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Just a general thread about Mutombo this season. Comment on anything related, such as observations about his game, where this season ranks among your top defensive seasons, whether you think it was his peak, if you liked the '94 Nuggets and enjoyed watching other players such as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf or Laphonso Ellis ect.

Anyway, this was Mutombo at his absolute best, imo. He'd become a better offensive player, but this was him at his best defensively. Other than Eaton, I can't think of anyone who was more of a shot blocking presence right around the basket. Others than Hakeem and Robinson had more quickness and athleticism, but as far as just waiting in the paint, Mutombo was even tougher. While Mutombo often didn't like to come away from the paint, he did more of that than he did with Atlanta and Philly due to being younger and a bit more athletic.

Defense is how Denver won. They had the 8th worst offensive rating, but the 5th best defensive rating and 2nd best opponents FG% and Mutombo was of obviously the anchor.

To give a little background on that, the year before Mutombo was drafted, the Nuggets had been the most wild run and gun team I know about. Paul Westhead employed excessive full press and had general rules to shoot off 1 or less pass and within 5-6 seconds to try to create the fastest pace possible. It backfired, though as they allowed an NBA record 130.8 ppg, and scored just 119.9 ppg. But their pace was so ridiculous that Orlando Woolridge who had a career-high of 22.9 way back in '84 and hadn't averaged 20+ since the '87 season was averaging 29 ppg before his detached retina in mid December and up there with Jordan, Barkley and Bernard King for the scoring lead and he finished at 25.1 in 53 games. Similarly, Michael Adams who had never had more than 18.5 ppg or 6.4 apg in a season before and never more than 18.1 ppg and 7.6 after averaged 26.5 ppg and 10.5 apg that year. Needless to say, he wasn't stepping into a defensive-minded situation. Westhead stayed on for Mutombo's rookie season, and they instantly improved to the 13th best defensive rating, and interestingly, Denver tried Mutombo out as the first option early. He averaged 19.1 ppg the first half of the season with some considering his offense a surprise, and he finished at 16.6, which remains a career-best, though Denver was the worst offensive team which pretty showed what we'd find out about Mutombo which was that he was a huge presence defensively, but while he could score at times, he wasn't a featured 1st or 2nd option guy. Denver's defensive rating problem would have been a bit better since Denver had gone 23-48 with Mutombo, but he missed the final 11 games, 10 of which Denver lost. I don't know how to calculate defensive rating, but they gave up 112.9 ppg on 51.6% shooting in those 11 games compared to 106.7 ppg and 47.5% in the 71 games with Mutombo. Different sample sizes, but check out the teams they were losing to those last 11 games without Mutombo. It's amazing they went 1-10 vs those teams. With Mutombo set in as a complementary player offensively, the core of their '94 team coming together and new coach Dan Issel, they improved to top 8 in defensive rating and top 5 in opponents FG% in '93.

Abdul-Rauf was their best offensive player and led them with 18 ppg. Really enjoyable to watch work off the dribble and especially shoot. Had one of the nicest looking jumpers and when he was on, it was great watching him off the dribble. Laphonso Ellis was a great energy player who formed a nice rebounding duo with Mutombo, they combined for over 20 rpg and helped Denver to a +2.6 rpg advantage for the season. Ellis also averaged over 15 ppg.

Regardless, the team won with defense, and the playoffs were where Mutombo really made his mark. I'm not sure I've seen a more dominant series as far as interior defense than the Nuggets 1st round upset of the Sonics. Averaged 6.2 bpg with an 11.7 BLK% for the series and 7.3 bpg with a BLK % of 12.5% in the 3 Nugget wins. He changed a ridiculous amounts of shots. Whenever someone got into the paint, it seems they'd lose a ball out of bounds or miss just waiting for Mutombo. Amazing, Denver then took Utah to 7 games after being down 3-0. Mutombo finished with 5.8 bpg and a BLK% of 9.3% in 12 playoff games.

This is one of the best recent examples of a defensive player leading his team, imo. Mutombo had some big series with Atlanta and Philly, but this was him making his biggest impact, imo.

Well, a discussion obviously didn't occur like I was hoping. So I'll give it one more shot and in this time, I'll continue the theme of big playoff series by Mutombo using Atlanta's 1997 1st round victory over the Piston's in 5 games. To start, here are Mutombo's numbers for the series.

18.2 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 1 apg, 1.6 TO, 2.6 bpg, 70.2 FG%, 78.1 FT%, 74.5 TS%, 42 mpg

This time, Mutombo showed more offense leading Atlanta to a 89-75 win in game 1 with 26 points and 15 rebounds on 10/14 shooting. Here's a couple of excerpts from a recap of the game.

As Mutombo hit one hook shot after another Friday Night, Grant Hill began to feel like he was watching someone else. "I thought he was Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) the way his hook was working," Hill said. "And this guy might be better than Kareem the way he was shooting. He's not as fluid, but he gets the job done."

"During the course of the game, I felt the game was probably going to be in my hands offensively," Mutombo said. "I asked the coaches if we can run the same play over and over. They didn't find a way to stop me ... and my hook shot was feeling great."

But after helping force a game 5 with 16 points and 12 rebounds in the elimination game, Mutombo clinched the series with his defense. Mutombo had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 6 blocks, but his impact went beyond that as Atlanta overcame an 8 point deficit entering the 4th and won by 5 thanks to 2 great blocks by Mutombo. More excerpts from a recap from the clincher.

He tried to dunk over Dikembe Mutombo. That didn't work. Then Grant Hill tried to go around him. That didn't work, either. Mutombo, the NBA's defensive player of the year, came through with two brilliant blocks against the Detroit star in the final 1:41.

"Everything we paid for Dikembe was worth it, said Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens, tweaking those who questioned the five year, $55 million contract that Mutombo received last summer. "He's the anchor for the future."

Mutombo was a dominating force for the Hawks throughout the series, but it was his final two plays that made the difference after a wilf fourth quarter that included seven lead changes. With the score tied at 77, Grant Hill drove the baseline for a dunk, but the shot was deflected away by Mutombo while the Detroit star dangled from the rim. "Grant Hill didn't really fool me, but I think he thought I got beat for a moment," Mutombo said. "I think I took his mind away after I blocked his dunk." Atlanta ran the other way and Christian Laettner hit a 17-footer as the 24-second clock expired to put the Hawks ahead to stay, 79-77 with 1:14 remaining. But Mutombo wasn't through. Hill drove around him at the foul line and headed to the hoop trying to pull the Pistons even, but Atlanta's 7-foot-2 center caught Hill from behind and got a hand on the shot. Steve Smith then made a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner as he was falling out of bounds with 41.7 seconds to go. "Dikembe's defense was the biggest factor," Detroit coach Doug Collins said. "We kept him under control, he had six blocks in the first four games. But he came out of nowhere to make big blocks today."

Hill led the Pistons with 21 points, but shot only 9-of-24 trying to carry the offensive load. In the fourth quarter, he was held scoreless. "They did a great job on me," Hill said. "I saw (Mutombo on the first block). I tried to go up strong, but he made a great stop. I don't know how he did it, but he did it all season. That's why he's the defensive player of the year." Laettner led the Hawks with 23 points, but Mutombo was dominant at both ends of the court. He had 17 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

Definitely a great series, and this and '94 aren't the only ones. His '01 run was great, particularly his ECF vs Milwaukee. As for the '97 Hawks, they went 56-26, and while they were much better offensively than Mutombo's '94 Nuggets, their biggest asset was still defense and Mutombo shutting down the paint. Atlanta had the 8th best offensive rating, but they were 3rd in defensive rating and opponents FG%. Atlanta went on to lose the Bulls in game 5 games in the next round.

let's help the discussion: would Mutombo be the best BIG MAN in the league today (not just center)?
in my opinion yes,

Ryoga Hibiki wrote:let's help the discussion: would Mutombo be the best BIG MAN in the league today (not just center)?
in my opinion yes,

I disagree there. I definitely can't see him as better than Howard, at least not when Dwight is healthy. Two different kind of players, though. Howard can get out to the perimeter better, cover screen/rolls better and is overall, the more mobile and athletic defender. On the other hand, Mutombo was the bigger presence right around the rim. The Sonics series, or that game 5 vs Detroit in '97 are perfect examples. Mutombo's individual post defense was better as well. Although the real difference is offense. Mutombo was a guy who can contribute some offense, but ideally as your 4th or 5th option as he was in Denver and Atlanta who will surprise you every now and then with a big 20-25 point game in a key game. While Howard is a 20+ ppg scorer when healthy who has succeeded as the leading scoring with offenses that revolve around him.

What would be interesting about Mutombo in today's game is how his impact would translate in an era where a lot of centers are quicker and cover the perimeter more, many of whom don't even average 2 blocks. Mutombo was more of an old school defensive big man, well, by now I guess he'd be called old school. What I mean by that is the center legitimately over 7 feet whose primary attribute is blocking and altering countless shots right around the rim. I suspect he could translate very well seeing how much of an impact Roy Hibbert has made at the defense end.

Ryoga Hibiki wrote:let's help the discussion: would Mutombo be the best BIG MAN in the league today (not just center)?
in my opinion yes,

A healthy Dwight is significantly better than Mutombo. Mutombo would not have been able to lead the Magic to the finals in 2009.

Defensive highlights from Mutombo's series vs Seattle. Mutombo blocked 9 of Shawn Kemp's shots alone in this series! And there were a number of others he narrowly missed getting a piece of and obviously altering. He's the primary reason, Kemp shot just 37% in the series. Most of the time, Kemp would just drive and go right in or over defenders, while those same moves were completely ineffective with Mutombo in the paint.

Mutombo was consistently blocking or altering multiple shots on the same possession, always seemed to be aware of when to be in the paint, was staying down on fakes, staying with quicker players off the dribble and intimidating players to the point they'd either go to a higher arching shot, or just pass off or lose the ball out of bounds when they saw him in the paint. Mutombo also kept most of his blocks in play.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8-R3bBmhqU[/youtube]

At 0:33, Kemp goes in and Mutombo swats it right back.

At 0:42, Mutombo gets back on defense, forces Vincent Askew to pass to Kendall Gill and Mutombo goes right over for the block.

At 1:26, Kemp tries to take Mutombo off the dribble, and goes to his left hand, but Mutombo still rejects him

At 2:01, Schrempf has the ball on the perimeter with Mutombo guarding him. He tries to take Mutombo off the dribble, but Mutombo blocks it right off the glass. Impressive being able to guard a skilled small forward like Schrempf off the dribble.

At 2:38, Payton is fading away as much as he can due to Mutombo's presence which forces the miss. Kemp gets the rebound, but Mutombo sends his shot right back leading to a Denver fastbreak.

At 3:10, Perkins drives and Mutombo forces him to change the shot, he gets the rebound, but Mutombo goes right back up for the block.

At 4:06, Kemp again tries to take Mutombo off the dribble and go to the left hand, but Mutombo gets a piece of it and controls the ball himself after the block.

At 4:14, Mutombo has a beastly block on Kendall Gill.

At 4:44, Kemp seems to get a step on Mutombo off the dribble, but there's still nowhere to go and Mutombo comes up with another block.

At 4:50, Mutombo stays with Schrempf off the dribble forcing the pass and Mutombo subsequently gets right back in the paint to send Ricky Pierce's shot back at him.

At 5:12, Mutombo patiently waits as Vincent Askew tries a bunch of fakes before Mutombo blocks the shot with ease.

Excellent weakside help to block Kemp's shot followed by another strong block on Kendall Gill and Mutombo strongly pursues the ball to end the possession and draws the foul.

At 7:40, Mutombo intimidates Kemp into throwing the ball out of bounds.

At 8:18, Schrempf finds Perkins under the basket, but Mutombo blocks it right off of Perkins.

Great help at 10:34 to reject a cutting Gary Payton.

Another great block on Payton at 11:05 to force a shot clock violation.

Kemp tries a crossover move at 12:39 and Mutombo seems to block him easily.

Always loved Mutombo.
Defensive monster with the finger wag.

That series he had VS Seattle was just incredible.
You probably can't find a better example of truly dominant post defense & rim protection.


Underrated offensively also. Obviously he was never a guy you'd want to rely on to create offense for your team but he was a good ft shooter for a big, could convert pretty well around the rim and developed a nice little jumper later on in his career.
I remember him scoring quite a few times on Shaq in the 01 Finals because O'neal wasn't respecting his jumper.

RayBan-Sematra wrote:I remember him scoring quite a few times on Shaq in the 01 Finals because O'neal wasn't respecting his jumper.

Mutombo might have been the best defensive player of his era. So its amazing that Shaq had 33/16 on him. That will go down as arguably the greatest series ever along with Hakeem dominating Robinson

Last years Duncan would certainly give you more holistic impact than Deke. Deke at his prime was a franchise player though, so it's good to see him getting some respect.

Ryoga Hibiki wrote:let's help the discussion: would Mutombo be the best BIG MAN in the league today (not just center)?
in my opinion yes,

My opinion: maybe not (probably not), but he'd def be in the hunt for that distinction going into 2014. I'll expound.....

I'll start with the short and sweet: he's better than Marc Gasol (do I really need to elaborate on that one?).

Arguments have already come in saying '94 Mutombo is NOT better than 2009-11 Howard, and I agree. Trouble is, I'm not convinced we're ever going to see that version of Howard again.

Excuses/explanations in Dwight's defense have been made to death ("still coming back off back surgery", "bad chemistry/bad situation/bad fit in LA", etc). For myself, I'm in the "I'll believe it when I see it" boat.

I doubt he's not gonna be the automatic #1 offensive option in Houston, so I don't think 21+ ppg is even a possibility.....but if he musters something like 19/14 with >2.5 bpg, then I will rejoice with the rest and say Dwight is back (more or less). But as for right now, I'm not convinced that what we saw last season wasn't the beginning of the decline for Dwight. I hope not, but I'm gonna wait and see. And I think '94 Mutombo was as good (possibly marginally better) than the 2013 Howard.

I still think 2013 Tim Duncan was better than any version of Mutombo; but he's 37 going into this coming season. Can TD put together in 2014 another season like he did in 2013? If so, he's still the best big man in the league, imo. If not, AND we don't see old Dwight return (nor old Dirk, for that matter; or an in-sync Kevin Love....).....well, then Mutombo might have a shot of being the best big man.

He would not be a big offensive threat anywhere; would likely avg in vicinity of 15 ppg. But along with ~14 rpg and ~3.5 bpg while anchoring one of the best defenses in the league......he's certainly got the potential for that.

ShaqAttack3234 wrote:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8-R3bBmhqU[/youtube]



At 2:01, Schrempf has the ball on the perimeter with Mutombo guarding him. He tries to take Mutombo off the dribble, but Mutombo blocks it right off the glass. Impressive being able to guard a skilled small forward like Schrempf off the dribble.

And look how surprisingly fast he is as he start running back to the other side of the court after that block. He actually has some pretty good acceleration.

RayBan-Sematra wrote:Always loved Mutombo.
Defensive monster with the finger wag.

That series he had VS Seattle was just incredible.
You probably can't find a better example of truly dominant post defense & rim protection.


Underrated offensively also. Obviously he was never a guy you'd want to rely on to create offense for your team but he was a good ft shooter for a big, could convert pretty well around the rim and developed a nice little jumper later on in his career.
I remember him scoring quite a few times on Shaq in the 01 Finals because O'neal wasn't respecting his jumper.

Yeah, he seemed to improve his touch and add that short jumper in the Atlanta days. He didn't have the nicest looking hook either, but he could make them. His offense could be a real plus at times if you weren't expecting him to be your 1st or 2nd option. And obviously, the only time in his career he was expected to do that was his rookie year. In that '97 first round series I mentioned earlier, he actually averaged 19.7 ppg and 16 rpg in Atlanta's 3 wins.

One of Mutombo's best moments was the '01 ECF vs Milwaukee. George Karl had said before the series that Mutombo wouldn't have an impact because the Bucks were a jump shooting team, and that Philly had given up too much to get him. Mutombo opened up the series with 15 points, 18 rebounds and 4 blocks in a win.

Going into the Eastern Conference Finals, Bucks coach George Karl had said he didn't think the 7-foot-2 center would have much of an impact. But after Mutombo contributed 15 points and 18 rebounds to the 76ers 93-85 victory in game 1, he wondered whether Karl had changed his mind.

Said coach Larry Brown: "In the first half, he controlled the game. He gets nine points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Even if he doesn't score, he commands attention, which allows us to get second shots and sometimes get easy shots. He was sensational."

With Iverson struggling with injuries and limited to 15 points on 5/27 shooting, Mutombo led Philly in scoring with 21 points on 6/11 shooting and 9/9 from the line in addition to 13 board to take a 3-2 series lead.

Mutombo, best known for his defensive ability, helped bail out the Philadelphia 76ers with a rare offensive display Wednesday night. The NBA's defensive player of the year scored 21 points as the Sixers overcame an awful shooting night by Allen Iverson to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 89-88 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. "We knew the only way we could win is if everyone contributed," Mutombo said. "We were short-handed; our guys are hurt, but we want to win so badly.

Mutombo scored eight points in the third quarter as the Sixers rallied to tie the game after trailing by as much as 16 in the first half and nine at halftime. His hook shot cut the deficit to 63-61 with 4:58 left in the third before Iverson hit a jumper to tie the game for the first time since the opening seconds. After the Bucks took a 68-65 lead, Mutombo hit his final two free throws to cut it to 68-67.

Mutombo then had the great game 7 with 23 points, 19 rebounds and 7 blocks to help the Sixers get to the finals.

Karl said that Mutombo would be "irrelevant" and "not a factor" against Milwaukee. Karl's rationale: Milwaukee was a perimeter-oriented, and Mutombo was an inside-only player. But from game 1, which Mutombo dominated, through Sunday's game 7 Sixers win, Mutombo battered the Bucks. The big man scored 23 points, pulled down 19 rebounds and blocked seven shots to help lead the Sixers to a 108-91 win and into the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. For the series, Mr. Irrelevant averaged 16.6 points, 15.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots. Mutombo registered a double-double (points-rebounds) in each of the series' seven games.

"Dikembe," said Sixers forward Tyrone Hill, "was just a dominating presence throughout this series."

In the 4 wins, Mutombo averaged 19 ppg, 16.3 rpg and 4.5 bpg. Overall, his numbers for the series were 16.6 ppg, 15.6 rpg, 2.7 bpg, 46.7 FG%, 79.3 FT%, 57.7 TS%

trex_8063 wrote:I doubt he's not gonna be the automatic #1 offensive option in Houston, so I don't think 21+ ppg is even a possibility.....but if he musters something like 19/14 with >2.5 bpg, then I will rejoice with the rest and say Dwight is back (more or less). But as for right now, I'm not convinced that what we saw last season wasn't the beginning of the decline for Dwight. I hope not, but I'm gonna wait and see. And I think '94 Mutombo was as good (possibly marginally better) than the 2013 Howard.

Yeah, I've been very doubtful we'll ever see 2011 Dwight again. Or even 2009 Dwight for that matter, but we'll have to wait and see. It'd be a shame if that's true because I would have liked to see what Dwight at his 2011 level could do with a contending team. What has concerned me is that since 2011, not only did he have the back injury which seemed to really affect his athleticism, but his skills have regressed significantly as well. It started with the FT shooting decline in 2012, but even with the distractions in his last year in Orlando, he was still scoring, and actually looked better as a passer than he had in 2011. His skills were sharper in 2011 than 2012, and he was more consistent, but what's really concerning is how raw he looked last season. It's like much of the improvement he had made the last 5 years went out the window. So I'm also doubtful we'll see Dwight scoring in the post with the consistency he did in 2011 or average 23/14 again. But maybe he is recovered, and maybe his work with Hakeem and McHale will pay off. After all, he had worked with Hakeem before the '10-'11 season and showed considerable improvement that year.

As for 2013 Dwight, well I can't see much of a reason to take him over 1994 Mutombo considering how Mutombo impacted his team. Dwight scored significantly more, but didn't look good all season, and Mutombo clearly had the more dominant defensive season.

trex_8063 wrote:I still think 2013 Tim Duncan was better than any version of Mutombo; but he's 37 going into this coming season. Can TD put together in 2014 another season like he did in 2013? If so, he's still the best big man in the league, imo. If not, AND we don't see old Dwight return (nor old Dirk, for that matter; or an in-sync Kevin Love....).....well, then Mutombo might have a shot of being the best big man.

2013 Duncan has the offensive advantage over prime Mutombo. Duncan isn't the post scorer he used to be, but
he can still score there, he's made up for the loss a bit by taking more jumpers, and he's still a very good passer. But I'd take prime Mutombo defensively, and he definitely has the advantage as far as stamina. Duncan hasn't played big minutes for years, and even back as far as '09, he wore down as the season went on when he had to play more minutes.

As for Dirk, I doubt we'll see the old Dirk again at 35 years old. He'll probably still have flashes of it, but he's been on the decline the last couple of years. After a slow start in the lockout year, he was pretty much back to himself, but it's clear he's past his prime and no longer a franchise player. I'd take Mutombo over the Dirk we saw last season.

As for Kevin Love, I'm not sure he's ever had the impact Mutombo did in his prime. Love puts up a lot of points as a stretch 4 since big men still often don't get back to the 3 point line to defend, Love is a great offensive rebounder, and he doesn't have any great post moves, but he gets good position so he can score a lot in a secondary kind of way. But I've never thought Love was as good as his '11 and '12 stats suggest, and his defense can be a problem, particularly at that position. I'll take Mutombo who can block and alter a ton of shots and still get a lot of rebounds, as opposed to Love who gets the rebounds, but doesn't do much defensively.

trex_8063 wrote:

ShaqAttack3234 wrote:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8-R3bBmhqU[/youtube]



At 2:01, Schrempf has the ball on the perimeter with Mutombo guarding him. He tries to take Mutombo off the dribble, but Mutombo blocks it right off the glass. Impressive being able to guard a skilled small forward like Schrempf off the dribble.

And look how surprisingly fast he is as he start running back to the other side of the court after that block. He actually has some pretty good acceleration.

Yeah, that's why I might favor Denver Mutombo as his peak as opposesd to Atlanta Mutombo, despite the improved offensive game. Seattle's only chance in the series was to create turnovers and run, which was really their strength anyway, but Mutombo did a good job getting back on defense much of the series, particularly for a player his size.

'94 Mutombo is the example I always invoke of a "modern" player dominating defensively, that should be recent enough for people to remember. He led his team past a superior team and extended another superior team to the limit, and did so from the defensive end of the court. When I look at that postseason, I wonder why it would be inconceivable for a player to help his team win a title if he performed like that consistently. What about his performance on the court that postseason couldn't have helped his team win a title if he played like that all the time?

I think I'm going to write a series about players who impact the game in ways other than scoing, and I think Mutombo's going to be the first player I write about. I've seen people on this board assert that he was irrelevant in the playoffs outside of '94, and apparently they weren't paying attention since he wasn't a volume scorer. (And, of course, if you aren't scoring a lot of points, you aren't doing much of consequence on the court.)

ThaRegul8r wrote:'94 Mutombo is the example I always invoke of a "modern" player dominating defensively, that should be recent enough for people to remember. He led his team past a superior team and extended another superior team to the limit, and did so from the defensive end of the court. When I look at that postseason, I wonder why it would be inconceivable for a player to help his team win a title if he performed like that consistently. What about his performance on the court that postseason couldn't have helped his team win a title if he played like that all the time?

I think I'm going to write a series about players who impact the game in ways other than scoing, and I think Mutombo's going to be the first player I write about. I've seen people on this board assert that he was irrelevant in the playoffs outside of '94, and apparently they weren't paying attention since he wasn't a volume scorer. (And, of course, if you aren't scoring a lot of points, you aren't doing much of consequence on the court.)

Looking forward to seeing the players you list. I've seen you cite Rodman in the '96 finals as an example a lot, and that playoff run in general was very impressive. His Orlando series was huge as well, pretty much running wild on the boards, getting some easy baskets and guarding Shaq effectively for some stretches. Much in the way Horace Grant had been the difference the previous year when they met, the addition of Rodman and Grant's injury was part of what made that series so decisive. Ben Wallace in '04 comes to mind as well.

As for Mutombo, he probably is the best example because his defensive dominance was so visible in that series. Particularly what he did to Kemp who was one of the great finishers. On most of those blocks, the only thing between Kemp and the rim was Mutombo, and anyone whose seen Kemp plays knows that with most players in there, he was finishing strong at the rim. If for arguments sake, Kemp finishings the 9 shots Mutombo blocked, suddenly, he shoots 50% instead of 36.4% in the series, and he averages 18.4 ppg instead of 14.8. Obviously, there's no way of knowing if he'd have made all of those shots, and he got a putback on one or two of them, but this isn't even accounting a number of shots Mutombo obviously altered including missed dunks and lay ups.

I was going over my notes on Mutombo, and was looking at the 2001 All-Star Game. People at the time in the papers and sports talk radio debated that Mutombo was the game's MVP for his defense and rebounding, and I remember being struck by the fact that Mutombo grabbed 22 rebounds in 28 minutes. At the time, 12 players (including Mutombo) grabbed 20 or more rebounds in an All-Star Game. I crunched the numbers, and Mutombo's was the greatest rebounding game in All-Star Game history in terms of grabbing available rebounds:

1. Dikembe Mutombo, 2001 (28 minutes, 22 rebounds, 32.5 TRB%, 57.1 DRB%)
2. Bob Pettit, 1956 (31 minutes, 24 rebounds, 29.0 TRB%)
3. Charles Barkley, 1991 (35 minutes, 22 rebounds, 28.2 TRB%)
4. Bill Russell, 1963 (37 minutes, 24 rebounds, 27.6 TRB%)
5. Wilt Chamberlain, 1960 (30 minutes, 25 rebounds, 26.5 TRB%)
6. Bob Pettit, 1958 (38 minutes, 26 rebounds, 25.3 TRB%)
7. Wilt Chamberlain, 1967 (39 minutes, 22 rebounds, 23.8 TRB%)
8. Bob Pettit, 1962 (37 minutes, 27 rebounds, 23.5 TRB%)
9. Dave Cowens, 1972 (32 minutes, 20 rebounds, 23.3 TRB%)
10. Wilt Chamberlain, 1962 (37 minutes, 24 rebounds, 20.9 TRB%)

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated as always. I remember Mutombo having a very good game, but had no idea that was a record for the all-star game. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that Mutombo's performance in that ASG(coached by Larry Brown) was one thing that made Brown want to acquire Mutombo. Of course, it was somewhat overshadowed with a lot of people talking about Iverson, Kobe and Marbury, and defense getting ignored even more than usual in the All-Star came, but impressive nonetheless.

ShaqAttack3234 wrote:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8-R3bBmhqU[/youtube]

Poor Kemp

It's so nice to see Mutombo blocks, they were so soft, so intelligent (look how many of them ended in his teammates hands). Big contrast to someone like Dwight, who blocks shots "volleyball style" and often throws ball into stands.