San Antonio Express-New (Registration Required) <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Tim Duncan received some last-minute pointers from one of the NBA's greatest centers Thursday morning. And it wasn't David Robinson. Hakeem Olajuwon, a longtime rival of the Spurs as a member of the Houston Rockets, made an unexpected visit to the team's practice facility Thursday morning. Olajuwon arranged to get a ticket to Thursday's game from a mutual friend of his and Sean Marks. When he asked to see the team, the Spurs invited him to their morning shootaround. "I loved playing with that guy," said Robert Horry, who teamed with Olajuwon in Houston and remains close friends with him. "That's one of the most phenomenal athletes and a great human being." Olajuwon said he had seen how teams were defending Duncan and showed him a few moves. "I was surprised really by his anticipation," Olajuwon said of Duncan. "That's a great quality. It was, 'How can I benefit from you?' I feel honored in that sense. I want to help open up his game." He also worked with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Brett Brown, the team's director of player development, showing them his classic baseline spin move. "He had a strong opinion based on observation," Brown said. "If he's throwing stuff out and seeing some things ... you better listen." The Spurs don't expect Duncan to show off the "Dream Shake" anytime soon. "I played with him for four years, and I still don't know how to do it," Horry said. Olajuwon said Thursday's game was the first he had watched in person since the Rockets retired his jersey in November 2002.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Dream night: Olajuwon has fond memories of what he called his greatest playoff series with the Rockets ? the 1995 Western Conference finals against the Spurs. The Spurs had amassed 62 regular-season victories and had home-court advantage, but Olajuwon had a monster Game 1 on the night Robinson received the NBA Most Valuable Player trophy. Rumor had it that before the game Olajuwon told his teammates: "That man has my trophy." Olajuwon scored 27 points and added eight rebounds and five blocks in the Rockets' 94-93 victory. Houston went on to win the best-of-seven series 4-2. </div> Ahh... I hate the fact that a Houston Legend is helping out the rival Spurs. Oh well, Hakeem is just a great person looking to help. I hope Duncan doesnt add that Dream Shake to his arsenal. That move is deadly. Maybe while Hakeem is back in the States he can head over to Houston to help out Yao with his game. That is if Yaos still here and not in China.
I think Hakeem realizes that Duncan is in his class, whereas Yao is a few rungs below. I don't think Yao has the quickness or coordination to pull off the Dream Shake effectively.
maybe hakeem wud have helped yao if the rockets were in the finals. or hakeem considers duncan the future hakeem olajuwon
Wow... from Legend to Legend... No wonder Duncan was so dominant yesterday vs. the Pistons haha. I would love to see the Dream Shake being passed down to generations haha... I would just love to watch it again and see Duncan effectively pull it off against Rasheed.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">I think Hakeem realizes that Duncan is in his class, whereas Yao is a few rungs below. I don't think Yao has the quickness or coordination to pull off the Dream Shake effectively.</div> Don't you remember the shake he did to the pacers? Artest and O'Neal both fell for it.
Duncan will never be in Hakeem's class. First off, The Spurs have alot of talent surrounding Duncan. The 94 Rockets really didn't have near the talent, and Hakeem was STILL dominating. The offense doesn't circle Duncan, meaning that he doesn't have to have a outstanding game every night, but Hakeem had to come through everynight.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Duncan will never be in Hakeem's class. First off, The Spurs have alot of talent surrounding Duncan. The 94 Rockets really didn't have near the talent, and Hakeem was STILL dominating. The offense doesn't circle Duncan, meaning that he doesn't have to have a outstanding game every night, but Hakeem had to come through everynight.</div> I agree with that, but .. Duncan is the most fundamental player in the NBA. He is the closest to Hakeem in that sense, but Garnett is pretty close to Hakeem in the sense of athletic ability. Like you said, Duncan could have a bad night here and there, and his team would have a good chance of winning, Hakeem never had that luxury. Hakeem was a beast in so many ways. Offensively he was dominant. He could out run a guard, he still is the all-time leader in blocks, on top of that his footwork alone was a joy to watch. I remember in the 94-95 playoffs, can't remember which game, but it was against the Spurs. Hakeem pulled the Dream Shake on Robinson, who got faked atleast 4 times, then Olajuwon just dropped it in. All this talk of Hakeem brings back some good memories..
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drake:</div><div class="quote_post">Don't you remember the shake he did to the pacers? Artest and O'Neal both fell for it.</div> Every once and a while he might pull it off. But he'll fall over himself 4 times out of 10. Hakeems strengths offensively (agility, lateral movement) are clearly Yao's most glaring weaknesses. It doesn't make sense for him to pattern his game after Hakeem.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rockfan06:</div><div class="quote_post">Duncan will never be in Hakeem's class. First off, The Spurs have alot of talent surrounding Duncan. The 94 Rockets really didn't have near the talent, and Hakeem was STILL dominating. The offense doesn't circle Duncan, meaning that he doesn't have to have a outstanding game every night, but Hakeem had to come through everynight.</div> Firstly, you're looking at Hakeem's peak, MVP season. But compare that year to Duncan's 2002 season. It's pretty close, statistically, and the Spurs didn't have a single other player that year averaging more than 12.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, or 4.3 assists that year. It's tough to see he had more talent around him that year. Duncan's 2002 numbers: 40.6, 25.5 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.5 bpg, 3.2 tpg Hakeem's 1994 numbers: 41.0 mpg, 27.3 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 3.7 bpg, 3.4 tpg If you also factor in that the Spurs played at a much slower pace than Hakeem's team, I think you'll find that these numbers are pretty close.
