just saw a segment on TV that he's considering retirement, gave the same kind of response that Ewing, Stockton, etc. gave.
He needs to retire. Ewing looked better in the series vs Charlotte than Hakeem did vs Detroit, and neither looked good at all. Time for him to move on.
What are you talking about? He played pretty well in that series. Even the idiot commentators recognized that. What did Ewing do that made him better than the current Dream? He had one good game from what I saw, whereas Dream contributed every minute he recieved. If anything his teammates either froze him out or threw bad passes to him in the post. I know he's not "Vintage Dream," but he didn't stink it up either.
Here we go again.... His teammates want to do the best to WIN. If Hakeem could've helped them win, they would've deferred to him. As it is, his skills have eroded to the point where he is hardly capable of supporting the minutes the team does give him. Ewing contributed to the Magic in the post, though both players did little for either team in this series. And - both are out of the playoffs in the first round. The tank's on empty for both of them and they need to both hang it up. No excuses.
Practice & performance in what game action he does see. Contrary to popular belief, basketball is not entirely a game of shooting. Typically, players have to earn their minutes by performing well in practice and doing all of the little things on and off the court. That and skill will typically earn a player additional minutes and shots in a game. Apparently, Hakeem has done none or very little of that. So, why should he get to remain a first option player? Don't tell me because he's a top 50 player and won two titles - that's in the past now.
Toronto sure went to a lot of trouble and expense to get Hakeem. It's strange to me that he was used the way he was by the Raptors. Why go to the bother if you don't feed him in the post from time to time. I think he can still be effective for limited minutes. Oh well, it's over for them now and this has been talked about in spades.
Lenny Wilkens doesn't know how to use post players. For example, Grunwald traded for Corliss looking for a "SF", and the guy was forced to MAKE entry passes and shoot from the perimeter. He was barely used and then benched, followed by a trade since he was a FA and he'd never re-sign. I'm a Raptor fan but I'm glad to see Corliss get the chance to stick it on Lenny. He's been thoroughly pathetic in the use of many players since he's arrived. Players he's misused: Alvin Williams: Used to much Vince Carter: Lenny forced the move to SG, got Christie traded for Corliss so Vince can move there. Asked Vince to shoot more 3s to open up his Outside-In Fundamentally flawed offensive scheme. Mo Pete: Been used at SF when its perfectly clear he's a SG as shown by his performance after Vince got hurt. Hell he's even misused JYD, Keon, and now Hakeem. He's been a terrible coach and it pains me to see him get so many props as of late.
No, the coach isn't always right. But even in game play when he HAS gotten the ball, Hakeem has shown nothing to deserve all of what everyone claims. Lenny Wilkens is a well-respected coach, and while he probably does need to be fired, Toronto has better personnel all around Hakeem who definately deserve what they are getting. Hakeem is no different - he's not working and falling back on his laurels and getting what he deserves. That, or he's simply not able to do it anymore. I favor the latter; and if so, he really needs to hang it up.
Who is going to play the point for the Raptors? Chris Childs has proven to be little more than a decent backup, and besides him, Alvin is all they have. Vince chooses to take the threes instead of driving to the hole...it's called being passive about his game. The Raptors have other people who can nail the three - Curry, Williams come to mind - and I find it hard to believe Lenny would purposefully not exploit the talents of his star. Unless, of course, his star was the one who proposed it. In that case, Vince needs to learn to drive to the hole and involve his teammates more.
He shot 55 percent in the playoffs! I'd say that calls for more touches! And he SHOULD be the man when he comes in with the second unit. Dumping the ball down to Hakeem is a much better option than having Alvin Williams jack up a contested three with 12 seconds left on the shot clock. The Raptors made NO effort to get him involved, and that's Hakeem's fault? The "stupid" announcers (whom I have always respected), Dick Stockton and Hubie Brown, said for the entire season that the Raptors needed to get the Dream involved. Almost every time they did, he made something good happen. As soon as he so much as missed a shot, he was taken out of the game! Yes, Hakeem does miss shots! So does every other NBA player! Failing to take advantage of the only champion on the roster was an idiotic decision by Lenny Wilkins and the pathetic Raptor guards. They deserved to lose.
He shot 12-22, which for a "superstar" is one games worth of shots, not 5. When it comes to the 2nd unit, the player who has proven they can score on a consistant basis over the season and the rest of the series should be getting the touches. As the Raptors' only capable backup center, he has to get some minutes per game. If he is not making himself active in practice and on the court, then why should he get the touches? Players make stupid decisions - any superstar can be accused of jacking up a 3 with 12 or more seconds left on the shot clock. And, based on his stats and play this year, Hakeem did little to warrant dumping the ball in the post to him. He's not in his prime anymore and does not have near the endurance that he once did. For that team - whether Hakeem is capable or not - dumping the ball into the low post is not an effective gameplan. With Clark & co., they need to be running the court to be effective in transition. Davis can follow suit or make the 15ft jumper with consistancy. Hakeem? He doesn't fit into what they were doing. And to take a team such as Detroit to 5 games is a feat in itself. Allowing Hakeem to try to do anything against their frontline would've spelled disaster. If he doesn't retire this offseason, he'll be relegated to the end of the Raptors bench getting even less playing time than he did this season, all because he didn't know when to go out. Sad, really.
Hakeem was meant for the playoffs and was told by all toronto staff he would be played more in the playoffs if they made them. Lenny screwed him on that note. Toronto would be in round 2 if Hakeem played more in that series. I do not care how or who did well, for Hakeem to sit the bench fact is Hakeem had more playoff experience than any of those guys. Lenny lost this series for them. He is the one who needs to hang it up.
Playoff experience means nothing if you can't do anything with it. His best role was to guide the rest of the Raptors, and he did what he could in what should be his expected role. If he wants, he should become a big man coach. But that's about it.
why do you care so much about Olajuwon Mfclark? Youve posted like 6 times already and you keep bashing the guy , whats the deal ?
I'm discussing what I see going on with the guy as others reply in tandem. It pains me to watch him play out there, and it is my opinion that he should retire. He was a great center in his time - the best in the league for a couple of years - but like all great players, he needs to know when to give it up.
If Hakeem was so awesome, don't you think the Raptors would have seen it in practice and in turn played him more? When you look at it, who played most of the minutes at C when the Raptors made their incredible run to the playoffs? Eric f'n Montross!!! I mean, do you REALLY think the Toronto players and coaches were all collectively blind? Hakeem served the purpose that he was supposed to, as far as I'm concerned. What kind of stats do you think Hakeem can still put up? When will hakeem be over the hill for you guys? When he's playing in a wheel chair? Or will he still be under-utilized? Hakeem WAS a great player. ****ing ****, let go of it.
In the Raptors 2 wins, he averaged 15 minutes, 2 points and 2 rebounds. In their 3 losses, he averaged 18.7 minutes, 7.4 points and 4.7 rebounds. Yeah, getting Hakeem involved sure paid dividends. The only idiotic decision Wilkins made was not keeping Hakeems old, gimpy, egomaniacal, disloyal ass on the pine where it belonged. But what does Lenny know? He's only a Hall of Fame player AND coach. The only thing more pathetic than Hakeem still pretending that he's of use beyond anything more than mop up duty is you Hakeem apologists pretending he's still relevant. He's through. Pondering retirement? What's there to ponder? Oh, right, he can still steal a ridiculously huge salary for 2 more years which is exactly what the move to Toronto was about in the first place. If the Raptors truly picked him up for the playoffs and Hakeem is a fraction as honorable as he'd love us all to believe, he'd give back his '01 - '02 salary. Plus interest.
