Thing is, I think the magic is gone. He didn't do jack in the playoffs last year. He took some important shots against the Mavs and bricked just about every one of them...
1. Why do you want Spurs lose in order to get mercy from Suns?!! Believe us can beat Suns and no excuse for them! 2. Suspend Crawford ASAP, he hates Yao.
Crawford is such a clown... There needs to be a press conference to clear this **** up or else the NBA should suspend his ass for the playoffs.
Is that a sin? He is a role player, not a star player. Again, he was a role player. No one is saying he is a superstar. And how many rings did we win after we traded for "somebody who could." Some??/ SOME?!?! Just some of the big games by Horry in rockets uniform alone... 94-95 Playoffs Against Jazz - Raining 3s and dunking on Malone 94-94 Playoffs Guarding Charles barkley the entire series 94-95 Playoffs Neutralizing Rodman on boards and making him come out to guard his 3s. Game winning shot in Game 2. 94-94 FINALS. Superb offensive and defensive performance entire Finals. Neutralized Horace Grant. After the finals Dream said he would have no problem handing Horry the Finals MVP trophy. All this in just one playoff season!!! SOME?!?! No one is saying that. No one is comparing him to elites. He is a big time performer as a ROLE PLAYER. Those are the kind of role players you want on your team if your goal is to win championships. That's why he is a winner. Superstar players arent the only winners out there. I dont know about that. Rockets have been doing quite fine with below average PF lineup and a average at best PG lineup. Rockets would kill to have Horry (not the current old one, the young spry one) on their team for playoffs. Any team would.
No... but its distinguishing that he is joining great teams, not he is the reason why the team is great. He hasn't been a reliable role player in the regular season since he left the Rockets. He strictly shows up for the playoffs now. I'm saying that most teams can't afford to carry a guy like that on the roster. (along with the fact that most teams look for players who can play well in BOTH the regular season and playoffs). Well, he couldn't guard Shawn Kemp... probably would have never gotten traded if he could have. And we stopped winning rings when Hakeem was unable to carry a team on his back anymore... just like the Lakers stopped when Shaq couldn't... just like the Spurs will once Duncan can't. Once again, this is an example of equating winning simply to the presence of Robert Horry... its doesn't work. No doubt... he was phenominal that playoffs... probably his best stretch of games in his career (even though he gets more credit for the occasional big shots for the Lakers). After that playoffs, the comparisons to Scottie Pippen were endless... I truly believed he could have been better than Scottie (due to his height, better shot-blocking, and better shooting). Unfortunately, it wasn't for him. Remember... at that point, his career was just beginning. He wasn't supposed to be only a 7th or 8th man off the bench who shows up for the playoffs. He was TWENTY FOUR years old, and had his entire career ahead of him as a starter in this league. Why didn't that pan out? Why was he relegated to the bench for his life when he was only 25, in a watered down expansion league? When you equate a teams success merely to the presence of him, rather than the entire makeup of the team by itself... especially the star who made him better... its like comparing him to an elite. No doubt... if you can afford to carry him on the roster.
Let's see how much Nash plays...the Rockets should get REALLY rough with Nash early.....for D'Antonio to pull him out... DD
Shut the hell up with the Horry bashing. Will was awesome on the Rockets and was destined to become like Scottie Pippen. However later on he had a daughter born with mental r****dation and other things and I don't think he's as passionate now. But he's still a stud in the clutch, and many championships are owed to him. Will Smith deserves his respect, I'd take him on the Rockets any day.
He was ONE of the reasons that Rockets and Lakers were great in playoffs. Definately not THE reason. Actually, he wouldnt do much in regular season with the Rockets either. He has always strictly showed up for playoffs. In fact that is the reason Rudy wanted to trade him for Sean Elliot. But after watching Horry perform in playoffs, Rudy and everyone else agreed that was one of the best trades never made. Again, I will go with the role player who raises his game in playoffs. Most teams that cannot afford him in regular season arent going far in playoffs anyways. He needs a good team in playoffs. A good team needs him in playoffs. Symbiotic relationship. No one could guard kemp of those days. He was a beast. He wasnt traded because he couldnt guard kemp. The guy they brought in for Horry had never played defense his entire life. He was traded because as it stood George karl had Rudy's scheme figured. A change was needed. So, is that Horry's fault that they cant carry the teams? Horry isnt a substitute for those players. He is a role player. His role is to make open shots, not create shots. You are using this theory because for some reason you think he is the ONLY reason for winning. Again, he is ONE of the reasons for those teams winning. And therein lies the problem. He never reached your expectations. Even in those 2 seasons I knew he would never reach Scottie's level. 2 very different kinds of players. Pippen was a facilitator. He could run an offense. Horry has always been a role player. He could NEVER create his own shots. The last time I saw him create was when was playing for Alabama. The only thing that didnt pan out were unfair expectations. People expected him to dribble like Pippen. People expected him to run offense like Pippen. People expected him to get into All star games. Why? Because he was as close to Pippen defensively in the league as anyone. Just because those unfair expectations from fans did not mature, does not mean he didnt "pan out" Err...who is equating teams success 'merely' to him??? Please quote it. I would love to laugh at that person.
Once again, the basic argument is getting lost. Yes, Horry elevates his game in the playoffs... but its not hard to "elevate" your game when you're not showing up in the regular season. I always wanted Horry to play as hard during the season as he did in the playoffs... just like most role players are asked to do. Its not an either-or. Name all the role-players who mysteriously "don't show up" for the playoffs, after consistent regular seasons. They do... they don't come out of nowhere because it is expected. Horry's performances seemingly do come out of nowhere because of his diminished regular season presence. Yes, ultimately, you want the guy who performs in the post-season. Horry has historically done that. I still don't feel that should absolve him for underachieving as an everyday player during the season. And, he was a very important part of the Rockets during his first four years... averaging starters minutes, double-figure points, and being a big-time facillitator to Hakeem's inside-out offense (our best post-entry passer, one of our best spot-up shooters, our best alley-oop passer). Even though I would have been thrilled to have him stick with the Rockets, his contribution would have been diminished since Hakeem wasn't as dominant anymore and needed more help... Horry is only great with a low-post presence that can hold his own. Sure, I guess there were misguided expectations... but that doesn't mean he had to not be as focused or prepared for regular season games. Hell, your boy Juwan is the poster-boy of misguided expectations... a guy who comes into the league as good as he ever will be (kinda like Horry).
ArghhhhhhhhhhhHhh!!!!!!!!! A thousand penguins just jumped off the cliff somewhere in the Arctic. My fridge door opened and slammed shut by itself. My toilet flushed on its own. I hear wailing coming out of the walls in my room. You DID NOT put Juwan and Horry in the same sentence.... Please say you DID NOT!!!
I wasn't the one who brought up a player victimized by misguided expectations. Juwan got a big contract from not one but TWO teams because they expected that 18-20 ppg average to improve over time. Horry was expected to continue the normal trend of a 20 something year-old tall/lanky/athletic/"spry" player to get better every year. Misguided epectations... drives everybody crazy.
Shawn marion's game goes south in playoffs... Shane battier is another classic case.... Really? Expectations based on salary? What were Horry's contracts worth again? Fans expectations do not equal GM/owner's expectations Although I have to say...WHAT THE HELL WAS RILEY SMOKING!?!? Not sure if Horry's clutch shots were driving Rockets/Lakers/Spurs owners/GM/coahces crazy when they were winning championships....
Shawn Marion goes south? I couldn't tell from his 17, 18, and 20 point game average during the playoffs (on par with his season average). Maybe he doesn't "elevate" his game, but it certainly doesn't go south. (I guess he should take the regular season off... then he'll reach Horry status?) Battier's playoff sample size isn't worth saying he's a "classic" case... especially when you consider the overmatched opponents they were playing. That's like saying Juwan is a great playoff performer because he averaged 18 ppg against the Bulls in 95 (one out of his two playoffs). No... expectations based on what they did their first 3 years in the league, and what could happen as a result of that. That's how Juwan got the big contract he should have never received... GM's saw him average 20+ by his second year, become an all-star, and naturally assumed he'd keep getting better (like most all-stars do as they spend time in the league). The reality was, he was as good as he was ever going to be by year two. The same goes for several other players today... Josh Howard may never be better than what he's showing now (but he'll get paid like he should be). Derron Williams may never get better either. Andre Miller is also another example of a player that peaked too soon. Hell, Luther Head may be exactly what he is right now for the rest of his career. That's the mistake we all apparently made with Horry... expected further development after the amazing 94-95 playoff run, but that was actually his peak.
We all as in who??? Even after his first 3 seasons in the league, Horry's contract was on par for a role player. If anything his contract numbers show that the GMs knew his potential and what they would be getting out of him. No misguided expectations there. Those GMs got as good bang for the buck they could get out of him when they won all those championships. After all these years, Horry is known as "Big shot Bob" wherever he goes. Juwan is known for his $100 million contract he should have never gotten. One exceeded expectations on the big stage of NBA (again as a role player), the other has hardly sniffed playoffs.
Horry came in before the rookie pay-scale contract... and didn't produce at a statistical level that Juwan did. After he threw the towel in Ainge's face, it was pretty clear that he'd be lucky to have a job anywhere. How is it Juwan's fault that everybody alive felt he'd improve on averaging 22 ppg by his second year? Likewise, its not Horry's fault that everybody expected he'd continue to be the type of player he was in the 94-95 playoffs for at least some extended stretches. I don't think Horry exceeded expectations... he redefined his expectations. You either expected him to MATCH the performance he showed in the 94-95 playoffs at some point during his career again (which he never did), or you expected him to be a journeyman role player who hit occasional big shots only in the playoffs. It wasn't a big stretch to expect the former. But yes... lets turn this into an insulting Juwan thread. I only brought him up because you were so adamant about how people should never have misguided expectations about players. Juwan never deserved the deal... but had Horry put up nearly 20+ ppg in his first three years, and merely faded away to his now-usual regular season performance, he'd be termed as "overpaid" as well.
