Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What? He might be back within 10 days. He has basically the same injury Kobe is currently playing with
Quote:
Originally Posted by supermanpansy
Compared to other teams. Their loaded. Look at the lakers. They don't look impressive at all. An aging Kobe trying to prove he's still the best player is going to age him even more going into the playoffs. Boston's not the same team. The Bulls are missing some pieces. Oklahoma city hasn't made any real improvements. San Antonio is too old. And Dallas wiped away their championship caliber team. So tell me, who the heck can beat the Heat????
That's why I said if they can't win "this" year it is a bust..
no, not even close. Loaded, at least to me, means deep in every position and having no holes. The heat have neither. I still think they can win it all as is, but they have issues like any other team.
What? He might be back within 10 days. He has basically the same injury Kobe is currently playing with
no, not even close. Loaded, at least to me, means deep in every position and having no holes. The heat have neither. I still think they can win it all as is, but they have issues like any other team.
I heard 2 months on ESPN so when did 10 days start being reported?
The Lakers team you are referencing had Payton wayyy passt his prime, Malone well past his prime too.
There were still expectations that they could win. The 4 of them combined, kobe, shaq, malone and payton averaged 73 points a game for the season.
The teams I was thinking about from the 90's...
-The rockets. Remember when they got barkley and pippen? They had Olajuwon, Drexler, Barkley.
Those 3 combined for 60 a game in 96/97.
-The sonics added a bunch of talent. Remember when they got Detlef Schrempf? And Hersey Hawkins, Sam Perkins. Respectible talent added to Kemp and Payton.
Those 5 averaged 83.4 points a game when they made it to the Finals in 1996.
The suns had crazy talent in 92/93 and 93/94. Barkley, Majerie, KJ, Dumas, Ceballos, plus Ainge, Chambers?
There were still expectations that they could win. The 4 of them combined, kobe, shaq, malone and payton averaged 73 points a game for the season.
The teams I was thinking about from the 90's...
-The rockets. Remember when they got barkley and pippen? They had Olajuwon, Drexler, Barkley.
Those 3 combined for 60 a game in 96/97.
-The sonics added a bunch of talent. Remember when they got Detlef Schrempf? And Hersey Hawkins, Sam Perkins. Respectible talent added to Kemp and Payton.
Those 5 averaged 83.4 points a game when they made it to the Finals in 1996.
The suns had crazy talent in 92/93 and 93/94. Barkley, Majerie, KJ, Dumas, Ceballos, plus Ainge, Chambers?
The suns had 3 guys averaging 20 a game in 93/94.
I agree those were dissapointing seasons for talented teams, however, I still think this heat team is unique in the sense that you have two top 5 guys, and a top 15 kind of guy coming together in their primes. I don't think there is any fair comparison to be made.
There were still expectations that they could win. The 4 of them combined, kobe, shaq, malone and payton averaged 73 points a game for the season.
The teams I was thinking about from the 90's...
-The rockets. Remember when they got barkley and pippen? They had Olajuwon, Drexler, Barkley.
Those 3 combined for 60 a game in 96/97.
-The sonics added a bunch of talent. Remember when they got Detlef Schrempf? And Hersey Hawkins, Sam Perkins. Respectible talent added to Kemp and Payton.
Those 5 averaged 83.4 points a game when they made it to the Finals in 1996.
The suns had crazy talent in 92/93 and 93/94. Barkley, Majerie, KJ, Dumas, Ceballos, plus Ainge, Chambers?
The suns had 3 guys averaging 20 a game in 93/94.
Pippen and Barkley joined the Suns when they were well past their peaks( Hakeem was past his too). Now Barkley Hakeem, and Pippen/Drexler in their respective primes ( or near them) is an entirely different matter.
Also with respects to the Shaq/Kobe/Malone/Payton Lakers, not only were the latter two well outside their primes, but Malone suffered an injury just prior to the finals. That may or may not have been the difference against the Pistons, but it certainly would have been much closer than a 4-1 result in favor of Detroit. This is also the series where Kobe seemed more intent on one-upping Tayshawn Prince than playing teamball. Shaq was his usual dominant self, but without everyone else on the same page.....
Pippen and Barkley joined the Suns when they were well past their peaks( Hakeem was past his too). Now Barkley Hakeem, and Pippen/Drexler in their respective primes ( or near them) is an entirely different matter.
Also with respects to the Shaq/Kobe/Malone/Payton Lakers, not only were the latter two well outside their primes, but Malone suffered an injury just prior to the finals. That may or may not have been the difference against the Pistons, but it certainly would have been much closer than a 4-1 result in favor of Detroit. This is also the series where Kobe seemed more intent on one-upping Tayshawn Prince than playing teamball. Shaq was his usual dominant self, but without everyone else on the same page.....
I wouldn't call the 96/97 rocket season, "well past" their peak.
Olajuwon was coming off of 2 Finals MVPs. He averaged 23 a game. Barkley averaged 19.2 a game, 13.5 rebounds? Drexler averaged 18 a game.
Plus the rockets had a good supporting cast...i.e. mario elie. Remember the intangibles coming together when the rockets won 2 titles in 94 and 95? Cassell, Horry, Kenny Smith.
Pippen was still NBA all defensive first team when he was with the rockets in 98/99. The lockout probably threw off everyones numbers that year.
I think it shows, nothing is really guaranteed in the NBA. You can go your entire career without winning a title (Karl Malone, second most points all time). You can get traded to some talented teams (barkley to the suns and rockets).
Dwayne Wade is already 30. Another 3-4 years, he's going to be the same age that Drexler was in 96. The next 3-4 years for the heat are going to be very interesting.
I wouldn't call the 96/97 rocket season, "well past" their peak.
Olajuwon was coming off of 2 Finals MVPs. He averaged 23 a game. Barkley averaged 19.2 a game, 13.5 rebounds? Drexler averaged 18 a game.
.
They were far enough from their peaks. Olajuwan was actually two years removed from his finals mvps, the last being in 1995. The following year, Jordan took home the finals MVP capping that epic win season. In any event, semantics aside, the 97 versions of Hakeem, Barkley, and Drexler were past their primes, despite still being star players. If that trio had come together even two years earlier, that team would have been devastating, particularly with the Rockets solid role players.
In Pippen's case, in 1999 he was coming off back surgery and would never be the same again. And by that point, both Hakeem and Barkley were 37 and even further away from their primes at that point.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
