1995 Finals - Shaq v. Hakeem Tracking

[dankok8]

The 1995 Finals featured an epic big man duel between young Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon. This is my tracking of the two big men in the series and how they fared against each other.



For much of the series, the two men guarded each other. In fact, for most of the time they were on the floor, they were matched up unless one of them was in foul trouble. In those instances, Orlando used Horace Grant on Hakeem and Houston used Charles Jones on Shaq. On a few possessions, both Hakeem and Shaq were switched onto other smaller players who contested them.

Apart from shooting, the tracking also includes fouls drawn and turnovers but I only included turnovers caused by the other player. For example, if Hakeem drew a charge on Shaq or stripped Shaq of the ball, I counted those but if Shaq threw a bad pass that got intercepted by Kenny Smith, I didn't count that.



Game 1: Orlando 118 - 120 Houston (OT)

Shaq: +6 ON, -8 OFF
Hakeem: -7 ON, +9 OFF

When Both ON: Orlando 90 - 77 Houston

When Defending Each Other
Shaq: 19 points, 7/12 shooting, 5/7 FT, 4 fouls drawn, 3 turnovers
Hakeem: 19 points, 8/17 shooting, 3/5 FT, 3 fouls drawn, 1 turnover



Game 2: Orlando 106 - 117 Houston

Shaq: -3 ON, -8 OFF
Hakeem: +5 ON, +6 OFF

When Both ON: Orlando 92 - 93 Houston

When Defending Each Other
Shaq: 18 points, 8/15 shooting, 2/2 FT, 2 fouls drawn, 1 turnover
Hakeem: 18 points, 8/19 shooting, 2/5 FT, 3 fouls drawn, 0 turnovers



Game 3: Houston 106 - 103 Orlando

Shaq: +1 ON, -4 OFF
Hakeem: +4 ON, -1 OFF

When Both ON: Houston 96 - 95 Orlando

When Defending Each Other
Shaq: 23 points, 10/16 shooting, 3/4 FT, 4 fouls drawn, 1 turnover
Hakeem: 16 points, 7/20 shooting, 2/3 FT, 2 fouls drawn, 0 turnovers



Game 4: Houston 113 - 101 Orlando

Shaq: -16 ON +4 OFF
Hakeem: +15 ON -3 OFF

When Both ON: Houston 106 - 87 Orlando

When Defending Each Other
Shaq: 18 points, 9/16 shooting, 0/0 FT, 3 fouls drawn, 3 turnovers
Hakeem: 17 points, 7/17 shooting, 2/2 FT, 2 fouls drawn, 2 turnovers *one 3pt make



Series Summary

Scoring Margin: Houston +28

Shaq: -12 ON -16 OFF
Hakeem: +17 ON +11 OFF

When Both ON: Houston +7

Per 100 Possessions

Shaq ON: 111.8 ORtg, 115.2 DRtg, -3.4 Net Rtg
Hakeem ON: 115.3 ORtg, 110.5 DRtg, +4.8 Net Rtg

Shaq OFF: 89.3 ORtg, 136.9 DRtg, -47.6 Net Rtg
Hakeem OFF: 134.9 ORtg, 104.0 DRtg, +30.9 Net Rtg

Shaq ON-OFF: +44.2 Net Rtg
Hakeem ON-OFF: -26.1 Net Rtg



Series Totals - Man Defense

Hakeem
Defended by Shaq: 70 points, 44.0 %TS (30/73 FG, 9/15 FT), 10 fouls drawn, 3 turnovers
Defended by Grant: 42 points, 62.6 %TS (18/30 FG, 6/8 FT), 4 fouls drawn, 2 turnovers
Defended by Others/Undefended: 19 points, 66.3 %TS (8/13 FG, 3/3 FT), 4 fouls drawn

Shaq
Defended by Hakeem: 78 points, 59.3 %TS (34/60 FG, 10/13 FT), 13 fouls drawn, 8 turnovers
Defended by Jones: 19 points, 60.4 %TS (6/10 FG, 7/13 FT), 8 fouls drawn, 3 turnovers
Defended by Others/Undefended: 15 points, 67.9 %TS (4/4 FG, 7/16 FT), 9 fouls drawn



Conclusions:

In the direct matchup, Shaq got the better of Hakeem scoring more on much higher efficiency and drawing more fouls on the other. Although Hakeem forced more turnovers on Shaq than vice versa, it's hard to say that Hakeem didn't lose the matchup.

it was a contrast of styles with Shaq overwhelming Hakeem with raw strength and athleticism and Hakeem getting the better of Shaq in face up situations beating him off the dribble and with his jukes, spins, and dream shakes.

As for who was the better overall player in the series, I'd probably call it a wash. Hakeem dominated when defended by Horace Grant who is a really good defender more so than Shaq dominated Charles Jones. Hakeem also had an edge in overall team defense although Shaq was quite good in this area himself. Shaq not only did a great job defending Hakeem but he blocked more shots than Olajuwon in the series and was very active defensively.

Ultimately the play of these two monsters isn't what determined the series. Excluding Drexler and Penny who in my opinion also played each other close to a draw, the supporting cast of the Rockets completely outplayed that of Orlando. Anderson after infamously missing the four free throws at the end of regulation in Game 1 was shook and never the same afterwards. Dennis Scott's shooting was off all series and he gave the team virtually nothing as well and since Anderson and Scott averaged around 40 mpg, that hurt the Magic a lot. On the other hand, the likes of Horry, Cassell, Elie and Kenny Smith were amazingly clutch, devastating in transition and shot the lights out from 3pt range. It was the Rockets' role players that won this series.

[Im Still Ballin]

Nice stuff.

[SouBeachTalents]

Great research I wish there were more instances of stat tracking of when two stars actually guarded each other like this.

It's amazing Shaq did this against Hakeem at just 23 years old after Hakeem absolutely murked prime Ewing & Robinson

[SATAN]

I still have a few of those games on VHS. I was always under the impression that Hakeem got it over Shaq when it mattered although I haven't re-watched for a long time.

OP wasn't even watching basketball at all when this series went down btw.

[plowking]

Shaq gives his respect to Hakeem, and he actually built the narrative against himself - because people act as if players words are gospel for judging matchups and rankings.

Shaq was the better player. He played just as well, if not better, but was let down by his teammates. Won the individual matchups, scored more in crunch time, and was the better 4th quarter player.

American sports fans just love a narrative too much and pretend there are intangibles they can't ever actually describe at play, eg "he just wins".

[iamgine]

Shaq-Penny and Hakeem-Drexler is kind of a wash.

It's a matter of Houston's role players making their shots while Orlando's sharp shooters couldn't buy a bucket.

It's like Ray Allen in 2008 Cavs & 2009 Orlando & 2010 Lakers series. Arguably greatest shooter of all time, but had really bad shooting performance so many times in pivotal moments.

[L.Kizzle]

The bigger battle was probably Penny vs Clyde, IMO.
Penny was supposed to be the next great superstar basically got outplayed by a past prime Clyde Drexler.
Clyde is an underrated Finals performer.
If Penny dominates Clyde, it's probably a different outcome.
Also check out Nick Anderson and Kenny Smith stats from game to game. Both had game 1's to remember (for very different reasons.)

[iamgine]

The bigger battle was probably Penny vs Clyde, IMO.
Penny was supposed to be the next great superstar basically got outplayed by a past prime Clyde Drexler.

lol no Penny did not get outplayed.

[90sgoat]

Seems as if Hakeem got more shots up in general.

Maybe because he had a much bigger bag and a superior range.

Shaq might have been more dominant and it looks better in the stats, but his lack of range also slowed down his teams and led to more wasted and rushed possessions.

This was an issue even with the Lakers and particularly that last Lakers team. Kobe was done waiting for lazy Shaq to get possession, only to have to pass it out again because he was too far from the basket to be effective.

Hakeem on the other hand, could operate from the 3 point line, which mean the offense could be more dynamic.

[Nowoco]

Robert Horry put up 18PPG in that series. He cant have had many, if any, higher scoring series?

[Baller234]

Shaq gives his respect to Hakeem, and he actually built the narrative against himself - because people act as if players words are gospel for judging matchups and rankings.

Shaq was the better player. He played just as well, if not better, but was let down by his teammates. Won the individual matchups, scored more in crunch time, and was the better 4th quarter player.

American sports fans just love a narrative too much and pretend there are intangibles they can't ever actually describe at play, eg "he just wins".

You don't think there are intangibles when it comes to sports? You don't think there is mental game being played that runs parallel to the physical game at all times?

You ever hear Shaq's teammates in interviews and podcasts? They all swear he can hit free throws in practice but when the light are on and the stage is big he can't shoot for shit. That is an intangible. Being unreliable in the clutch hurts your team and forces others to have to step up in your place.