Give Rockets Prime Hakeem Olajuwon

[Matt15]

Give the Rockets Prime Hakeem. Where do you think they would rank in the West? Overall? How far do they get?

New Line-Up
G-Rafer Alston
G-Trevor Ariza
F-Shane Battier
F-Luis Scola
C-Hakeem Olajuwon
Bench: Hayes, Anderson, Landry, Budinger, Lowry, Taylor, McGrady (inj)

[tsherkin]

Prime Olajuwon was basically a 27/12/3 player who played DPOY defense.

The Rockets are .500 now, though it is still early in the season. If you added that Hakeem to their team, they'd easily be one of the best in the West. They'd still ultimately fall to the Lakers, IMO, and maybe the Nuggets too, but they'd be a top-4 team in their conference.

[JordansBulls]

Give the Rockets Prime Hakeem. Where do you think they would rank in the West? Overall? How far do they get?

New Line-Up
G-Rafer Alston
G-Trevor Ariza
F-Shane Battier
F-Luis Scola
C-Hakeem Olajuwon
Bench: Hayes, Anderson, Landry, Budinger, Lowry, Taylor, McGrady (inj)

Dude Rafer Alston doesn't play for the Rockets.

[Vindicater]

They would win the whole thing.

Who is going to stop them?

Hakeem in his prime is better then any centre in the NBA right now. Scola is almost the perfect complement in the post next to him. Brooks/Battier/Ariza are all guys who can spread the floor and hit the 3. They have energy guys like Landry, Hayes and Lowry coming off the bench.

The Lakers would be a tough matchup but I gotta think that Gasol/Bynum would be in alot of trouble trying to guard Hakeem (who unlike Dwight in the finals last year is a near unstoppable force in the post).

[John Doe [MIN]]

Cool thread idea. Especially because the current Rockets roster would be perfect for Hakeem.

I think the current Rockets plus prime Hakeem would be better than either of the teams he won championships with, but I don't think they'd win it this season. LA/Boston/Orlando, not to mention LeBron's team, are a lot more imposing than the best teams in '94 and '95.

Hakeem was a very good offensive weapon, but in terms of efficiency his career .553 TS% is a cut below a lot of other modern scorers. Trying to go through a gauntlet of Odom/Gasol/Bynum in the WCF and then Garnett/Wallace/Perkins in the Finals would be tough. He'd get his points, but he wouldn't be enough of an overwhelming offensive force to make up for the talent disparity on the wings. Boy would it be fun to watch though.

[NO-KG-AI]

I know one thing, they'd be monstrous defensively. Those scrappy hard workers, coupled with Hakeem as the anchor and disruptor extraordinaire? Wow.

Not sure they'd have enough offense to finish the job though.

[Vindicater]

Hakeem was a very good offensive weapon, but in terms of efficiency his career .553 TS% is a cut below a lot of other modern scorers. Trying to go through a gauntlet of Odom/Gasol/Bynum in the WCF and then Garnett/Wallace/Perkins in the Finals would be tough. He'd get his points, but he wouldn't be enough of an overwhelming offensive force to make up for the talent disparity on the wings. Boy would it be fun to watch though.

I dont buy this at all. Look at the way the NBA was officiated in 1994 compared to now. The main way to beat Hakeem back then was to beat up on him. Ewing/Shaq/Dikembe all beat up on Hakeem in a way that would see them fouled out in a quarter in todays NBA.

If Hakeem played in the NBA today his TSS% (which I dont buy as a very effective statanyway) would be much higher due to the fact he could use his feet more in todays game without fear of having his head taken off after a spinmove.

[ronnymac2]

As a Laker fan, that would scare me. The Lakers have the best frontcourt in the league, but a prime Dream would score all over us while shutting down one of the bigs. He'd also help snuff out pick-n-rolls.

Houston would be an amazing defensive team, and with an elite all-time offensive anchor like Hakeem, they'd have as good a chance as any other team in the league to win the title.

[Storm Surge]

They wouldn't be as good as if you gave the Rockets prime t-mac and prime yao, even though both teams would probably win the championship.

[kooldude]

haha, the legend of Hakeem continues

[Lakers05]

The Rockets will probably end up with 40 wins, the Lakers 70. There is no way Hakeem can add 30 wins, in this era. 65 would be the most generous estimation, with 60 being the most reasonable.

[Storm Surge]

The Rockets will probably end up with 40 wins, the Lakers 70. There is no way Hakeem can add 30 wins, in this era. 65 would be the most generous estimation, with 60 being the most reasonable.

LMAO at thinking the Lakers will win 70 this season.

[Lakers05]

I'd make a bet, but injuries are unpredictable, so no

[Roger Murdock]

They would win around 55 games and be an outside contender for the title.

[Baller 24]

This Rockets team works hard, but they wouldn't win a title, nor would they be a contender with Hakeem. This team has absolutely zero consistency from the perimeter, they will have good nights, and some times they will have bad nights. You need perimeter scoring to win, and these Rockets don't have that, Hakeem alone doesn't get it done, it's pretty simple if you watch the games.

[Jimmy76]

This Rockets team works hard, but they wouldn't win a title, nor would they be a contender with Hakeem. This team has absolutely zero consistency from the perimeter, they will have good nights, and some times they will have bad nights. You need perimeter scoring to win, and these Rockets don't have that, Hakeem alone doesn't get it done, it's pretty simple if you watch the games.

its not like Hakeem had amazing perimeter creators with his first ring

[Baller 24]

its not like Hakeem had amazing perimeter creators with his first ring

I'd rather rely on Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, Sam Cassell, Robert Horry (Young) any day over Aaron Brooks, Trevor Ariza, Kyle Lowry and Shane Battier.

[Vindicater]

This Rockets team works hard, but they wouldn't win a title, nor would they be a contender with Hakeem. This team has absolutely zero consistency from the perimeter, they will have good nights, and some times they will have bad nights. You need perimeter scoring to win, and these Rockets don't have that, Hakeem alone doesn't get it done, it's pretty simple if you watch the games.

You do realise Hakeem run his first ring with Vernon Maxwell, Kenny Smith and Mario Ellie as his main 3 point shooters right? None of those guys was ever known as consistant

[Baller 24]

You do realise Hakeem run his first ring with Vernon Maxwell, Kenny Smith and Mario Ellie as his main 3 point shooters right? None of those guys was ever known as consistant

Kenny Smith was a previous 17PPG scorer and a veteran, Vernon Maxwell was also a previous 17PPG scorer, and Mario Ellie outputs more offensively than that of Shane Battier will any night of the week. Watch these Rockets, Trevor Ariza is the player that takes the most shot attempts on the team and off the perimeter, and he shoots a lousy 39%, including 7 threes a game, someone that atrocious should not be top 15 in the league in shot attempts. This team would get to the playoffs, might make a small amount of noise, but it's not a contender, nor is it coming anywhere close to a championship. I'd say hell no, especially with how inexperienced this squad really is.

[YLSKillaCam]

They'd be really good in the regular season: 52-55 wins. Hakeem would be on the shortlist for MVP. I think Hakeem could power them to the WCF, but there's no way they'd beat the Lakers because the BYNUM/PAU combination is simply better than Hakeem individually and you still have Kobe, Artest, Odom and coach Jackson.

I'd like to see them versus the Spurs once they get the kinks worked out later this season. That would be the matchup that would be worth the price of admission.