is there such a thing? A more appreciative fan base? The debate around Sengun will remain because its a similar debate around Sabonis in Sacramente and was similar in Denver with Jokic until he won. Its part of being the type of player he is.
I’m a sengun fan but do think we have a bit of an ill fitting combination of players. It’s possible alpi, as good as he is, is not optimal for the way IME wants to play.
This looks like the Russell Westbrook justification again. Getting rid of center so Russ can cook on his drives. Small ball du-jour. But then the bigger longer Lakers guarding the paint, grabbing boards, neutralizing away that effect. If Hall of Famers Harden & Westbrook couldnt pull it off, what makes 12 good games, 3 lifetime double-doubles Jalen Green unquestionably the system maker?
Rockets have won 7 out of the last 8 games and Sengun was there for four of them. I understand that it's nice to have a stretch 5 in Jabari, but Landale has been getting 23 minutes per game since Sengun went down and has a positive impact despite not spacing the floor. I don't think Landale is faster or a better defender than Sengun.
One time Hakeem went down with an injury and the Rockets won 15 games in a row without him, he came back and realized his teamates could score too and the team took off, that was the year before the first championship. So while they aren't better, there is still something to learn from it, for both players on the court and those injured.....and when they get put back together, we can take the best of both.....and really take off. Very VERY excited for next season. DD
You're mis-remembering. The Rockets had 4 double digit winning streaks during Olajuwon's career here. 15 games to start the '93-94 season. Nov 5, 1993 - Dec 3, 1993 15 games in the '92-93 season. Feb. 13, 1993 - Mar 19, 1993 13 games in the '90-'91 season. May 3, 1991 - May 30, 1991 11 games in the '92-'93 season. Apr 1, 1993 - Apr 24, 1993 Olajuwon played in every game in each of those 4 double digit winning streaks. The year before their first championship was the '92-'93 season. Olajuwon played in all 82 games that season.
It may not have been 10 games in a row…but I remember when he went down the year DaDa is talking about, Larry Smith (Mr. Mean) stepped up big. They won a bunch of games no one expected them to win. As I recall it was anemia that sidelined Dream. I think that was 1990/91. One of my favorite Rocket teams ever…and when I fell in love with my namesake on this website.
DD explicitly said it was the '93 season but it obviously wasn't. I'm sure that he was thinking of the '90-91 season as that was the only time around the championship years wher Hakeem missed significant time. Olajuwon missed 25 games after suffering a fractured orbital socket courtesy of a Bill Cartwright elbow. In his absence, the Rockets went 15-10. During those 25 games they had a 4 game best winning streak and a 4 game losing streak. They did a great job of staying afloat without Hakeem but it was nowhere close to a 15 game winning streak.
They will need to learn to play each other. The thing about Sengun he can play high post. Keep going back to the Knicks and Kings game . Usual suspects starting ish again.
