6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dominated at every level. Abdul-Jabbar may have only been an adequate defender and rebounder, but he was an offensive machine. The skyhook remains as the single most devastating weapon the NBA has ever seen. Driven by a desire to be the best when he was young, he was rejuvenated by the appearance of Magic Johnson near the end of his career. ------------------------------------------- I was reading this article on nbatalk.com( I won't include link because said article is complete crap) and it made me think of Dream and Francis. Now I'm not comparing Steve to Magic, but he is special. Do you think there is a chance that the same thing happening here, with Hakeem not exactly turning back the clock instead playing solid in the blocks and on the glass like Kareem did for so long in the 80's? As a matter of fact Does this team remind anyone else of those Lakers teams? ------------------ "Championing the cause of Junior Members everywhere"
This team reminds me nothing of the Lakers of the 80's. Whan Magic joined the Lakers Kareem was still in his prime. As a matter of fact Kareem won the league MVP in Magics rookie year. The team was full of veterans. Dream is well past his prime. The key contributers on our current team outside of Dream are all young. ------------------
Well, let's see. By any statistical measure I've seen, we have one of the worst fastbreak teams in the league.
Nope. That team was probably the greatest transition team in the history of the NBA. Our team from what I hear can't run a fast break too well. That team (or a later variation of it) had some of the best players in the NBA at that time... Kareem, Magic, Worthy, McGee, and later Scott. They had the flash, but they also had the workhorses like Rambis. They were a complete team. Keep in mind that with Magic and Kareem, they had possibly the best point guard ever (with apologies to the Big O) and probably one of the 4 best centers of all time in Kareem. In sheer talent alone, they were light-years ahead of this team. Then you go and say they executed their offense to perfection like no team since with the exception of maybe the Bulls. They're an elite team in NBA history led by players greater than any we have on our roster today. Maybe Steve will become a great player; maybe Cuttino will, too, but for right now we only have Hakeem that can compare to anybody on those Laker teams and he's in the twilight of his career. ------------------ "what if my aunt had balls?" -- in one fell swoop, bbs member verse expresses his dislike of "what if" scenarios and shows he has far too much idle time on his hands.
Don't forget Jamaal Wilkes, Marques Johnson and Norm Nixon all on the team when Magic came aboard. And those 80's teams ran their offense to perfection like no other team...including the Jordan lead Bulls of the 90's. ------------------
Hey guys let up, I didn't say we were as good as the 80's Lakers, but the team does have a lot of things in common. An aging once great center, Hakeem/Kareem. A young talented point guard, Francis/Magic. An athletic sweet shooting forward, Worthy/Taylor. A defensive minded, streak shooting swingman, Anderson/Cooper. A young offensive minded shooting guard not afraid to jack it up at anytime, Cat/Scott. I know we are light years apart from one of the greatest teams of all time but my point that we resemble them in some very important ways is still valid. ------------------ Georgw W.- He's not just our problem anymore
Sorry I have to disagree. Like I said earlier, Kareem was still in his prime when Magic was in his second year. Dream is far past his prime. Worthy was a small forward that ran the break with Magic like no other small forward in the game. He experienced championship caliber teams in college before he ever got to the pros. Mo Taylor is a power forward with a good outside shot but very few rebounding skills. He has never experience championship teams. Byron Scott had to be scolded by Magic at times to make him shoot. He was primeraly an outside threat. Mobely is a true gunslinger that will jack it up anywhere and anytime. Mobes also has one of the best first steps in the NBA. Mobes would have been scolded by Magic to back off stay in the team concept. Micheal Cooper was a reserve that also happened to be a defensive specialist and a 3 pt shooter. Shandon is a starter with a sub avg 3, but he is a good defender. I'm sorry I just don't think the similarities are that close. The Lakers were a veteran team that specialized on running the Break. They also had the man some considered the best player in the league at the time in Jabbar. Dream may have been considered the best in the league five years ago but not now. The Rockets are also one of the league least experienced and youngest teams. ------------------ [This message has been edited by crash5179 (edited February 10, 2001).]
Well, I was thinking more of the mid 80's Lakers than the early 80's Lakers, but it doesn't really matter, the main point of the post was the effect that Francis is going to have on Hakeems career. I threw in the Lakers comparison as an afterthought. Do you think, with the addition of a young spectacular point guard, Hakeem will be able to be the solid presence in the middle for a couple of more years like Kareem was for the Lakers? ------------------ Georgw W.- He's not just our problem anymore
Comparing Magic to Francis, Taylor to Worthy, Anderson to Cooper, etc. is like saying "I drive a Honda and my neighbor drives a Ferarri, but hey, we both drive cars, don't we"? A lot of teams at some time or another had a Taylor, Anderson, Francis, etc. on their team. That doesn't make them comparable to the Lakers of the 80's. I know what you're getting at, but I'm not seeing the same picture. ------------------ "Ive seen more class at a Pig Humpin Contest ." -- moestavern19 makes headlines again, and in the process leaves little doubt as to what Saturday nights in his hometown of Lompoc, California are like.
Yeah, I see what you guys are saying. I saw this article on nbatalk and when i read the part about kareem and magic it started me thinking about dreams recent resurgence alongside francis wich is why i posted the question to begin with. Like I said before I just threw the Lakers comparison in as an afterthought. I realize there were a ton of things different between the rockets and those great teams, but at the time i was just concentrating on the likes. Thats what I get for thinking while I post Still, I think hakeem is showing some very good signs. What I want to know is, is this some sort of fluke, or has something happened that has spark this resurgence. And if it is something, what is it, and how can they keep doing it? ------------------ Georgw W.- He's not just our problem anymore [This message has been edited by Htownhero (edited February 10, 2001).]
