Hakeem vs Drob: Defense Only

Blame Rasho · Post #21 » by **Blame Rasho** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:48 pm

Robinson will always look bad in the eyes of others due to the fact that The Dream never had to guard himself.

G35 · Post #22 » by **G35** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 10:44 pm

tkb wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Interesting how these two players are the only 2 players in nba history to average more than 2 steals and 4 blocks in the same season too. Both did it once.

Olajuwon with 4.6 blocks and 2.1 steals in 1990, while Robinson put up 4.5 blocks and 2.3 steals in 1992.

I still stand by my statement that this is as close to a push as you're going to get. Robinson pre-injury was a defensive beast.

Both were blazing quick for centers, both had excellent anticipation, both very incredibly strong man on man defenders and both were great rebounders. Hakeem was probably a tad quicker while the Admiral had more size so I really do think this is very close.

David Robinson has become one of the more underrated all time greats IMO.

Ya damn right on all that......

etopn23 · Post #23 » by **etopn23** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:57 am

Wash.

ronnymac2 · Post #24 » by **ronnymac2** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 5:10 am

dream. they both were great help defenders and shotblockers, with great length and speed. The only advantage one has over the other imo is hakeem being able to be more physical with his d in the post because he was a little stronger. Even that tho, i dunno, im not sure if thats enough to make dream better.

Cruel_Ruin · Post #25 » by **Cruel_Ruin** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:24 am

Blame Rasho wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

HOF

Classic

GOAT

DON'T PROBE MY BODY! :rofl:

Post #26 » by **tkb** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:33 pm

Harry Palmer wrote:I agree about Robinson being really underrated, but...you actually think he was bigger than Hakeem? Maybe taller, but that's negated by Hakeem's freak arms, and Hakeem was heavier and stronger, as cut as the Admiral was.

The greatest difference between them to me, though, wasn't so much physical. Both were freaks...I think you can actually argue that Robinson was the greater linear athlete, though Hakeem was, imo, the greatest integrated athlete among all NBA big men, ever...but Hakeem's semi-tangible things, like footwork, timing, balance, instinctive feel for contact, etc...that's where they really separated.

Yeah, I meant height. Admiral had a couple inches on Dream, but Dream easily made up for it.

I think the main difference between the two as overall players is that Dream was a bit more fluid on offense, and was better in the clutch and especially in the playoffs. I take Dream without thinking too hard as an overall player, but the defensive part is very close IMO.

As regular season players there isn't much that separate them in the early 90s IMO.

ILikeTheGrizz · Post #27 » by **ILikeTheGrizz** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 3:03 pm

When I read bigger I didn't even blink because I figured you meant Rob's Dwight Howard-esque shoulders.

I say defense is too-close to call. Hell, I can only call them as players because of one playoff series, and even that seems unfair.

Ryoga Hibiki · Post #28 » by **Ryoga Hibiki** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:02 pm

I think it's very close, at the time I would have probably picked Robinson (even overall, before '95, so you know how dead on I usually am) because of his length.

Btw, I think Duncan is better than both.

Mateen Cleaves · Post #29 » by **Mateen Cleaves** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:03 pm

Hakeem

Post #30 » by **tsherkin** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 11:01 pm

Harry Palmer wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

I agree about Robinson being really underrated, but...you actually think he was bigger than Hakeem? Maybe taller, but that's negated by Hakeem's freak arms, and Hakeem was heavier and stronger, as cut as the Admiral was.

Robinson had about 3 inches and about 15 pounds on Olajuwon so yeah, he was definitely bigger, especially through the shoulders.

The greatest difference between them to me, though, wasn't so much physical. Both were freaks...I think you can actually argue that Robinson was the greater linear athlete, though Hakeem was, imo, the greatest integrated athlete among all NBA big men, ever...but Hakeem's semi-tangible things, like footwork, timing, balance, instinctive feel for contact, etc...that's where they really separated.

Olajuwon was a little more technically sound, if that's what you mean. And as you've covered before, his I guess integrated athleticism (?) was superior to pretty much anyone else in league history.

Ryoga Hibiki wrote:I think it's very close, at the time I would have probably picked Robinson (even overall, before '95, so you know how dead on I usually am) because of his length.

Btw, I think Duncan is better than both.

Better than Dream? I don't believe that, no. Duncan is an outstanding defender and it is an utter crime, pure robbery than he doesn't have at least TWO DPOYs but he's also benefited from playing on some very carefully assembled teams run by a brilliant coach. Dream had scraps and Rudy T, which actually makes his defensive achievements considerably more impressive than Duncan's. I wouldn't suggest the gap is immeasurably large because Duncan's fundamentals are superior to Dream's (Duncan reminds me of Patrick Ewing defensively) but he definitely had greater structural support because of the efforts of his teammates and coach. Rudy T was always more of a motivator and less of an Xs-and-Os guy.

shawngoat23 · Post #31 » by **shawngoat23** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:37 am

They're equal in the regular season on defense. Both have amassed the most impressive block/steal combinations since such stats were being kept, and they collect such stats without gambling on defense. They're arguably the most impactful defenders in the modern era (by which I mean since the stats were kept).

Not sure if Hakeem was the better defender in the playoffs, but he sure made Robinson look stupid much more often than Robinson made him look bad.