Recreating '94 Rockets today with Hakeem - How far would they go?

[iamgine]

Hakeem Olajuwon
Cam Johnson
Max Strus
Malik Beasley
Spencer Dinwiddie

To me this seems like pretty good equivalent of how good the '94 Rockets core were compared to their competition at the time. How far would this team go?

[RRR3]

Lol that's a first round exit at best.

[meat]

Lol that's a first round exit at best.

That's what you'd say about the 94 roster too. But Hakeem made it happen.

[L.Kizzle]

So Cam supposed to be Otis Thorpe and Malik is Mad Max?

[beasted]

You have a gross misjudgment of defensive ability.

Malik Beasley is a below average defender while Vernon Maxwell was a good defender. Max Strus is an average at best defender while Horry was a good defender. Cam Johnson is an average defender while Thorpe was a good defender.

The OP seems to make the false assumption that the Rockets became the 2nd overall defense solely on the impact of Hakeem which is plain wrong.

Swap Beasley, Strus, and Johnson with Derrick White, Dillon Brooks, and OG Anunoby. I'm fine with the Dinwiddie placement.

[HoopsNY]

They're winning the chip. : )

[Im Still Ballin]

Hakeem would probably be a 1.10+ PPP post-up scorer on 10+ post-up possessions per game. A RealGM-tracked sample of 58 games from 1993-1995 had him at 1.13 PPP on 16.7 post-up possessions per game.

Embiid did 1.08 PPP on 9.3 post-up possessions per game in 2021. I think it's reasonable to think Hakeem does at least 1.10 PPP on 10+ post-up possessions.

[RRR3]

They're winning the chip. : )

[ArbitraryWater]

Hakeem playing at the same level? Would go deep

[meat]

You have a gross misjudgment of defensive ability.

Malik Beasley is a below average defender while Vernon Maxwell was a good defender. Max Strus is an average at best defender while Horry was a good defender. Cam Johnson is an average defender while Thorpe was a good defender.

The OP seems to make the false assumption that the Rockets became the 2nd overall defense solely on the impact of Hakeem which is plain wrong.

Swap Beasley, Strus, and Johnson with Derrick White, Dillon Brooks, and OG Anunoby. I'm fine with the Dinwiddie placement.

Well hell, that'd be a great team! Way better than what Dream had. Except Dillon Brooks. **** that guy.

[HoopsNY]

I'm joking lol

[beasted]

Well hell, that'd be a great team! Way better than what Dream had. Except Dillon Brooks. **** that guy.

Are they really though?

These guys average 15 or less in a much faster paced game, in an era with rules that assist offense.

[dankok8]

Without trying to find modern equivalents...

The 94 Rockets' role players played good defense and could really knock down threes. They wouldn't be the title favorite but they would be a dangerous underdog like they were back then. You definitely don't want to face playoff Hakeem surrounded by a bunch of 3&D guys.

[FKAri]

Hakeem would probably be a 1.10+ PPP post-up scorer on 10+ post-up possessions per game. A RealGM-tracked sample of 58 games from 1993-1995 had him at 1.13 PPP on 16.7 post-up possessions per game.

Embiid did 1.08 PPP on 9.3 post-up possessions per game in 2021. I think it's reasonable to think Hakeem does at least 1.10 PPP on 10+ post-up possessions.

His PPP would be lower than what it was in the 90s. It's too easy to force a big to pick up the dribble for no cost. Guys can stand anywhere between their man and you for as long as they want and the decision making gets more complicated for the guy posting up. Back in the day if a guy got too close you could easily dump it back out and re-establish. That almost never happens now because the defense barely has to budge while the offense just wasted clock. Hakeem's unique in that unlike most bigs he could make a quick first move and was great at the face up. But the PPP would still be lower I think.

Without trying to find modern equivalents...

The 94 Rockets' role players played good defense and could really knock down threes. They wouldn't be the title favorite but they would be a dangerous underdog like they were back then. You definitely don't want to face playoff Hakeem surrounded by a bunch of 3&D guys.

The Rockets role players would be even more dangerous today. It's why it's hard to create 1:1 comparisons. You can't just pick the X'th best PPG or Y'th best shooter and plug him in.

[Im Still Ballin]

His PPP would be lower than what it was in the 90s. It's too easy to force a big to pick up the dribble for no cost. Guys can stand anywhere between their man and you for as long as they want and the decision making gets more complicated for the guy posting up. Back in the day if a guy got too close you could easily dump it back out and re-establish. That almost never happens now because the defense barely has to budge while the offense just wasted clock. Hakeem's unique in that unlike most bigs he could make a quick first move and was great at the face up. But the PPP would still be lower I think.



The Rockets role players would be even more dangerous today. It's why it's hard to create 1:1 comparisons. You can't just pick the X'th best PPG or Y'th best shooter and plug him in.

But Embiid did 1.08 PPP on 9.3 post-up possessions per game. Hakeem's tracked numbers from 1993-1995 aren't that far off that. Only the volume is 55-56% higher.

I stand by my claim. Hakeem passes the eye test on footage. What spacing and ease of post entry that was lost with the removal of the Illegal Defense rule is mediated by the improved spacing from the increased shooting.