Double Clutch wrote:First of all, let me say that having seen the 1988 and 1990 playoffs, Hakeem's lack of support was painfully clear to me so those are two years I wouldn't include here. I'm not saying Hakeem was a perfect player in 1990; he did have his flaws as he wasn't a leader, his offensive game wasn't completely refined yet, his bball IQ would improve later on, he had a tendency to get in fights, foul trouble and wasn't as disciplined of a player as he was in the mid 90s but he wasn't the central issue of the Rockets' woes. We also have to keep in mind they also lost to a great team both those years and compared to the 1988 Mavs and the 1990 Lakers, they certainly weren't as talented overall.
As for 1991 and 1992, you're right that the core pieces in those two years are similar to the first championship team and those are also two down years in Hakeem's career trajectory. So let's analyze why Houston wasn't successful here. In 1991, the Rockets' had acquired Kenny Smith as a PG to fulfill Hakeem's requests as he had been critical of their guard play stating they were too selfish.
However, initially, this wouldn't have a significant difference in the W-L column as by the time Hakeem went down with an eye injury, Houston was 17-13 and one of those wins had come with Hakeem out so they were really 16-13 with him. When Hakeem went down, everybody expected Houston to play poorly as this was the time period, they were known as "Team Akeem," essentially a one-man squad.
However, in those 25 games Hakeem would miss, the team would find its groove without him going 15-10 overall (12-3 in the last 15 games).
What the world would also find out is that the Rockets did have talent. As you can see, in the 25 games, Hakeem missed, a lot of players saw an increase in both efficiency and volume so this wasn't a case of "empty stats" on the team's behalf where the team does poorly without their star player and the individuals put up better numbers at worse efficiency simply due to having more opportunities for themselves. Their offense was better as well but I'll get into that in a second.
Vernon Maxwell averaged 14.7 ppg on 39.5% shooting before Hakeem went down. In the time Hakeem missed, he'd average 19.6 ppg on 44.2% shooting so his stats saw a significant increase. Mad Max was definitely streaky as in he'd quickly get hot and could shoot you into games but just as easily shoot you out of them. He'd have a 50 pt game (30 pt quarter) in a game vs Cleveland during this stretch.
Sleepy Floyd averaged 9.8 ppg/3.4 apg on 40.9% shooting before Hakeem went down. In the time Hakeem missed, he'd average 15.1 ppg/4.1 apg on 42.6% shooting so like Mad Max, his stats also increased both in terms of volume and efficiency.
Otis Thorpe averaged 15.5 ppg/9.6 rpg/1.7 apg on 52.5% shooting before Hakeem went down. In the time Hakeem missed, he'd average 21.1 ppg/11.7 rpg/3.6 apg on 57% shooting so his stats also saw a significant increase in both volume and efficiency. Otis was a good player and as you can see, he put up big numbers without Hakeem. As a side note, I never felt those two had good synergy offensively.
Larry Smith would take Hakeem's starting spot and he'd average 14.4 rpg in those games Hakeem missed and keep in mind, he's providing great post-defense as well despite being undersized at the C position.
Keep in mind during the time Hakeem missed, Chaney also restructured the offense and they played more of an uptempo game because their trio of guards (Max, Floyd, Kenny) were all had quickness and athleticism so they flourished in the open court. Before Hakeem's eye injury the offensive game plan was fairly basic:
In short, it was still Team Akeem. "You know," says coach Don Chancy, "pass the ball to him, wait for the double team, he kicks it back out. Or pass the ball to him, let him go; one-on-one. What else would you do?! The guy had super numbers with the system."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... AG1139814/
Now, how you interpret this improvement without Hakeem is clearly up to the individual doing the analysis.
Does this mean Hakeem's raw stats were perhaps not as impactful as they'd seem to the naked eye?
Does this mean the Rockets' coach Chaney implemented a strategy that would maximize the talents the Rockets had and perhaps win them a few season games? He clearly did do some re-tooling the way the team ran offensively as like I mentioned earlier, the pace of the team increased and the Kenny Smith and Otis Thorpe pick and roll became a staple in their offense which is part of the reason Thorpe's stats increased a lot.
Does this mean the Rockets' guards (who were fairly erratic) got a "hot streak" going which inflates their numbers/record in the time period Hakeem missed?
Personally, I tend to believe it's a combination of all 3. Hakeem would clearly improve as a player a bit later on in nearly every intangible and tangible aspect of the game, the type of offense Chaney ran tanked in the 1991 playoffs as the guards didn't do their job and if you watch the series, you'd notice how Doug Collins would repeatedly emphasize how they aren't giving Hakeem enough touches which I believe was a result of the success they had without him during the 25 games he missed. You'll notice in Rocket games from 1991 and 1992 that Hakeem often hovers around the high post and shoot jumpshots, he often gets ignored in the low block and when he would get the ball, he'd have tendency to force the situation, the pace of the game was also higher which the guards would take advantage of more so than the bigs and he wasn't a focal point of the offense to the extent he was under Rudy T where the vast majority of the offense went through him as they had implemented a perfect inside-outside game.
The change in offensive structure after Hakeem came back from his eye injury is what caused his scoring to decline in the latter half of the 1991 season as well as the 1992 season. He was used more as a finisher instead of creator.
And what has this done to Olajuwon's game? It didn't hurt it any. "Ever since I came to this league, I've been double-teamed," he says. "But now that the offense is spread out, the game is suddenly easy. Easy! It's like in college. I get a few rebounds and get my points, or the guards—and they are criminally quick—dish off for a few dunks. Easy points! Same points, and I do less work. It reminds me of Phi Slamma Jamma [the nickname for his University of Houston team], so much fun. When the game is over now, I'm not even tired. I could play another game." He is almost grateful to unburden himself of the pressure of Team Akeem: "I've been looking for this freedom."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... /index.htm
Their record in 1992 was even worse as they ended up missing the playoffs and this time around the Rockets had a lot of internal issues to deal with. Chaney would get fired, Hakeem would feud with the management, demand a trade, thought the guards played selfish basketball, he'd eventually get suspended for supposedly faking a hamstring injury and it's rumored that the Rockets tanked in the games Hakeem was suspended (went 0-5) to enter the lottery sweepstakes since they did not anticipate him being in Houston the next season. Again, how you interpret this is again up to the individual. This season, the Rockets were 40-30 with him and just 2-10 without him so they didn't really get the job done and the fact that the team's morale was down, chemistry was poor sort of comes back to Hakeem and his feud with the management. Personally, I do sympathize with Hakeem in the sense that he was not in a good situation for a number of years and maybe he did feel they insulted his intelligence or questioned his dignity when they presumed he was faking the hamstring injury as a means of a contract ploy. Obviously, regarding his teammates, he went through a lot of changes to no avail and with the way the team was structured, he wasn't satisfied with it largely because they weren't successful even though he attempted to fit in and accepted a smaller role. With that said, Hakeem at this point had his flaws as well. Anyway, here are Hakeem's own thoughts on this situation a few years later:
"When your teammates realize you're not in competition with them and that you are supposed to compliment one another you're capable of so much more," Olajuwon said. "I've been on teams where players want to compete with you for shots and are wondering why the ball doesn't go to them more. That's small-minded. "When you have a legitimate center, you have to center the offense there. People used to say I'm selfish. Now I take more shots, score more points and you don't hear that. It's a team game now.
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/spo ... e-1.690582
-Kees- wrote:
Then this kinda leads into another line of thought for me, which is how much did Tomjanavich help Hakeem and the Rockets? Hakeem was viewed as a different player when they started winning, he let the offense come to him more and didn't try to do EVERYTHING on every play. But how much of that was him growing and how much of that was Tomjanavich? Hakeem's play may have changed, but it changed really only once Tomjanavich got there. Every good team needs a good coach, I know that, but I'm just curious if we should be thinking of Hakeem as the same player and impact from 87-92 as he was once Tomjanavich got there. Like, with Jordan or LeBron, they went through a time of dragging bad teams to the playoffs, then once they got more talent around them they starting to make their noise. It seems like Hakeem actually got better (or more effective) during his title runs, concluding that he was potentially weaker earlier on, where no one questions that with some of the other greats who had times like these.
I'm going to say it's a combination of both Hakeem getting better as a player and Rudy T's offense. What Rudy did was make Hakeem entirely the focal point of the offense, the shooters were given designated spots on the floor and they now had a very well structured, albeit predictable offense. Another thing that happened was the game in the early-mid 90s was starting to slow down so the pace would decrease and that would naturally result in the Rockets' looking to feed Hakeem to generate offense in the half-court set as he was the best offensive player on the team. This is something that applies to the rest of the league as well, not just to Houston.
At the same time, Rocket coach Rudy Tomjanovich has devised an offense populated with penetrators like rookieSam Cassell and hair-trigger three-point shooters like Smith and Vernon Maxwell to complement Olajuwon's interior dominance. Catching the ball on the left block, Olajuwon usually has two frothing teammates poised on the arc facing him—what Tomjanovich calls "the money spot"—and a third at the top of the key. With the trio in easy view, Olajuwon can dish the ball quickly before the inevitable double team arrives. The result: With the attack running through him, Olajuwon has increased both his shot attempts and assists since Rudy T replaced Don Chaney during the 1991-92 season. "I love a big man who finds the open man for a pure jump shot," Olajuwon says. "It's beautiful to watch. It is fulfilling to me."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... /index.htm
Rudy also gave Hakeem more freedom which is something he mentioned in his HOF speech which in turn led to an improvement in his decision making.
Olajuwon praised Tomjanovich for "giving me the freedom and the confidence that he believes in my decisions. He gave me the green light that I could freelance in the structure of the team. For a coach to have that kind of confidence in his player was a huge responsibility for him not to be disappointed in my decisions, so that made me much more conscious of my decisions--not to take a bad shot, to make good decisions."
http://20secondtimeout.blogspot.ca/2008 ... chive.html
With that said, something that isn't mentioned is that Hakeem did get better as a player from 1992 to 1993 and then on. First things first, Hakeem took off his goggles that had he worn ever since Cartwright had knocked him out and given him that eye injury which improved his shooting. Hakeem also said that was the first off-season he really worked on his game.
The mount airy news - Jan 17, 1993
GOING WITHOUT GOGGLES: Hakeem Olajuwon is playing without goggles for the first time since an eye socket fracture in the 1990-91 season. The decision is paying off because Olajuwon is having a great season, averaging 25.1 points on 53.1 percent shooting in his first 32 games. The Houston Rockets center hasn't shot this well since he made 53.8 percent of his shots in his rookie season, 1984-85.
"I really can see a lot better now since I stopped wearing those goggles," Olajuwon said. "There's no question that has helped my shooting."
But Olajuwon doesn't attribute all the improvement to the unimpeded vision.
"It's getting too crowded in the paint," he said. "Last summer was the first time I really worked on my game, especially on shooting the ball."
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ds ... gles&hl=en
The shot that improved the most was his patented baseline fallaway.
The most compelling aspect of Olajuwon is that, at 31, he continues to improve. Kenny Smith remembers the baseline being where defenses used to force and ultimately frustrate Olajuwon. Then he went to work a couple of summers ago. "The shot that people try to force him into taking is now the shot he wants to take," said Smith.
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/08/sport ... d=2&src=pm
Hakeem's passing also improved as Rockets' assistant coach Carroll Dawson alludes to.
"Olajuwon always added something to his game over the summer," said former Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson, who was an assistant coach with the organization before moving into the front office. "That's what all the great players do and that's what he did. He might be known for the jump hook, but he could do so many things. We didn't actually start winning with him big time until he learned to pass the ball. We'd talk before every summer about what he was going to work on and he'd come back in the fall with something added to his game. He worked."
http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Olajuwo ... 28-34.html
''We shoot inside, then move to 12 feet and then to 15 feet,'' Houston Rockets assistant coach Carroll Dawson said. ''What happened was, he got to making the 15-footer so well, he moved out to 20 feet, and now he can shoot that, too.
''He's started facing up and doing all those things. Now he can play like a forward, and that's been real big for his offense. The biggest improvement on his game was three to four years ago when he started passing the ball. He started understanding defense. In the early days when they doubled him, he'd have trouble finding the guy on the weak side. Now he finds them wherever they are.''
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/199 ... -superstar
The above Carroll Dawson quote is after the 1995 finals and you can see how he talks about Hakeem really started understanding and reading the defense three to four years ago (1992) and how he used to have trouble finding guys on the weakside but now he's much improved as a passer.
Here's a link to a Hakeem highlight video vs the Bulls from the 1992-93 season:
Fast forward to 4:12 and you'll notice the Rockets' commentators agreeing on how Hakeem was reading the defense much better than in the past.
He also worked on his spin moves and tried to expand his game as much as possible that off-season.
Pride drove Olajuwon to work in the off-season on improving his already impressive repertoire of offensive moves.
"It's just trying to find variations on the same spin moves I've perfected from different areas of the court," he said. "It's my way of keeping up with the youngsters. I can't ever let them believe they've found ways to stop me. When that times comes, then I'll step aside."
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-0 ... d-robinson
This is something that also ties in with his playmaking ability because Hakeem, while underrated in this regard, wasn't the best pure passer out of the post. The fact that he was so good at spinning in the lane and creating space with his footwork could force the defense to collapse on him, allow him to see the floor and pass on the move to a shooter or a cutter. That's something you'd notice in that highlight video I linked above.
The early 90s was also a time period in Hakeem's life where he really dedicated himself to his religion which helped him become a more disciplined player, he improved his leadership and became focused to turn his career around.
"This is the best year he's ever had, because of the consistency," Sonic assistant Bob Kloppenburg said. "Before, you could provoke him, get him angry or into foul trouble. Now, nothing seems to faze him. Now, he calms down the other guys on his team. That never used to happen."
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource. ... ug=1700421
Example of Hakeem's leadership from this year which was lacking in the past:
A year ago, veteran Tree Rollins sat in the locker room on the day after the Rockets had failed to qualify for the playoffs and said this club was the most selfish, unmotivated, leaderless team he had ever seen. Now, even Rollins is shocked with the strides the Rockets have made.
"I wouldn't have believed you if you told me a year ago this would happen," Rollins said. "I'd have said that the team definitely had the talent but wasn't sure it would ever have the maturity. All of a sudden, we have guys playing together and liking each other."
The signs were there, Rollins said, early in the season. After every Rockets practice, it is customary for the team to come together at midcourt and for each man to put one hand into a huddle. But, after one workout, one of the Rockets did not enter the circle.
Olajuwon set tone for team
"Hakeem walked up to him and told him to put his hand in," Rollins said. "He told the guy that we were a team, and we were going to do everything together.
"To me, that was a sign of leadership from Hakeem. It was a commitment. A lot of guys saw that happen, and, from that day, nobody has ever missed being a part of the huddle."
The sense of togetherness is evident in the way the Rockets unselfishly pass the ball until they find the man with the best shot. It was exemplified Saturday night against San Antonio when Olajuwon and Maxwell exchanged six passes to set up a dunk by Hakeem.
http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archi ... 93_1123809
"This team that has matured around Hakeem and Rudy T (Coach Rudy Tomjanovich), they now have a focused leader--Hakeem. Think about it. Two to three years ago, who was the leader on the floor? You didn't have one. Who was the guy who stood in front of everyone and said, 'Damn it, we're not going to lose?' Or if things went down, who spoke out first? No one did."
http://articles.latimes.com/1994-01-18/ ... m-olajuwon
The 1992-93 Rockets actually started off 14-16 and finished 41-11 after they held a few team meetings in January and started playing more unselfishly. Below is a really nice read on Hakeem's improvements this year.
He has had any number of breakthroughs in the past year -- a 14 1/2-hour flight to Tokyo when he and his Rockets boss, both insomniacs, finally shook hands; a clandestine January team meeting when he delivered a rare speech to restore Rocket morale; his weekly immersement into the Koran and the Muslim religion; and his daily, exhausting shooting sessions, last summer, with a pair of 11-year-olds. Becomes a Citizen
.......
Actually, it is his basketball that has been naturalized most of all. Houston and the pass-happy Olajuwon open the playoffs Thursday night against the Los Angeles Clippers. But in past seasons, it was not that Olajuwon couldn't pass the ball -- he wouldn't. Opponents would surround him with double- and triple-teams, and he had such miniscule confidence in his open Rocket teammates that he would ignore them and throw up quirky, low-percentage shots. The Rockets had an ultimate power forward in Otis Thorpe, a slick point guard in Kenny Smith and a shooter with range from here to Galveston in Vernon Maxwell. But they were selfish, paid little heed to their former coach, Don Chaney, and crumbled whenever a disheartened Olajuwon critiqued them in the newspapers.
There were first-round playoff losses to Dallas in 1988, to Seattle in 1989 and to the Lakers in 1990 and 1991. And when they bottomed out to become a desultory lottery team last season, Olajuwon -- who by then had changed his first name to its proper Hakeem -- wanted likewise to change teams.
"Thought I'd be somewhere else this year," he said, and he nearly ended up with the Clippers or Miami. Bad Rep, Bad Rap
But the Rockets' new coach, Rudy Tomjanovich, lobbied to retain Olajuwon. The center had a national image as a malcontent -- which is why he is the only m.v.p. candidate without a shoe commercial/mini-series -- but it was an unfair perception that stemmed from his so-called feigning of a hamstring injury last season and his constant inquiries to the Rocket owner, Charlie Thomas, for more money. But it was Thomas who initiated talks about a contract extension last year, and several orthopedists confirmed the leg injury.
Nevertheless, when Thomas continued to renege on his contract promise, Olajuwon called the owner "a coward" this October. The Olajuwon personna worsened. But by March, months after the two had kissed and made up on the Tokyo flight, Olajuwon had a four-year, $25 million extension and a hug from Thomas in public. "Well, my wife, Kittsie, has said worse to me, and we're still married," Thomas said.
Meanwhile, Olajuwon's auspicious season -- better stats than Patrick Ewing in every category and league leader in blocks -- comes at the same time as his newfound Muslim faith, his renewed confidence in teammates and the dogged workouts with those 11-year-olds.
Every Friday at home he leaves practice early to go attend a mosque. "He is at peace with himself," said his Nigerian friend, Nnamdi Moweta. "It's Islamic willpower he has, and I wouldn't be suprised if the Rockets go all the way." Added Weapon
Since Jan. 10, the Rockets are 41-11, own the best record since the All-Star Gamebreak and are Midwest Division champions for the first time since 1986. Olajuwon, in an early January meeting, told teammates "I am your friend," and not to take his criticisms so personally. It freed them all. The advancement of rookie forward Robert Horry, plus Tomjanovich's declarations that everybody pass, have also made the Rockets a selfless team.
But Olajuwon has been the clear catalyst. He employed those two 11-year-olds to rebound for him last summer in Los Angeles, and he shot 500 jump shots a day. His game changed. This season, he passes to get out of trouble in double-teams, drives to the basket with 360-degree spins and, most shockingly, nails 17-feet straightaway jump shots to keep opponents guessing. "Haven't seen one center stop him one-on-one," Maxwell said.
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/28/sport ... d=3&src=pm
There was a time, not so long ago, that Olajuwon, lacking confidence in his teammates, would have forced a shot himself.
Three seasons ago, Olajuwon may not have made the pass to one of his teammates.
"He's gained a lot of confidence in the guys on the perimeter, something he didn't have three or four years ago," said Vernon Maxwell, the Rockets' shooting guard.
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/15/sport ... n-one.html
Hakeem's defense also improved from 1992 to 1993. In my post earlier, I had posted an article from the local paper that was critical of his defense but in 1993, he got all around praise for his defensive ability from various sources such as coaches who voted him on the All-Defensive first team, sportswriters that voted him DPoY, commentators and journalists. I think 1993 could be argued as his defensive peak even if the stats might not show it. He did have superior defensive numbers in the 1990 season as well as anchoring a better defense but I think he really became more disciplined during this time period in terms of not going for ball/shot fakes, staying out of foul trouble, being more composed, defending his man giving them various looks, his transition defense was great, he contested jumpshots with great timing, did a tremendous job protecting the basket, PnR defense was great (hedge and recover in immaculate fashion, switch on guards and hold his own often taking a swipe at the ball, shade the ball handler, effectively trapping ect). The 1993 series vs Seattle is a pretty good example of his defensive prowess this year.
Also, another thing is that Hakeem did not anticipate being in Houston in the 1992-93 season so he went into this season with a more focused and "contract year" mindset as he wanted to improve his value to the rest of the league because he was viewed as a malcontent in the 1991-92 season. In the end, of course, everything worked out as he'd get a contract extension in March 1993 and the Rockets would become a great team but at the beginning of the season, he still thought he was going to be traded sometime later on.
Olajuwon worked hard in the off-season. He practiced the turnaround jumper that had been so effective earlier in his career. He stressed conditioning.
He was driven, in part, by the thought of having a fresh start. Olajuwon was convinced he was going to be traded, and he wanted to show his new employer his skills had not diminished.
When Olajuwon reported for another season in Houston, he admits he was disappointed. But he refused to let his hard work go to waste. A long talk with Thomas on the flight back from Japan, where the Rockets opened the regular season against Seattle, helped clear the air.
Olajuwon has been outstanding ever since. He's sixth in the league in scoring with an average of 25 points, third in rebounding at 12.8 and first in blocked shots with 4.27. He has been at his overpowering best late in the game, which is one reason the Rockets have won 25 of their last 30 games.
"He's having an MVP season, his best far and away,' Patterson said.
"I think it's between him and Charles Barkley for MVP,' Miami center Rony Seikaly said. "I'd have to flip a coin. Hakeem is as good as anybody.'
Olajuwon had no problem letting Rockets management know how he felt last season. But with that goes the responsibility of helping solve the problem, not creating one.
That is exactly what Olajuwon has done.
"The worst thing that could have happened after the controversy of last season was to come in this season and let it continue,' Olajuwon said. "The bottom line is to take care of business on the floor. I have an obligation to fulfill, and I fulfill it the best way I know how.'
Olajuwon's way has put the Rockets at the top of the division.
"One thing about Hakeem, he's focused this year,' Houston forward Otis Thorpe said. "My opinion is that he's set his mind in the direction he wants to go and what he wants to accomplish. If he accomplishes those things, I think he's a happy man.
- Dallas Morning News, 1993
Dallas Morning News - Apr 28, 1993
Coach Rudy Tomjanovich credits Olajuwon and his intensity for establishing the tone of the season.
-Kees- wrote:
I don't think I'm explaining this in the best way possible lol. It's like, when Kareem, Jordan and LeBron were "winning" with bad teams, and when they were actually winning with good teams, they were close to the same player. Obviously everyone changes their game, but LeBron in from 07-10 is pretty similar impact to LeBron 11-13. It seems like Hakeem in particular got better during his later stretch, playing a slightly different game, not doing so much on the court, but doing better things on the court. With seemingly similar talent levels, the only major thing that changed was Hakeem's game, and the coach. It just brings up the question that if Hakeem learned his "new play style" at an earlier time, would they be more effective? If Hakeem started trusting his teammates more, and playing smarter on offense (not forcing things) in say 88 or 89 instead of 93 or 94, would they have gone a lot farther, considering the talent they had on the team? Those questions don't really come up when talking about these kinds of times with other greats (partly it seems because they honestly didn't have the talent (like LeBron in Cleveland)), and it just makes me wonder if Hakeem's better playstyle was heavily due to Tomjonavich coaching him, which seemed to start at the exact same time that we saw Hakeem change.
I got you just fine though I do disagree that LeBron in 2007 and 2008 is the same caliber as his last two years in the Heat but I do understand what you're trying to say that LeBron in his last couple of years in Cleveland was simply lacking in teammates while having similar impact to his Heat-self.
As for the bold, I think they'd overachieve to a greater extent in the regular season as Hakeem got better as a player and would've got more out of his teammates as well, perhaps getting them a higher seed and maybe an easier opponent in the first round so it's possible they get out of the first round. But you need support to make major noise and from what I saw, he wasn't getting much at least in the late 80s. I really don't see mid 90s Hakeem doing anything better in the 1988 playoffs for instance. Even in the 1990 playoffs, I'm not sure what mid 90s Hakeem could do that could possibly change the outcome. The Lakers played him a lot like Seattle did in the 1996 WCSF by really swarming him as soon as he received the ball, ensuring that he wouldn't be able to create for himself and forced the ball out of his hands.
I do think had Hakeem worked on his game earlier, became a more disciplined player ect, the 1991 and 1992 Rockets could result in greater team success during those years but we have to keep in mind he can only do so much with Don Chaney coaching and the way the offense was set up. I do view those two years as a down period in Hakeem's career though.
I definitely don't think Hakeem's playstyle was entirely due to Rudy T coaching him. Rudy just maximized his talents by putting him in a system that catered best to his game. It's also merely a coincidence that Hakeem really started to work on his game (all tangible/intangible aspects) once Rudy took over. For example, he would continue to improve in certain aspects after 1993. He didn't work much on his game in the 1993 off-season because he had to get surgery on his right middle finger (did work on his off hand as a result) but he improved his strength and stamina in the 1994 off-season. He got worn down late in games at times in the 1994 playoffs (game 4 vs Portland, finals vs New York). He also added some more face up moves that year which you'd see in the 1995 playoffs, maybe had a bit more range, his offensive understanding in terms of off-ball movement really peaked and he worked better in PnRs (also got better at slipping screens) and would also pop out to shoot jumpshots. His defense and overall activity did decline post-1993 though mainly because of a decline in athletic ability.
