Does anyone get nostalgic for the '94 and '95 seasons like I do. I had high hopes for the Rockets this season but they have been mediocre at best with little to show as a team. Compare this team to the teams of the 95 & 96 championships and you'll find that teamwork was the most outstanding attribute to that team's success in the season and the playoffs. It all started with Hakeem, he was the silent, capable leader. His teammates respected his abilities as a player and as a leader and trusted him to take the reigns, yet share the rock. Even, the head cases, al la V. Maxwell, couldn't argue that Hakeem was the leader and he gladly accepted his role as a complimentary piece. They played to win and they did it as a TEAM...I don't remember one post-game interview where Hakeem didn't mention the teamwork concept and how effective it was for that team. It may seem by now that I'm trying to draw comparisons between SF and H.Olajuwon or maybe Ming and the Dream but the fact is that Hakeem and his leadership are two things that this Rockets team do need badly. Salute to the Dream wherever he is, he was truly UNBEATABLE!
easy there buddy your talking about the dream here... he IS the reason why 90% of the people here love the rockets. dream was also my favorite player growing up. I don't think sellout is appropriate nor called for.
Thank you Jeff. Caling Hakeem a sellout irks me. I was a Rockets fan first and a Hakeem fan second, but the fact is that the rockets were Hakeem's team during those years. You'd be pressed hard to come up with a player more dominating during those years when the Rockets won the championships. So unless one has very short memory, I don't see the logic in dissing the man as a player. His communiy contributions are little known to me and I can care less what he did to help out in that arena but I know he was our Basketball Dream and delivered two trophies to H-town. That is why we miss the Hakeem the player, not because he chose to bolt out of town when the Rockets chose to rebuild with the so-called Franchise!
I absolutely agree. As a mater of fact I doubt we will ever see him in Houston again. Sad thing is Yao will probably ditch this city and country once he retires from the game as well. I'm not saying this as a bad thing, but I would like for the Rockets to take a page from the Astros this off-season, and bring in some howmtown loyalist. I never felt better about the Rockets than when they had 3 cougars on the roster and a coach that had spent his entire career here. Ah, the good ole days. Does anyone know if Oakafor stll lives here?
are you guys kidding me.....just because a man is not all over houston or holding hands with the rockets after he has retired doesnt mean he is a sell out. he gave it his all as a player for the city and the team, there also has been no other since him to give back to the community, no matter whose it is. because alot of people dont agree with his beliefs doesnt mean he is wrong hakeem is the reason why i am a diehard rockets fan..and everyone who ever watched one game of his, you know the reasons why
thanks for reminding me, with another very hot weekend predicted (40C), i might just pull out the tapes and watch a few games
Maybe not a sellout in every since of the term, but definitely a something of the sort. He had a great career here and we owe everything we had to him....BUT I'll never get over the fact that he left here to retire in Toronto for no other reason than money. Just greed. He really could have helped us that year, even though it was for the vet minimum, he should have stayed and retired here with honor. He never even really retired, just sort vanished with his head hanging in shame.
Does anyone else find it ironic that the one who stated this thread also happens to be called Aemon?.. I find that intersting because that is what truly drives Akeem. Religon. I have a feeling this might end up in the D&D before too long.
LOL...so you deduce from my alias that I am religious?! Very smart observation Roc Paint. Let's see, from your name I would guess you're a painter that is a Rockets fan....no, no, wait, a rock that is painted on your behind, or maybe just a Rockhead or a crackhead. I give up, are you even religious? I'll have you know that Religon isn't a word in any dictionary except in your pathetic world.
I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt but if you are implying something you shouldn't be... It does not belong here!
Umm. You do realize that Hakeem did come back to Houston after he retired. I saw him at the mosque in Sugarland, quite a few times after he retired, So the point about him never coming back is retarted. And another thing, If I was retired, the last place I would live in would be teh place I spent 20 sumthing years of my life.... And as far as I remmember he still has some projects going on in downtown, and other areas. And also, It may seem that he isnt involved in the community, but unlike other basketball players, he doesnt go to Churches or peoples homes and get publicity like most, Instead he does it low profile...
I don't know why people use the championship team to tear this team down, but one thing people forget is that Hakeem had TEN YEARS of experience going into that championship year, so it is obvious he would be able to lead a team better then young players like Francis and Ming. This team IS NOT mediocre, they're a young team taht is 8 games over .500 in a loaded West. People are impatient, let the team grow. This is not the championship Rockets, and this is a rebuilt Rockets. People are so nostalgic in pointing out how great the championship tem began they don't point on the journey that that team had. Basically, the same path this team is leading. That team didn't suddenly become a championship team out of the blue, they built their way to getting there.
