Would Hakeem do any better with this roster/coaches?

Anyone who doesn't think Dream could lift this team was too young to see him play!!!! Dwight is a bad irrelevant joke compared to Dream!!!

 

Of all time, you know who Jordan would get if he could get 1 player, himself not included?
Dream. He told a whole big youth group this. Think about that. Yes Dream swapped with any current team's best player would make a better team.

 

any big man paired up with Jordan would have big championship chances#

Including the likes of Yao, Zo, Deke, Ewing, Admiral and Duncan.....so on

 

Prime Hakeem is so far and away much better than Howard and more efficient than Harden. This team would be top 4 in the West at least.
OP maybe just watched highlight videos of Dream but to watch a game you'd notice how much he changed the game versus Dwight.
Today's big men? Mandatory double teams. Triple teams in the fourth. No hack a dream. He'd be on the floor til the final whistle. He could show on the pick and roll and stay in front of wings and guards. Much better passer out of the post than Dwight. Much better weak side shot blocker. Better 1 on 1 post defender. He had a mid range jumper so he could pull his man out when need be. He was a leader on the floor. He didn't take plays off.

 

Think it was if he could have any player on a team not choosing him, but not who would JOIN him on that team.

Cause including Jordan, I'd choose Hakeem over all others as the 1 guy I'd get for the ideal team. Everyone wants to be like Mike, but Mike just wants to be like Dream.

 

That is cool, both are great and I like them.

But I think Mike would do not be as good as a big man.

Arguably Dream could still make it work as a PG with his footwork.

 

Prime time championship Dream would destroy every center in this league today. You'd have to double and triple team. Plus his defense and blocked shots would change the other teams offense.

They might not beat the warriors but Dream is one of the only players in the history of the game to have no all stars and carry his team to the playoffs. As long as this team played consistent defense, shot the open 3's, and bought in to the inside outside game, they could take it.

 

how many teams have a player as close as a prime time championship Hakeem?

 

Hakeem was unbelievable. He changed games in so many ways. Incredibly skilled, high motor and freakish athleticism.

But more efficient than Harden? No.

Harden has been at or near 60% TS% every season as a Rocket. Hakeem never approached that type of efficiency.

People that didn't actually see Olajuwon play won't fully understand his greatness. Offensively he didn't just get double teamed. He would torch a regular double team. Teams schemed defensively to prevent Olajuwon from getting the ball and then send 3 and 4 players at him to try and stop him.
Hakeem was unlike any other offensive player that I've ever seen in the fact that when he got the ball, nobody really knew what he was going to do.

He had all of the fakes and spins but he could also hit a spot up midrange shot or faceup from the freethrow line, cross over his man and drive. Nobody has ever had the kind of offensive versatility that he did. A 6' 10" player that could put the ball on the floor, hit a jumper from any angle and also happened to be the greatest postup player in history and was usually the quickest player on the floor was something that you had to see to fully appreciate.

Even if you look at his postup moves alone, you still didn't know what he was going to do. He had so many move and counter moves, he seemed to be inventing new moves every trip down the floor. Defenders ended up guessing where he was going and that was quite humorous. Often Hakeem would start a move and the defender, thinking that he was going to the middle would jump to beat him to the lane only to find out that Hakeem had actually spun baseline and by the time Olajuwon finished his final drop step, there would be 10 feet between Olajuwon and his defender.

Defensively, Hakeem was just as versatile. He was the greatest shotblocker in history. He was an explosive leaper but what made his shotblocking unique was his 2nd jump. He'd leap to block a shot or on a fake, come down and the go back up a 2nd time faster than seemed humanly possible. He just seemed to get up in the air faster than anyone else. He could let the opponent start their shot and then he'd leap and still beat then to the peak of their jump.

Hakeem was obviously a great rebounder but the thing that was so unique about him was the steals. Olajuwon had super quick footspeed and lightning fast hands. He could switch out on guards and stay in front of them and often steal the ball of knock it loose.

All of that and the fact that Olajuwon went for everything, He never gave up on a play. He went for every loose ball and every block shot.

Defensively, our perimeter players were always able to pressure their man on the perimeter without having to worry about getting beat on the drive. If you took away your man's open looks on the perimeter, Hakeem would clean up anything at the rim if you got beat. His range defensively was that big.

As I said, unless you saw him then you can't fully appreciate his impact on the game. In a league with the worlds greatest athletes, his athleticism was unmatched. You combine that athleticism with his offensive versatility and the greatest postup game ever seen and you have a once in a lifetime player.

 

Hakeem would have the impact of someone like LeBron or Curry, so the question is the same as asking if LeBron or Curry would do any better with this roster/coaches. I think the answer is yes, but obviously not a championship contender.

 

Hakeems offensive impact would have been similar to those two but defensively there's nobody in the league today that is anywhere near his level.

 

Honestly, with how this team is, I don't think it will be too much better offensively. Defensively, we would be amazing as Dream would not tolerate any laziness on D and would force the team to at the very least, give a damn and communicate. He will be able to cover perimeter penetration much better and rotate way faster in addition to rebounding and blocking. That said, Dream choking out our players for ****ty D is a distinct possibility.

Offensively, we still have one glaring problem; passing into the post correctly and more importantly, early in the shot clock. The old Rockets, as soon as Hakeem stepped into the post, the ball was already heading his way. On the Rockets, we like to stupidly dribble away the shot clock before half-assedly throwing it into the post for Dwight to lose it or get fouled trying to dunk and then brick his FT's. If the team can be coached to make good passes into the post, then this team would be amazing with an inside out game seeing as no big in the NBA has the skills to keep up with Dream the entire game.

 

So, you're arguing replacing a sub 50% free throw shooter in Howard with Hakeem Olajuwon won't help us make more open shots?

K

 

our D would be near the top if Hakeem was on this team and you replaced Harden with a non-all star SG like CJ McCollum.

If Harden is NBA all-defensive team every year, this team would look drastically different. Let's be real, he ain't got the work ethic as a Kobe or Jordan and he never will have but we have to stick with what we have. Those kinds of players come once every generation.

 

I didn't mean more efficient just in terms of TS. I think player efficiency is much more than that. Harden is a beast scoring but all around game when you include defense and lost possessions to turnovers, Hakeem was the more complete, more effective, and more efficient player. In terms of netting you more possessions through offensive and defensive rebounds, steals, not turning the ball over. Taking Dream's best season (his prime) vs Harden (this year) Dream averaged a full turnover per game less than Harden with just as many steals per game, more than triple the blocks, double the rebounds, half the assists, and only 1 point per game less.

 

Never did I think I'd see the day that Hakeem would be UNDERRATED on this board. I think we have too many young fans on here since Harden joined and are ignorant of Hakeem's greatness.

This team would be damn as sure better than the 8th/9th seed if Hakeem were here instead of Harden and a top 10 SG instead of Howard.

 

No way. Y'all forget that Rudy T was an integral part of the championship teams' success. You can't just have J.B. Bickerstaff coach that 93-94 Rockets team and have the same results. Rudy T maximized Hakeem's performance...Bickerstaff would only stifle it.