He pointed out he was the second best guy on a championship team? Who are those guys? Most of the time they are stars, career long all-stars....in other words, Scottie Pippen. He didnt mention him by name, but he implied thorpe was in a similar role and i dont believe he was at that point. That team was unlike other champions, just wasnt built the same. the role that Drexler played was not the same role Thorpe played. Technically they were the #2 guys on those teams, but just by definition. Not the same role. Thorpe's better days, especially his offensive days, came early in his career and prior the championship run. By then he mostly played off of dream and took the role player approach, rather than being the "second star", which was Drexler's role the next year. Although Drexler's better days were also behind him, he could still take on the responsbility of having the ball in his hands and making a play.
Except that there isn't a player like OT in the league today, and he played nothing like Boozer or Bosh... thank god for the Rockets! I know that wasn't your point, but there are obviously a lot of folks here who didn't see Otis play.
yeah, no one like him. See one of my last posts. I was comparing him to those players by Status only. Like How much money they made this free agency. OT right now would be getting a $100 mil. deal now a days. When I think of "Power Forward" I think of Otis Thorpe. These outside shooting, no D playing excuses for PF's (LMA, Bosh) now a days make me wanna puke.
very close call. Thorpe was a better rebounder and defender. Scola is a better scorer and more of a leader.
Scola has a more diverse game and great leadership skills but OT was a great leader as well. When Dream went down, thanks to Bill Cartwright's elbow, he helped lead the Rockets in his absence until Dream came back and we still won 50 games(won like 11 or 12 in a row at one point) along with making an all-star team at the PF position. Thorpe was a constant 17-20 ppg scorer earlier in his career and when Dream decided to go Legend mode then OT became more of a defender/rebounder. I understand the Scola love and trust me I am there with everyone but lots of people have forgotten how important OT was and what type of player he was.
This poll is showing the age of the BBS members.... OT didn't score except on Dream crumbs, but that guy was made out of iron. Perfect compliment to Dream with his rebounding and defense.
OT was a Beast and Scola is a Beast. It is to difficult to say who is really better because they played totally different styles and in two different styles of NBA Basketball. I guess it really depends on your need. I don't think I would rather have had Scola in place of OT against the Knicks in the finals. Then again I think I prefer Scola over OT in a situation like last year when you need more scoring. (I know that OT put up some points but they were mostly playing off of Hakeem or on fast break finishes. As far as offensive moves all he really had was that little hook to the middle.)
I like luis, but i like thorpe more. He was a tough guy, the rockets didn't have to double in hte post, and he was a great pick and roll player when guys used to actually roll to the rim vs shooting a 15ft jumper. He also helped the rockets keep size when dream needed a breather and even though he wasn't the shot blocker, the defense was still solid.
As I recall, Thorpe seemed the more gifted athlete in terms of quickness, jumping ability, etc. He seemed the better pure athlete, and used that athleticism very productively in terms of scoring, rebounding, battling other big players, and even in assists (not a bad assist guy, and a bit better than Scola, I think, based on the numbers). But Scola constantly amazes me with his hustle and his will. Given his build, I used to think that he would surely have game energy/endurance problems, but the guy never quits, always pushes. Scola plays a smart and hustle-filled game. Given that he's not quite as fast and is not a great leaper as a lot of the other guys on the floor, his production is not limited by those things. His combination of smart play hard work really pay off for him and the team. In a nutshell, you couldn't lose by having (and would be lucky to have) either of these guys on your team.
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Great job! Shows perfectly how OT played off of Hakeem, who created that sequence by altering a shot and then poking the ball out of the hands of the Portland player, enabling OT to grab it. You see just what Otis was capable of on offense. Wondering about the hands, folks? That's Man Hands in action, right there.
A lot of people don't realize how Thorpe changed his game from being the #1 option down low in Sacramento to being the side kick to Hakeem... He came in and was able to transition to a role player without BMW - The man held his own against ALL Power Forwards in the league and allowed Dream to do his thing on Offense and Defense. Dream could roam and challenge defenders without worrying about who was going to clean up the glass on the defensive end. I like Scola, but sometimes he can be a black hole when he gets the ball.. Where as OT very rarely forced any shots... I believe Scola and Dream would have some issues playing together... T_Man
Hit the nail on the head. And just to remind myself I looked up his stats, here are his rankings for ALL-TIME NBA leaders. And like others have pointed out OT was an All_Star in 1992 to as well. * 18th in games played (1257) * 23rd in minutes played (39822) * 63rd in field goals (6872) * 16th in field goal percentage (.546) * 13th in offensive rebounds (3446) * 21st in defensive rebounds (6924) * 32nd in total rebounds (10370) * 27th in turnovers (2774) * 10th in personal fouls (4146) * 66th in points (17600) * 40th in true shooting percentage (.584)
