Clutch City Rockets vs Lakeset: Who has the richer history of Bigmen

Which franchise got the richer, better history of big men?

  • Rockets Big Men

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Jplaya2023

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At his peak yes. They have better careers... But are they better basketball players? No.

Hakeem when used properly(93-97)is basically 26/13/3/3/2 guy who improves in the playoffs. If you look at him as an Individual he has no weaknesses.

GOAT level man defender? Yup
GOAT help defender(only big who is arguably better is KG)
One of the best rebounders of all time? Yes
Goat Shotblocker? Yes
Great playmaker/Passer? Yup
One of the best low post scorers of all time? Yup. Hakeem Olajuwon - Scoring Skills - YouTube. one of the best Playoff scorers of all time period
And can Actually hit Free throws unlike most big men so he can be relied on down the stretch of games

[5.14.87] Hakeem Olajuwon - 49 Points Vs Sonics (Complete Highlights) - YouTube
^^^ one of the best offensive Playoff performances ever

Hakeem Olajuwon - Game 7 highlights vs. Sonics (1993 Playoffs) - YouTube
^^^^One of the best defensive playoff performances ever. And they got robbed with shytty calls at the end. Should've gone on to face the Suns

Both of those games while getting double/triple teamed constantly, remember the sonics defense was serious. In general There's no big Man I would take over Olajuwon at his Peak. He was too good at too many difference facets of the game and too versatile

big men in their peak i'm taking over dream

2000 Shaq

1974 Kareem

1965 Wilt
 

Mic-Nificent

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At his peak yes. They have better careers... But are they better basketball players? No.

Hakeem when used properly(93-97)is basically 26/13/3/3/2 guy who improves in the playoffs. If you look at him as an Individual he has no weaknesses.

GOAT level man defender? Yup
GOAT help defender(only big who is arguably better is KG)
One of the best rebounders of all time? Yes
Goat Shotblocker? Yes
Great playmaker/Passer? Yup
One of the best low post scorers of all time? Yup. Hakeem Olajuwon - Scoring Skills - YouTube. one of the best Playoff scorers of all time period
And can Actually hit Free throws unlike most big men so he can be relied on down the stretch of games

[5.14.87] Hakeem Olajuwon - 49 Points Vs Sonics (Complete Highlights) - YouTube
^^^ one of the best offensive Playoff performances ever

Hakeem Olajuwon - Game 7 highlights vs. Sonics (1993 Playoffs) - YouTube
^^^^One of the best defensive playoff performances ever. And they got robbed with shytty calls at the end. Should've gone on to face the Suns

Both of those games while getting double/triple teamed constantly, remember the sonics defense was serious. In general There's no big Man I would take over Olajuwon at his Peak. He was too good at too many difference facets of the game and too versatile

What weakness did Kareem have?

Virtually everything you mentioned that Hakeem could do Kareem could do also and in some cases better. He was a better scorer, better FT shooter, better rebounder, and a much better passer.

And miss me with that "GOAT shot blocker" stuff. If the stat had been tracked thoughout NBA history Hakeem wouldn't be top 3 all time.

Hakeem was a better man defender than Kareem. Even with that said Hakeem couldn't stop a well past his prime Kareem from dropping 30+ on him at times.

and truth be told if he could hit FT's more consistently I'd take Prime Wilt over any other player.

With all that said, while I acknowledge that Shaq had a better career, I'd take Hakeem over him if I was building a team because of his defense (and I've said as much in the past too).
 

BlackFeet

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1. Pretty much everything you said had all to do with Team success. From the lack of MVP's and voting(should've one in 93') to the first round exits where he lost even though he dominated. Throughout most of his physical prime Hakeem played on poor teams with crap coaching(until Rudy T came and ran the offense through him).

2. The 95 finals have been analysed thoroughly several times. Shaq stat-padded his totals in game 2 garbage time after the game was over at half when Hakeem doubled Shaq's pts and rebounds and had Rockets leading +20.(G2 - Houston +22 pts after two quarters, +19 after three q, Shaq scored 23 pts in that second half,.)In the last 2 games Shaq got outplayed severely. in the first game Shaq it was close , but Hakeem still scored 30+ and took over down the stretch. There's no excuse for shaq getting swept with a better team and Home court. As for age... What would happen if a 32 year old Miami year shaq met a 23 Year old Hakeem?:skip:

3. I'm not saying Kareem couldn't score or never scored on Hakeem but it should be noted Ralph Sampson was the rockets center while dream played mostly PF until he left. Olajuwon was Young but he wasnt at his peak in 84-87 particularly On defense where he gambled for blocks a ton. He dominated the Lakers frontline in the Playoffs though.
Hakeem Olajuwon: Leading the Rockets over Kareem, Magic and the Lakers (1986 WCF Game 4, 35 points) - YouTube
Hakeem (40 pts) & Sampson vs. Kareem (33 pts) - 1986 WCF, Game 3 - YouTube
4. There you go using old man Stats for Shaq Hakeem

When Hakeem was in his prime
Shaquille O'Neal vs. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1992-93 to ’96-97 (when Olajuwon was First Team All-NBA and Second Team All-Defense)
Shaq vs. Hakeem: 23.2 points/ 14 rebounds/and 3 assists
Hakeem vs. Shaq: 26 points/10.6 rebounds/ 4.6 assists/3.56 blocks/ 2.22 steals

Vs Drob
Shaquille O'Neal vs. David Robinson, 1992-93 to ’97-98 (when Robinson was Second Team All-NBA and Second Team All-Defense)
Shaq vs. Robinson: 26 points , 12.7 rebounds and 2 blocks
Robinson vs. Shaq: 26.3 points , 12 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.67 steals, 2.44 blocks

5. Since you called ducktales on Hakeem being better, which title did Shaq/Wilt/Kareem win that Peak Hakeem doesn't win their place?


1. Excuses, excuses :umad:

2. You boast about a Hakeem whose TEAMMATES badly outplayed Shaq's TEAMMATES in the '95 Finals (and a YOUNG Shaq...younger than the Hakeem who was just SHELLED by an OLD Kareem)? A Hakeem who had one teammmate who averaged 17 ppg and 10 rpg in that Finals, another who was at 21.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg, and yet another teammate who averaged 16.3 ppg, on get this... .629 shooting? Whose teammates outshot Shaq's by HUGE margins from the field and the arc...and then OUTSCORED them by 50 points from the line? The Dream had more HOF's on his roster than his entire opposition in the '95 playoffs :hula: And Hakeem was still in his prime when Shaquille dominated him on both ends. Not sure how it'd be any different with a Hakeem that you say wasn't in his defensive prime, vs a veteran Shaquille :skip:

3. Artis Gilmore defended Hakeem in those '86 playoffs.

4. So now Olajuwon's only been a good defender when other coaches have said so? And post their FG%'s

5. Gee, I dunno, maybe the same Hakeem that was bounced out the 1st round in eight seasons, and had four top four MVP finishes in his 18 year career, and has only played a starting HOF center in 35 of his 145 playoff games, six comin' aganist 39 year old Kareem. The same Dream that was NEVER the leading shooter in ANY of his Finals, not even ON HIS OWN TEAM, and was not only outrebounded by the opposing center in two Finals, he was outrebounded by a teammate in one, and was only the 3rd best rebounder in one series, and the 4th best in the other. :smugbiden:
 

BlackFeet

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Oh, and comparing Chamberlain to Olajuwon? :rudy:

Wilt averaged 27.0 ppg in his 35 "must-win" and/or clinching games. Meanwhile, his starting opposing centers averaged 14.5 ppg in those 35 games. He also outscored his opposing starting center in 29 of those 35 games, including a 19-0 edge in his first 19 games of those 35. Furthermore, in his 13 games which came in his "scoring" seasons (from 59-60 thru 65-66), Chamberlain averaged 37.3 ppg in those "do-or-die" or clinching games. And there were MANY games in which he just CRUSHED his opposing centers in those games (e.g. he outscored Kerr in one them, 53-7.)

Wilt had THREE of his four 50+ point post-season games, in these "elimination games", including two in "at the limit" games, and another against Russell in a "must-win" game. He also had games of 46-34 and 45-27 (and only 4 months removed from major knee surgery) in these types of games. In addition he had games of 39 and 38 in clinching wins.

In the known 19 games in which we have both Wilt's, and his starting opposing center's rebounding numbers, Chamberlain outrebounded them in 15 of them, and by an average margin of 26.1 rpg to 18.9 rpg. And, had we had all 35 of the totals, it would have been by a considerably larger margin. A conservative estimate would put Wilt with at least a 30-5 overall edge in those 35 games. He also had games, even against the likes of Russell, and in "must-win" situations, where he just MURDERED his opposing centers (e.g. he had one clinching game, against Russell, in which he outrebounded him by a 36-21 margin.)

And finally, in the known FG% games in which we have, Chamberlain not only shot an eye-popping .582 in those "do-or-die" games, but he held his opposing centers to a combined .413 FG%. BTW, he played against Kareem in two "clinching" games, and held Abdul-Jabbar to a combined .383 shooting in those two games, while shooting .545 himself (18-33.) How many series was Wilt outshot in his SIX Finals? One, in his last season, and NOT by his opposing center, either (he outshot EVERY opposing center in EVERY one of his SIX Finals.) In that ONE series, dikk Barnett outshot him by a .531 to .525 margin. Incidently, in Wilt's SIX Finals, he shot .517, .525, .534, .560 (against Thurmond no less, and in Nate's greatest season....the same Nate who held Kareem to .486, .428, and even .405 shooting in their three H2H post-season series), .600, and .625 (on one leg, and in a seven game series.)

The bottom line, in the known games of the 35 that Wilt played in that involved a "must-win" or clincher, Wilt averaged 27 ppg, 26.1 rpg, and shot .582 (and the 27 ppg figure was known for all 35 of those games.)

Chamberlain played in 11 games which went to the series limit (nine game seven's, one game five of a best-of-five series, and one game three of a best-of-three series), and all he did was average 29.9 ppg (outscoring his opposing center by a 29.9 ppg to 9.8 ppg margin in the process), with 26.7 rpg, and on .581 shooting. Or he was an eye-lash away from averaging a 30-27 game, and on nearly .600 shooting, in those 11 "at the limit" games. Oh, and BTW, Chamberlain's TEAMs went 24-11 in those 35 games, too.

List all the HOF's The Dream went through during his title runs.in Wilt's two title runs, he faced teams that had as many as FIVE and SIX HOFers on them. Chamberlain also faced a starting HOF center in 105 of his 160 post-season games, and yet, he was only eliminated in the first round in ONE series (and he just CRUSHED his opposing center in that series BTW.) He battled a PRIME Kareem in 11 games, Thurmond in 17, Reed in 18, and Russell in 49.

BTW, I will be posting some new info regarding his "decline" in the post-season, as well. It is amazing, but given the actual scoring and especially shooting percentages in the Wilt-era POST-SEASONS, he was consistently at or near his regular season numbers.

And, had he had the good "fortune" to have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, EIGHT times, as was the case with Hakeem, his first round numbers were often HIGHER. And, I have read an idiot post claiming that Hakeem outshot Wilt from the field in the post-season (by a .528 to .522 margin), BUT, I will be comparing their post-season LEAGUE AVERAGES, (and even including eFG%'s), which CLEARLY gives Chamberlain a HUGE edge.

As examples, in Wilt's fist eight post-seasons, and in his first round, he averaged

38.7 ppg

37.0 ppg

37.0 ppg

38.6 ppg and on .559 shooting (in a post-season NBA of 105.8 ppg on .420 shooting)

27.8 ppg (and then 30.1 ppg, on .555 shooting, and against Russell)

28.0 ppg

28.0 ppg (and a great example of FG% at .612 in a post-season at .424)

25.5 ppg (and on .584 shooting, while his opposing center, Bellamy was at

20.0 on .421 shooting.)Even in his 11th season, and only four months removed from major knee surgery, Chamberlain put up a first round of 23.7 ppg., 20.3 rpg, and .549.

And, in his 71-72 post-season, he had a 14.5 ppg, 20.8 rpg, .629 first round series (and in an NBA post-season of .446.)

So while Chamberlain was shooting .522 in his post-season career, it came in post-seasons of between .402 to .455.) Meanwhile Hakeem's .528 came in post-seasons of as high as .492, and an efg% as high as .500. MANY in the .485+ range, as well.
 
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