The Clippers game will the be reunion of the 3 guards left in the NBA of the Rudy T Era Rockets. Who is your favorite of the 3?
have to go with The Cat. Sam was good, Steve was fun, but when Cuttino got mad and threw down a dunk it was the best.
It'll be great seeing steve,cat and sam go head to head live tomorrow night I cant wait! oh and I voted for steve. Sam gave me many many happy memories but steve i dont know something about him i just feel like i cant help but root for the guy regardless of what team he is on.
How can you not go with Sam? He has the rings, the career numbers, the personality and more alien jokes than I care remember. Only members under the age of 25 can even consider the other two.
I have no doubt Sam was better as a Rocket.. but for some reason I like Cat more. Maybe because of the fact that I'm a little older and more concentrated towards the Rockets during Cat's time here. Also, I'm 21.
Wow. Steve received most votes. My guess is if we start a Ming vs Hakeem vote, Yao will probably get the most votes as well.
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: WED 11/03/1999 Section: Sports Page: 7 Edition: 3 STAR Cassell schools Francis in finer points of NBA By BRIAN McTAGGART Staff Rockets point guard Steve Francis has credited Sam Cassell with teaching him a thing or two about what to expect as a rookie in the NBA. But there were no words that could have prepared Francis for the lesson that the Milwaukee Bucks guard taught him Tuesday night. Cassell, a former Rockets point guard of the future, took Francis, Houston's current point guard of the future, to school in Francis' regular-season debut at Compaq Center. Cassell, one of the Rockets most popular players during their back-to-back NBA championship seasons, matched a career high with 35 points on 15-of-20 shooting from the field and dished out 11 assists in Milwaukee's 98-93 victory. "It's always fun to win," Cassell said. "Not just because it's in Houston; it's fun to win any game on the road." Francis followed a similar track as Cassell to the NBA. Both started their college careers at San Jacinto College in Pasadena before going on to the Atlantic Coast Conference - Cassell to Florida State, Francis to Maryland. Though Cassell won a pair of NBA championships in his first two years in the league, he said Francis can expect to take his lumps early, just like he did against Phoenix's Kevin Johnson. "I thought Kevin got 35 (points) and 14 (assists) every time I played against him," said Cassell, who is with his fourth team in four years since leaving Houston. "But I just stuck with it and stuck with it and eventually I knew I would bite back and do the things I knew how to do." Francis, who finished with 14 points and four assists, grimaced at the idea that Cassell had his way with him. "He didn't teach me nothing," he said. "They beat us tonight, but I didn't learn nothing from him. He shot the ball pretty well, but if you shoot 15-for-20 you're going to be in for a long night. "He went to sleep last night like 7 o'clock so he was ready for this game. He played his heart out. This is the best I've ever seen him play." Cassell said he doesn't hold any grudges against the Rockets for trading him to Phoenix in 1996 in the deal to get Charles Barkley, though it took him a while to come to terms with it. "I had a lot of animosity in my heart about the Rockets," he said. "I felt kind of down. I didn't understand the business. I helped them to two championships and they traded me. But now I understand. That's the business. They wanted to get Charles Barkley." But it was evident early on Tuesday that Cassell had something to prove. He came out in the first quarter and scored 15 of Milwaukee's 25 points on 6-of-7 shooting. But Cassell's biggest contribution came during a spurt late in the third quarter when the Bucks trailed 71-64. After dishing off to Tim Thomas for a dunk, Cassell nailed jumpers from 20 and 16 feet out on consecutive possessions to draw Milwaukee with 71-70 with 2:03 left in the period. The Bucks never trailed by more than one point thereafter. "You could tell Sam was fired up for the game and wanted to come back here and play," Milwaukee coach George Karl said. "Plus, he had a little thing with Francis. Just the way he was into the game early you could tell he was going to have some fun. "Sam's a pretty good player. I think some people know that in the league. I don't know if it's going to be a breakout year for Sam, but he was ready to have a great year last year and he got hurt. The year before was probably his best year in the league with New Jersey. "Sam is an old-time player that knows how to win. I think it's really going to be fun to see what he does with this team."
I could never brag about Sam being a Rocket. Yea, he was a decent player. Francis on the other hand, brought the Rockets much needed fame and fire. Dunk Contest, Rookie Game, All Star Games, fights, numerous buzzer beaters. Id choose even pick the cat over cassel
I like the ETERNAL FAME of being TWO TIME CHAMPIONS and the BUZZER BEATER in the NBA FINALS better than the dunk contest any day of the week, any second of a minute.
This is a favorite thread.. and out of them three I've already stated who mine is. It'll be a different answer if we count accomplishments. The only thing is I find it hard picking Steve over Cassell. Steve is so much more arrogant and hardheaded.. how do you root for someone like that with an attitude over E.T.? I think the only reason why I like Cat is I ran into him at the Galleria one day during his rookie season with the Rockets way back when the Galleria was a small, dark skating ring. Nobody really knew him and didn't even give him a second look, but my cousin and I were totally floored since we just came to the states and we haven't really met any celebrities before.. so that memory is forever burned to my memory. Unfortunately I think the time he was with the Rockets was pretty much his prime. He's fallen a lot since his days with us.
Hakeem, Horry, Elie, and Drexler come up before Cassell. Right around the end of Pippens tenure with us, our team should have been one of the worst in the league. Francis lifted that team to the playoffs.
I dont know what Bizzaro NBA you watched, but Sam I am was important every single playoff run for the Rockets, and post Rockets career, he's turn EVERY FRANCHISE around. Steve Francis hasn't come close career wise for any of his teams including the Rockets to what Sam has done. Sure he's more athletic or was more athletic, but he's not the third string even at age 38 on his team. Stevie Franchise was a chapter in the Rockets story, Sam was a chapter in Rockets IMMORTALITY.
