Anchoring one of the league's best defenses, Olajuwon also won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second consecutive year, also beating out Robinson by a narrow 23 to 22 votes. Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game, and won the league's Most Valuable Player award, ahead of David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls. Still, they held a 34–12 record at the All-Star break, and finished first place in the Midwest Division with a 58–24 record, a franchise record that stood until the 2017-18 team recorded their 59th win. However, the Rockets would cool off as the season progressed, at one point losing four games in a row in January. After losing to the Atlanta Hawks, 133–111 on the road on December 3, the Rockets won their next seven games as well, falling just one victory shy of tying the 1969–70 Knicks (23–1) for the best record with one defeat in NBA history.

The Rockets went off to a great start, winning their first fifteen games of the season to tie the 1948–49 Washington Capitols for the best unbeaten record to open a season, while also posting a 14–0 record in November, before the Golden State Warriors surpassed it in 2015. During the off-season, the Rockets acquired Mario Elie from the Portland Trail Blazers. The 1993–94 NBA season was the Houston Rockets' 27th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season in Houston.

Tod Leiweke (August 1993 – January 1994).

I’m sure Cade really does appreciate the comparison, and there are certainly some things that are similar, but their games aren’t identical and Hill definitely developed a jumper in his career. Cade can get up there too, but there are few forwards in history that could beat people with a first step and dunk on their heads like Grant Hill.

Cade Cunningham’s game is more cerebral and relies on change of pace and elite court vision than jumping over opponents for huge dunks. I think people forget just what an athletic freak Grant Hill was. Hill played more above the rim and could jump out of the gym, as you can witness in these highlights. players who understand the moment and when to take over a game.īut there was one big difference in that Hill was much-more athletic overall and had a first step and crossover that was one of the best in the NBA, and one of the best of all time for a guy his size. Both guys rebound, set up teammates, can create their own shots and defend multiple positions. Cade is going to be an accurate, high-volume 3-point shooter, which Hill never was.Ĭunningham and Hill have plenty in common as playmaking forwards who have versatile and strong all-around games on both ends. That is pretty much the same as DeMar DeRozan, who is now considered one fo the best mid-range players in the game.Ĭade Cunningham shot just 41.6 percent from the floor last season (and about the same from mid-range), worse than any season in Hill’s career, so the more accurate way to phrase it would be “Grant Hill with a 3-point shot” as Hill rarely shot them and when he did, didn’t make many of them. Excuse me? Grant Hill shot over 50 percent from the floor four times in his career and never shot below 44 percent aside from his injury-hampered final season.Ī lot of those buckets were at the rim, but Hill also had a decent mid-range game, so it is a stretch to say he didn’t have a jump shot, especially later in his career, when he was around 47 percent on mid-range jumpers. One thing I take exception to in Anthony’s statement is that Grant Hill didn’t have a jump shot. Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham and Grant Hill This is a comparison we’ve seen before and there are certainly some things about Cunningham and Hill that are similar, but there are also some big differences and one key error in Greg Anthony’s statement.

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1994 houston rockets roster