Big men who can be good Hakeem Olajuwon protégés – NBA Feature Part 1
Hakeem Olajuwon is no doubt one of the best big men in NBA history. The 49 year old Hall of Famer is known for his post moves which saw him be a leader for the Houston Rocket and bringing home back to back NBA Championships.
The legendary big man has had his fair share of battles down in the post with the likes of Patrick Ewing and David Robinson and coming out victor in most of those show downs earned him the nick name “The Dream” for his exploits
inside the paint.
In the past few seasons Olajuwon has been offering post up lessons to the stars of today. And the like of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard have experienced success following coaching lessons from the Hall of famer. The
most recent NBA All-star to ask for the services of Olajuwon has been Amare’ Stoudemire of the New York Knicks as the young power forward hopes to become an dominating post player.
There are a lot of big men in the NBA who have the talent to be true dominating presences in the paint but lack the precision and skill required to playing with their back to the basket. But with a little help from Olajuwon could
show significant signs of improvement in their post play and given the amount of time can work their way to be regarded as feared big men in the NBA. So here is a list of players who can benefit from coaching tips from the legendary centre.
Blake Griffin
An important big man on the list is Blake Griffin who can learn quite a few things from Olajuwon. Griffin is known for his high flying exploits which have earned him quite a few highlight plays for his career.
In his time playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, he has come to be known as a high flyer which has gotten him crowd recognition and a place in the All-Star centre. However one aspect of his game that has gotten a faire share of
criticism has been his ability to post up against other dominating big men in the NBA.
There can be no doubt that the Lob City phenomenon, ever since its arrival has taken the NBA by storm and the combination of Griffin and Paul is getting is recognition. But as charming as those high flying plays look, they will
not be of much use while facing tough defences and last season’s playoff struggles against the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs are mere proof of that fact.
Griffin is known for attacking the rim with fierce intensity but while coming up against other big men like Roy Hibbert, Andrew Bynum and the ever ageing talents of Tim Duncan has gotten him in trouble. This is where Olajuwon’
coaching can come into effect and help Griffin get rid of his troubles.
One of the main things which Griffin can learn is how to play pick and roll offence and not just look to attack the basket but have a more assertive presence with is back to the basket. He may not be able to be a more defensive
player but having the footwork to play in the post can do wonders for his offensive style which at the moment is pretty one-dimensioned.
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