Tag: Kenny Smith

All-Time Golden State Warriors vs. All-Time Houston Rockets

Our next Sweet Sixteen match features two teams who have embraced the modern day basketball revolution. The Warriors, featuring the best shooting backcourt (and team) in NBA history, are in the middle of an historic two-year stretch of dominance. The Rockets, led by General Manager Daryl Morey, have helped to popularize the analytics movement, and have built an annual contender around these principles. Despite these similarities, both of their all-time teams are built from the inside-out, with dominant big men serving as the primary option on each squad. Who has the advantage between the All-Time Golden State Warriors vs. All-Time Houston Rockets?

All-Time Golden State Warriors vs. All-Time Houston Rockets

Key Matchups

Battle of the starting big men: Each team features a Twin Towers configuration in their starting lineup with two of the greatest big men in NBA history. The Warriors feature the indomitable Wilt Chamberlain, the greatest scoring machine in league history, alongside Neil Johnston, a pioneering big man who was one of the best players of his generation. The Rockets feature the legendary Hakeem Olajuwon, one of the greatest all-around centers in league history, alongside Moses Malone, the greatest offensive rebounder who ever lived. The matchup between Chamberlain and Olajuwon will be particularly noteworthy, as they are two of the most athletic big men to ever play the game.

Olajuwon gets ready for the biggest challenge of his career - Wilt Chamberlain Copyright © Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com
Olajuwon gets ready for the biggest challenge of his career – Wilt Chamberlain
Copyright © Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com

Biggest Mismatches

Golden State’s three-point shooting advantage: The Warriors feature some of the best shooters in NBA history. Stephen Curry is the all-time leader in single season three pointers made, and he’s on pace to shatter that record in the 2015-16 season. Paul Arizin was one of the best shooters of his era, and Rick Barry had tremendous range from the small forward position. Off the bench, Chris Mullin and Tim Hardaway were also excellent three point shooting threats. The Rockets feature Kenny Smith, one of the better shooters of his era, but they don’t have many other options to compete with Golden State from the outside.

Houston’s athleticism advantage on the wing: While Clyde Drexler and Tracy McGrady weren’t great shooters with Houston (shooting 33.9% and 32.2% from downtown with the team, respectively), they were tremendous athletes who could overwhelm their opponents in an open court game. Arizin was a great athlete for his era, but he and Barry do not have the size or athleticism to stop the Houston duo without help from their big men.

Houston’s big man depth: In addition to Olajuwon and Malone, Houston features a slew of Hall-of-Fame and all-star big men off the bench. They will attempt to frustrate Chamberlain with behemoths Yao Ming and Ralph Sampson, and will also substitute in Elvin Hayes and Rudy Tomjanovich to play alongside their centers. Golden State will give plenty of minutes to Hall-of-Famer Nate Thurmond, a defensive specialist, alongside Chamberlain, but they’ll have their hands full trying to contain all of Houston’s low post options.

X-Factor

Defense: Will either of these teams be able to stop the other? Houston has Olajuwon, one of the greatest defenders ever, and can pair him up with Elvin Hayes or Otis Thorpe when they need stops. Golden State can feature a defensive frontcourt of Chamberlain, Thurmond, and Tom Gola, and can pack the paint without fearing Houston’s three-point shooting.

Results

Golden State’s inside-out game proves to be too much for the Rockets to handle. Despite the best efforts of Olajuwon and Malone, the Rockets are unable to match Golden State from three-point range, and the Warriors advance.

Warriors win, four games to two.

Next Round

Golden State faces the All-Time Spurs.

All-Time Houston Rockets Team

All-Time Houston Rockets Team Infographic 2

The All-Time Houston Rockets team is…missing somebody. When I started this tournament, I thought it was important to put certain rules in place to ensure that each player had a long-lasting impact on his franchise. Thus, every player must have played (at least part of) four years with the franchise in question, plus 200 or more games. The only exception is for the newest expansion teams, who have no chance of advancing in the tournament anyway. Unfortunately, James Harden, who is well on his way to becoming the greatest guard in franchise history, just completed his third year with the team, and does not yet qualify for inclusion. I’m sorry Houston. My arbitrary rules really hurt you here. Despite this omission, this team will be very difficult to play, due in large part to their collection of quality big men.

Ironically, one of the biggest teams in the tournament has one of the smallest players as their starting lead guard. Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy, the “Pocket Rocket,” only stood at 5’9”, but was lightning-quick and emerged as one of the greatest free throw shooters in NBA history. Surprisingly, he made only one all-star game in his career, but he was a valuable offensive player who could play at either guard position. He’s joined in the backcourt by fellow Hall-of-Famer Clyde Drexler. In his Houston years, Drexler was no longer charged with being his team’s go-to-guy, but he was still an excellent all-around player who fit in perfectly with their Hall-of-Fame center (more on him momentarily). They’re backed up by guards Kenny Smith and Steve Francis. Smith will be an integral role player on this team; he’s by far their best three-point shooter, and does not need the ball in his hands to be effective. Francis was a ball-dominant guard who won a Rookie of the Year award and made three all-star games with the Rockets before his career disintegrated. Although he might not be the best fit on this team with other (and better) scorers, he’s another talented offensive weapon that can hurt opposing defenses.

Tracy McGrady is the starting small forward. Already, I chronicled his amazing peak years; in Houston, he didn’t quite hit the heights of his Orlando years, but he was still a brilliant all-around offensive weapon (this will always go down as one of the great sequences in league history). He’ll combine with Drexler to give this team a versatile and lengthy wing combination. He’s joined in the starting lineup by two of the greatest centers in NBA history. Moses Malone won two MVP awards as a Rocket, and established his reputation as perhaps the greatest offensive rebounder of the modern era (he currently ranks first in NBA history, though this stat was not officially recorded until the 1973-74 season). Hakeem Olajuwon led the franchise to its only two championships with his clutch play and all-around brilliance. He raised his game in the playoffs, averaging 26.6 PPG, 11.4 RPG, and 3.3 BPG while shooting 52.8% in 140 playoff games with Houston. In three Finals appearances, he averaged 27.5 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 3.2 BPG while shooting 48.8% in 17 games against four of the greatest centers ever (Robert Parish and Bill Walton in 1986, Patrick Ewing in 1994, and Shaquille O’Neal in 1995). They’re backed up by five-time all-star Rudy Tomjanovich, a natural power forward who will have to play some time at the three for this team, and a host of power players. Elvin Hayes was a 20-10 man for the Rockets who currently ranks in the top 10 in NBA history in total points and rebounds. Otis Thorpe was a solid power forward who will play sparingly in this stacked frontcourt. The backup centers are two of the tallest players in NBA history, 7’5” Yao Ming and 7’4” Ralph Sampson. Both suffered from injuries that derailed their careers, but each was very effective in their time with the Rockets. Sampson was a versatile big man who played alongside Hakeem Olajuwon in their second NBA Finals appearance, and Ming was a dominant offensive player, who, if he qualified, would rank 11th in NBA history in true shooting percentage and 17th in PER.

Expect this team to play two big men at all times, and to experiment with some three-big lineups. They should play at a slow pace, and pound the ball inside on offense. The 12th seeded team in our tournament, they have a fascinating first-round match up with the All-Time Suns.

Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich (he’ll be pulling double-duty as a player-coach)

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .517