I'd rather see Maxwell and his uncanny speed and jumping ability to climb multiple rows. Rafer wouldn't see it coming.
I thought about this, but it's a good tribute to those two players. I vote Maxwell obviously, but I felt that Rafer got a bad rap with the Rockets. He was much better with Rick Adelman than JVG. Maxwell shot a low percentage from the arc but people don't understand back in the day, EVERY ROCKET was jacking up 3s in Rudy T's system. Maxwell made more memorable and clutch 3s so people forget his misses. There's a misconception that he played like Ron Artest, he didn't. The hate for Rafer here was really high and he was blame for Yao/Tmac's failures. It wasn't his fault and he wasn't suppose to be a shooting superstar. Maxwell is the better finisher and defender.
Mad Max went toe 2 toe with Jordan every time they matched up. Plus I dont know when Skip 2 My Lou hit a 3-pointer to win a game 7 for the title. Vernon all the way!
Please don't dis respect Mad Max like that. Mad Max could cross Rafer up and blow by him all day. We never got a chance to see Mad Max full offensive potential because he was forced to be a defensive stopper. This Gator was a killer in the SEC. Rafer would have a very hard time getting by the Mad Max we know and love. FREE VERNON
Both of them were very inconstant players but Maxwell brought more to the table in other areas. The guy was a lock down defender against Jordan (as much as anyone could be) and was just overall tenacious and gave everyone fits. Rafer of course was a better passer and ran the offense but in that avenue it's not fair since one played PG the other SG. So it's very clear that both players gave us fits watching them but when they were on, boy where they on. Maxwell
was too young to watch maxwell, but rafer gave us the power fist after schooling the machine to win us 22 in a row, so i voted rafer. <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4Z_F9Zzyi6U&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4Z_F9Zzyi6U&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> then there's the slap when he was on boston... <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/f3OuzKpQ3jM&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/f3OuzKpQ3jM&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
Maxwell = super clutch and tenacious Alston = always knew when to brick a shot at the right time to kill all existing momentum
Maxwell was alpha dog scary. When he was on, he was exceptional. He brought a real physical intensity and also lightning quick. He'd back down from no one, in the way he played. He finished strong at the hole. And, of course, he won championships. Rafer is a much maligned scape goat for many of the Rocket's woes in a time when the Rockets had no playoff success. He had a couple of games where he scored well, but was no where near the scorer Maxwell was. Maxwell was always a threat to go for a huge quarter, Rafer was the guy the other team left open pretty much the whole game, and especially at crunch time. Rafer was kinda tough, in that occasionally he'd go "Skip to my Lou" and had a hot temper (I remember him getting into it with Chris Paul), but Rafer's game wasn't really a take it to you physical game. It was more about his speed, endurance, and handle. So when Rafer got mad, it was more about his temper and less about his game. Maxwell's game was always kinda "mad". He take it right at you. Maxwell's intensity served him well, especially when the refs would swallow their whistles. Maxwell often was the best player on the floor for long stretches. I don't dislike Rafer, but c'mon, this thread is only here so Tinman can blacklist some folks, right?
