.0 rpg 4.3 apg Cassell 19.8 ppg 3.3 rpg 7.3 apg Smith 17.7 ppg 2.1 rpg 7.7 apg Horry 12.0 ppg 5.8 rpg 4.0 apg Elie 11.7 ppg 4.0 rpg 3.0 apg If I had that team at their peak, I'd be thinking championship contender myself.
I beg to differ. Of all these teams, Hakeem's team needed its superstar the most to go anywhere. The main reason was that Hakeem anchored Rocket's offense AND defense. Without Hakeem in the game, Rockets would fall back on pick and roll with either Maxwell/Thorpe or Kenny/Thorpe. That's why Hakeem would only get couple of minutes of rest the entire game. Hakeem was also the reason why Rockets were one of the best defensive teams in 94. I have been following the NBA for a long time now and I have never seen anyone create such a havoc for opposing teams as Hakeem single-handedly did. What is a center doing in top 10 steals list of all time.!??! I dont need to mention he is No. 1 in blocks. Hakeem was not just a phenomenal weak-side defender. He was also one of the best at shutting down his own man. In the playoffs, during crunch time, Hakeem would ask Thorpe to switch. Hakeem would play tough man-to-man defense against Karl malone and Barkley and shut them down. Another case in point: In the first year of Hakeem-Barkley-Drexler Rockets, when they met the Sonics in playoffs, Sonics had the last shot. They elected to go to Shawn kemp (this was before he ate the purple dinosaur). Hakeem played him one on one and blocked all of his attempts. Kemp did not even get a shot off! If you took out Hakeem from those championship teams, Rockets would have a hard time scoring points, while conceding points in bunches on the other end. How important was Hakeem to the 94 team? In 95, when Hakeem went down with injury in the middle of season, Rockets were seriously fearing they would NOT make the playoffs!! Rudy made several comments about this while saying that, the Drexler trade probably halped them to make the playoffs. The year after Jordan went out, Bulls came very close to knocking off the Knicks in playoffs. Hakeem went out of the team and they barely made the playoffs as 6th seed! No contest! Hakeem was more valuable to Rockets than Jordan was to the Bulls. Rockets role players were more depedant on Hakeem than players of other teams on their superstars. Kenny Smith could do only thing, shoot the 3. He could not handle ball pressure, could not drive, and was prone to panicking. Derek Harper undressed him in 94 playoffs in front of national audience. A lot of times, Hakeem would give him confidence to keep his poise and shoot the shot when he got it. Sam Cassell was a rookie, and although he had a few big plays in the 94 playoffs, he could not be counted upon. During the 94 playoffs, he was big in game 7 agaisnt Phoenix and hit a huge shot in Game 3 of finals. And thats pretty much it. Rockets did not rely on him that year. Anything he gave them was a bonus. Scotty Brooks used to replace Smith most of the time. I loved Scotty but cmon!! The most reliable help Hakeem had during the first championship run was Otis Thorpe and maybe Horry. Otis's role was to play some tough interior defense, get somewhere around 10 rebounds and about 10-15 points. Otis was reliable and consistent but was not a majot force. Just a solid role player. Horry was a good help defender and decent rebounder/scorer, but he was only what Hakeem made him to be. He could not create his own shots and was not great at covering his own man. Maxwell was a good defender and a streaky shooter, but he was a headcase. Hakeem and Rudy kept him under control. When he got out of control, well....just follow his career after 95. The entire Rockets team got open shots because of Hakeem. They also could gamble on their man more because they knew Hakeem was waiting behind them to cover their mistakes. Again, take Hakeem out and Rockets would have a hard time making playoffs, much less winning the CHampionship. These role players did not make Hakeem. Hakeem's game and their belief in him made them better players. From 93 season and onwards, Hakeem's game just went onto a different level, and he helped his teammates elevate their games so they could take the most advantage of his skills. Simply put, 93-94 Rockets were built to take maximum advantage of Hakeem's unmatched dominance in the low-post on offense and defense. Hakeem was the V-12 powering the Ferrari . Take him out, and they all become pieces of everyday Mustang.
During the 94 championship run Cassell and Horry were not at their peak. No wehre close. Cassell was just a rookie and Horry was in his second year. Cassell had his few moments but anything he gave the Rockets at that time was a bonus. Horry was also young. Both Cassell and Horry were a much bigger factor the following year. Ellie too was not as good as he became the following year. He did not even play in the finals series against the Knicks! Kenny Smith was raped by Derek Harper in the Finals. In fact, Rockets back-court was outplayed by Knicks back-court in the finals. Had it not been for Hakeem's dominance over Ewing, Ewing would have a had championship ring right now. Dont forget that while Hakeem would guard Ewing all the time, Knicks would send Ewing and 3 or 4 of his minions to try to stop Hakeem, to no avail.
When Jordan won the MVP award, he thanked the fans and david stern.. When Hakeem won it, "Busketbol is a Team Sport, I would like to express my gratitude to my teammates....."
......for camping out at the 3 point line and waiting for my well-delivered passes to their hands." Yup, Damn accented humble ignorant foreigner!!! What would he know about NBA!?!?
Yes, they were all productive but they were no longer the players the team was centered around. That's what the authors point is. These teams that are considering trading for Shaq would be expecting him to be the center piece of their team. The Miami Heat for instance would only have Eddie Jones and Dwyane Wade left.
