I have been watching past all star games for the last few months and one of the strange things was about Hakeem Olajuwon. He seemed to have less of an offensive impact than other centers of that time.
It is only the all-star game. It doesn't matter much.
However, I also remember the same happening on Dream Team III. Hakeem was just exiting his prime but he was still dropping 27ppg for the Rockets the year before.
The Rockets surrounded Hakeem with role players. He was the focal point. Everything revolved around him. Which makes me wonder if there is something about his game that makes him fall away a bit when surrounded by other top offensive options. It is strange because Hakeem was such a well rounded scorer. But he was also a heavy iso scorer.
It is not something I would be overly concerned about (because Hakeem would still be super-effective even in a 15-20ppg role as a defender / scorer) but it is something to think about.
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I am not against the Kobe & Hakeem combo. I think they can work well together. That team could go a few different ways and build something awesome.
I hadn't thought of a high end glue guy for them. That wouldn't be a priority for me but it would work well for them.
I love the defense & quickness of the combination most of all. That is what stands out most to me (more than their scoring punch). And that is a fantastic base to build around (darn you Dirk!). Then they have tremendous iso scorers to fall back on when defenses D up and Kobe's playmaking from the wing (to aid your PG and give extra creativity). There is lots of ways to build a top notch team around that.
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On another note, I'd rate Hakeem's passing similar to Dirk's. It is good and they showed that they could run an offense through them and win a title ... but it doesn't stand out next to the greatest of the great (teams that revolve around Bird, Magic, MJ, LeBron, Oscar, even Shaq) that each will be competing against in this tournament.
Personally, I think Hakeem is more suited to a lesser role because of that. More of a 18-22ppg threat than a 25-30ppg threat. Let him concentrate more on his defense and wrecking havoc on opposing team's offenses.