If prime Robinson and prime Duncan switched era's

[TDMVPDPOY]

Finally, Bryant and Gasol didn’t play well against the Celtics because the Celtics had a great gameplan in shutting both of them down. And I am fine with that, it wasn’t because either of them choked, it was because the Celtics had a great game plan geared towards the two, much like what the Rockets did to Robinson in 95.

pass the crack and come with me to the drug rehab center....

losing by 40pts in a final game decider, if that aint choking, then i dunno what to call it

[VivaPopovich]

no difference

avery/elie/sean aren't as good as parker/gino/bowen

[ambchang]

He didn't. Hakeem wasn't pissed off and taking the matchup as personal in the regular season. A trip to the Finals also wasn't on the line. Bottom line, you are comparing apples and oranges.

Apples and oranges? You mean comparing how Robinson performed vs. the Rockets is so different from comparing how Robinson performed vs. the Rockets, that it deserved to be categorized as two different family of fruits? I don’t see this, and if you could, then please clarify it for me.

Besides, I would have thought winning the le would be enough motivation to play well, I never realized that Hakeem was so unprofessional that he has to take personal glory to motivate him to perform at his best. And he didn’t seem that pissed off in the only game the Rockets couldn’t nail 3 pters. With that level emotional fluctuation, I would have thought maybe Hakeem was hitting his menopause.

Also, I hear you on the 3-point argument, but as I keep stating, that argument doesn't carry much weight because in some of those games they rarely shot the 3 ball. Not to mention that makes no sense (that they weren't shooting it) if Robinson was drawing as much attention as you claim he was. The Spurs were 2-7 in Game 6, and really 2-6 because Robinson took one of those 3's. Again, are you arguing that Elliott and Person both going 0-1 from behind the arc really impacted what Robinson did offensively?

Of course it does. The strategy of stopping the Spurs in the playoffs is to crowd the lane, and dare the outside shooters to nail outside shots. It has been that way since forever. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the Spurs weren’t that great of a 3 pt shooting them. Afterall, they finished 19th in 3pt shooting attempts in the 94-95 season. The only team that finished lower than the Spurs that season, and wasn’t NBA doormat level was the Jazz. But then again, the Jazz was kicked out in the 1st round by the Rockets.

Also, that was what was so frustrating about the Rockets series, the Spurs were passing, and bricking when taking, outside shots, forcing passes into the low post that went no where. I also credit the quick recovery of the Rockets. With the shortened 3 pt line, the area to cover on the court of perimeter players was much less. Instead of having long quick athletes like Horry and Drexler, or rough defenders like Elie and Cassell, you have players like Del Negro, Avery Johnson and Rodman, people who were incapable or unwilling to recover. The only player who actually did anything defensively on the perimeter was Sean Elliott.

You are correct. But the point is their perceptions, as far as how close they were, completely changed after that series.

I have absolutely no problems with that. In fact, I know. I just don’t agree with that perception. Such as how dominant Shaq was, I don’t agree with it. The man was good, but no way was he on the same level as the Hakeems and Duncans of the world.

That's true. But when there is a situation where you are going for all the marbles, and one star clearly get's the better of the other in their individual matchup, I don't see how you can't say that one player got the better of the other.

Hakeem clearly got the better of Robinson, but the argument has always been due to the way both teams played. Bob Hill was played like a drum by Rudy T., and the supporting casts stepped way up on the Rockets side, instead of some magical ascension of play.

[ambchang]

pass the crack and come with me to the drug rehab center....

losing by 40pts in a final game decider, if that aint choking, then i dunno what to call it

Some people think for themselves, while others let the media think for them.

If you can’t recognize the absolutely fantastic job the Celtics did on the defensive end, I am not even sure why you became a Spurs fan.