Was Mad Max really a good defender back in the day? People say Max was good on D, and could guard MJ because Hakeem was behind him, and that when Max went oh Philly MJ dropped 50 on him (i think leegeez said this). Who here agrees that Max could only lock up MJ the best because of Hakeem?
I don't know much about Max, but I could understand him being able to guard MJ better with Hakeem. With a force inside, Max would not have to worry about getting beat, and could play closer to Jordan. Without a center, he would have to backoff and give up jumpers. Again, I don't know much about Mad Max. BTW, Some people say Kobe's a good defender because of Shaq. I don't know if this is true, but it could be.
Kobe's not a good defender because of Shaq, he's a better defender because of Shaq, with all the benefits he gets from having the Diesel behind him.
Jordan could drop 50 on anybody. From your post, I get the impression that you don't remember watching him defend too much, but are rather baseing your opinion on other peoples impressions as well as statistics, so here's my fond memories of Max from someone who watched him obsessively. Physically, Maxwell had the lateral quickness to stay up with Jordan, and he was bulky and strong, more like a football player than a basketball player, which was both an advantage and a disadvantage. He never had the long, gawky 'all arms and legs' thing that you get from someone like Michael Cooper, but rather he played 'dirty defense', more like a defensive back covering a WR than a basketball player, but he had the quickness and speed so someone like Jordan couldn't beat the physical play with athleticism. I seem to remember the Jordan-stopper legend primarily appearing after a game in which Max so anoyed Jordan that Jordan lost his cool and swung at Max. In my memory, I place this specific game memory second only to Hakeem's b****-slap of Robinson as the 'individual game defensive preformance of all time'. I think if you look at Jordan's relationship with Max, I think you have to attribute his big games against Max to Jordan's tendancy to get worked up when anybody challenged him personally. Max brought out more effort from Jordan, because Max challenged Jordan. Of course, the other side of Max was that his passions were what gave him the hard nosed style that made him want to take on someone like Jordan, but they were often as not missing against the lesser teams. If it wasn't a big game or a personal challege, he'd often just go through the motions. If you want to look for a guy who had an undeserved reputation as a good defender primarily from playing behind Hakeem, the primary suspect would have to be Rodney "Ole!" McCray, the original matidor defender.
Wasn't Maxwell ALL-STATE in high school at the Defensive back position ? Funny how you say he was built and defended like a DB, cause in reality he was from what Ive read, atleast in HS. It says he was 6'4 190....but for him to be bulky wouldn't he have to be shorter than 6'4 and PURE MUSCLE? I weigh about 190 and im only 6'1" and im not thin nor do I have much body fat. But I'm not exactly "muscular" either. I know that seems silly but just thought I'd mention it. Also Max seemed to have a decent amount of athleticism basketball wise as well. He had a quick first step from what I remember of him, when he was hot could score as well as anybody in the league by shooting and driving. In what way would you say Max was gifted athletically in the basketball sense? Did he have a good vertical? Was he a good shooter (but just had bad shot selection?)?
My memory is that Max would draw Jordan out of his game often & Jordan would start gunning & really hurt his teams chances of winning. Of course this was all early 90's when just breathing on Jordan was not quite yet a foul.
He was jacked upper body wise, he had skinny wheels but I remember he was running around with his shirt off doing interviews after the 94 finals and he looked pretty huge and zero fat whatsoever.
Mad Max was ripped, he had a chiseled chest and some large guns.......if the guy could keep his head together he could have been a super player (when he was on, watch out)
Ok, bulky probably wasn't the best word. He did have like 0% body fat though, he was really 'cut', but I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are some guys, (Cuttino Mobley is the best example I can think of on the Rockets), who are all stretch and sinew and arms and legs. On the other hand, there are guys who are perhaps more 'tight' or 'compact' and don't have that same stretch or bend. Kevin Willis comes to mind as an example. Maxwell just sort of looked more like an NFL player @ first glance than an NBA player, despite the fact that he did have some really long arms.
He does seem pretty strong for his frame. I wonder if Mad Max lifted weights more than the average NBA player. I wonder how much he could bench press. Anyone have any clue? I have heard many say he had poor work ethic off the court at times, I wonder if he actually was naturally chiseled or if he actually lifted weights regularly and ate right. Anyone have any idea?
Yeah, but could Drazen Petrovic drop 44 on anybody? Maxwell could cover the quickest guards on the perimeter (a better defender than Elie only because of his quickness) but was a headcase who could easily lose focus. When he did overrun plays, Hakeem was always there for the stop. I never understood why Maxwell got the starting job. He wasn't a great shooter, and when doubled always made the wrong pass or didn't bother protecting the ball. He couldn't break presses. He couldn't have been in the league without the three-point shot. One of his redeeming qualities was his driving ability, but he wasn't going to dribble around anybody and would lose control when putting the ball to the floor (though he was quick). He made horrible shoot-first decisions, though he was a good clutch shooter - when left open (thanks to Hakeem and Thorpe). At some point, he lost it as a defensive stopper and... was out of the league. McCray was regarded as a top-defender when he was with the Rockets, but was only "good" with the Kings - if I recall correctly.
About 50% of the frustration Jordan experienced with Maxwell was because outside of Gary Payton, Vernon was about the only other human on the planet that could jaw with MJ one-on-one and be competitive at it.
Anyone that could go toe2toe with the best 2s in the L while spending a ton of his down time shooting craps in Third Ward projects is a player. Tenacity can be taught but when it comes naturally it makes you a much better man defender. Vernon was about as good as it gets when he came to play. Vernon leaving the Rocks? Worst day in Rocket history.
I think in terms of physical strength GP is a good analogy for Maxwell. GP is not heavy, but he is wirey and plenty strong, in fact I never see another player push him around. Guys like Maxwell, Dumars, GP and Mitch Richmond in there heyday (very quick and strong 6'3 to 6'5" guys) faired better than taller but less laterally quick players (e.g., Jordan's most memorable moments came against Ehlo, Drexler, Majerly [sp?] and Russell). For my money, if I want a player to most make Jordan work for his points in his prime Max would only be behind Dumars and GP as the guy I would want.
Jordan will never say it but Max. was the best defender on him. It was a delight to see this matchup, Max sometimes even outscored Jordan while keeping him down to a what was for him a humble score. After the Rox Max was never the same! Although he will be remembered for his clutch 3's and defence on Jordan his career was stained by his violence off court and in the Stands.
Wow, that's pretty unbelievable. Can I see the stats? Max could frustrate Jordan like very few could, but to the point where he "sometimes" outscored him? Once...maybe, but "sometimes"?....sounds very doubtful to me.
LilStevie, no, it's true. i can't find the stats immediately, but i remember mad max very well. he was a specimen. the best physical comparison i can give (and i've seen max up close and talked to him quite a few times) is a cross between a boxer and a pro DB...dude is still ripped. as for his performances against jordan, some of them were legendary. he would outscore jordan on occasion, mainly because his strategy was damn near flawless. i mean, think about it: he had the best post defender in the league behind him (hakeem) so he could play as tight on jordan as possible. considering max was quicker laterally than jordan, that meant he could get pretty damn close. he was also just as strong - if not stronger - than mj. he could shadow mj from getting the ball, knowing that if mj backcut, dream was waiting on him. the main way jordan could score on him was by shooting over him, since mj did have a 2 inch advantage on him. as for his vertical, max could get up when needed to. he wasn't the explosive jumper that jordan or nique was, he was more along the cuttino mobley line of hops. his shot selection was absolutely atrocious at times, but when on...lights out, game over. just ask phoenix. of course, his main problem was between his head. remember in the 94 finals, when he "broke" his finger in the game? wrong. he never broke that finger in the game. that finger was broken before he set foot on the court. he played ball the day before at quail green west in missouri city and he broke that finger. of course, you have to wonder what the hell he was doing playing a street game while his team was in the nba finals but, hey, that's max...
