Houston, We Had A Dynasty - Officially Retired

[George7]

Great stuff Axel!

Can Martin be considered as Houston's MJ??

[kibaxx7]

Lovin' it man. Nice to see Halstead playing like that in his career.

[Axel The Great]

Once again Axel., a great read.

Great stuff.

Thanks guys.

Great job on this. Donte has 6 rings! 6!

So do Shane, Kevin, and AB.

Why in the world Orlando retired AB's jersey number?

Anyways, good article! It sucks to see some players transfer to other teams, especially Scola returning to San Antonio.

Thanks. Answer to your question:

He played well with Dwight Howard; they both led the team in scoring at 20 ppg apiece. Brooks played the rest of his career with the Magic, winning one more title there before retiring after the 2021-22 season.

REPEATED? YEAH. CONGRATULATIONS YOU WON!

THANKS. CONGRATULATIONS, YOUR CAPS LOCK OFFICIALLY ANNOY ME.

Great stuff Axel!

Can Martin be considered as Houston's MJ??

Yes, pretty much. Although he still doesn't come close to MJ, or Olajuwon.

Lovin' it man. Nice to see Halstead playing like that in his career.

Yeah, Halstead was everyone's favorite in the story. It'd be a crime to have him be a 12th man his entire career.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Thread still isn't over though.

[Andrew]

Good to hear. Once you've finished with the epilogue posts, I'll leave the thread here for at least a few days in case anyone else wants to catch up on it and post some feedback, then I'd say we can induct it into the Hall of Fame.

[Axel The Great]

Sounds good. The epilogue posts are done though. There's about one or two things before the thread's over.

[Radioman]

Gratulations to your second title !

I like those Epilogues

Good Luck with your new team in 2k11

[Andrew]

Sounds good. The epilogue posts are done though. There's about one or two things before the thread's over.

Fair enough, look forward to them.

[Mandich]

This one was special

[Alpha_]

I will surely miss this one.well, it's over! Good job man!

[Stress Fracture]

HOF-bound!

[rise]

into the HOF this goes!

I'd like to know what the other things left for this dynasty are though...

[Houndy]

It's about half way in, but Axel is pulling it out screaming, "2 MORE THINGS."

[Axel The Great]

Gratulations to your second title !

I like those Epilogues

Good Luck with your new team in 2k11

Thanks! Glad you liked the epilogues.

Sounds good. The epilogue posts are done though. There's about one or two things before the thread's over.

Fair enough, look forward to them.

One's just an article. Not gonna spill any more beans.

This one was special

I will surely miss this one.well, it's over! Good job man!

HOF-bound!

Thanks guys!

into the HOF this goes!

I'd like to know what the other things left for this dynasty are though...

You'll know soon enough.

It's about half way in, but Axel is pulling it out screaming, "2 MORE THINGS."

10 more seasons!!! Nah, but like I've said before, you'll know soon enough.

Still can't believe I've made it this far. I'm really glad to see the epilogues get so much praise!

[Axel The Great]

So as the title suggests, the following article is about the top 10 Rockets to play under the NBA Live 10 god, Axel. Obviously I didn't play many seasons to have a wide variety of players to choose from, but still, 10 out of the 17 players that played for Axel make the cut, here they are:

The Notable Snub, aka Number 11: Ray Allen

Ray Allen is snubbed because he always seemed to be in a slump with this Rockets team. He was the notable Rockets' sixth man, but he disappeared in the playoffs. Maybe it was because of Kevin Martin's dominance, or it could've been that the Rockets bench was putting up points together as a group that there was no one player outshining the others. It hurts me not to put him on the top 10, but there's always a worthy snub in every top 10, and here it is.

10. Brad Halstead

Halstead showed that arrogance can take you far in life, but a good attitude will take you farther. First of all, he went from being a star on his high school team, to being the leader of his college team (Fresno St.), and then being the leader of an NBA D-League team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He had multiple triple-doubles there, working his way up, and eventually landing a contract with the Sacramento Kings. With his monster stats in Sacramento, he showed the Rockets that they should've been giving him playing time during his rookie contract. Ending up with 30 career triple-doubles, he had a very successful and proud career, all thanks to Shane Battier, who taught him a valuable lesson in life, which was said in the first sentence of this paragraph.

9. Chuck Hayes

It doesn't get any better than this shooting form. Chuck Hayes had a role bigger than his undersized-for-a-center 6'6" frame. Despite having about a half-foot height disadvantage on most players, he makes up for it with his hustle, and tenacity on defense. A poor-man's Charles Barkley, this is yet another Chuck that has played a big role on the Rockets.

8. Chase Budinger

Bud's best season was interestingly his rookie season. He had to backup Kevin Martin then, and got good enough playing time. With the arrival of Ray Allen, he shifted over to the deep small forward position, where Shane Battier was starting, and Donte Greene was a backup. He shared a backup role with Donte Greene, but yet still managed to contribute a nice share of points in every game. He turned it up in the 2011 Playoffs though, and could've probably snatched the starting job from Shane Battier. When you first look at him, a Scalabrine-esque player comes to mind, but he is a sharp shooter, and has tons of athleticism. I feel he didn't receive much praise throughout the course of the story.

7. Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry wasn't the most well-known player throughout the thread. The little guy was an excellent backup at the point, with many ways to score and setting his teammates up for easy buckets. Also a hard-nosed defender, he can really outhustle big men on the boards. A tenacious little guy is what every team needs, and the Rockets have one in Lowry.

6. Luis Scola

Scola had to live under Yao Ming's shadow throughout the whole story. At times he'd explode in scoring, but really wasn't given the ball too often. When he was given the ball, the Rockets would get awarded by him putting up 10+ points on the board. At times he tended to rely too much on perimeter jumpshots, but if he was attacking the rim, he was much more effective.

5. Shane Battier

Battier hardly ever showed up on the stat sheet. Yet, he was a starting swingman for the Rockets. Why? Defense. There is no official stat for defensive stops per game, but if there was, I'm sure Battier would top that list. He was heavily relied upon to harass the likes of Kobe, LeBron, Durant, and B-Roy as seen in the screenshot. Like Lowry and Hayes, he was a hardworker, and depending on him to lead the team in scoring would be asking for too much. He did, however, always find ways to chip in some of his own stats, whether it was rebounds, blocks, points, or assists.

4. Donte Greene

One small bullet wasn't gonna stop this guy. After a tragic incident, he got right back on his feet, and played even better basketball. Arguably the best player at moving without the ball on this team, he had a nice collection of posters, but also was a reliable outside shooter. He is in the top 5 on this list for his desire and will to play basketball, despite the adversity.

3. Aaron Brooks

Aaron Brooks had to live under Yao Ming and Kevin Martin's shadow, which is probably why he didn't get much attention. He usually led the team in assists every game, and always found ways to score. The fastest player on the team, he was a defensive nightmare for almost all opposing point guards in the league. He may be the smallest part of the Big 3, but he was a very important part of it.

2. Yao Ming

The biggest part of the Big 3, he had a double-double almost every single game. If Kevin Martin wasn't leading the team in scoring, then you can bet Yao Ming was. A 7'6" player can always get the job done on the defensive end, but his abilities on the offensive end were what made him a special player. He had players on the opposing teams think twice before coming into his paint.

1. Kevin Martin

With the game on the line, I'm putting my money on Kevin Martin to make the last second shot. Throughout the whole story, Martin was clutch the whole way. He had a handful of game-winners, and was always the most consistent player on the team. Every defense in the NBA feared him, because he had such great speed to get to the basket, but also such a weird, unorthodox but effective, shooting form that was deadly no matter what. Easily the best player on the Rockets; he took the throne of best two-guard in the league from Kobe, and he was a back-to-back-to-back scoring champion. You can say he was a two-guard version of Hakeem Olajuwon, or, in easier words, the Michael Jordan of the Rockets.

There are always great players in the NBA; it takes great to make it there in the first place. These 10, or 11, Rockets are my odds-on favorites of the story, but I'm not saying I don't like the other Rockets (well, maybe one particular brick-shooter ), but these are the ones that contributed a bunch and the most to the Rockets' championships. Now that I have shared my top 10, who is in your top 10 players from the story? They don't necessarily have to be Rockets, just players who've shown up in the story.

[George7]

K-Mart was just sensational on your Dynasty. Clearly the face of the thread

Nice article,though I would rank Scola over Battier,because of his overall performance(and because he was notable more than Shane on the whole story)

[rise]

Great top 10 list Axel. Can't think of anyone you left off.

[Martti.]

I love that Donte is #4. No question about #1, K-Mart was probably the best player in the league in this story. Back-to-back Finals MVP's do the talking.

[Bucket]

Greene #4? Wow, nice.
K-Mart is awesome, hope he will continue play like MVP in 2k11.
Chuck #9? Are you kidding me? He needs to be first No one can shot FT like Chuck.

[Andrew]

Interesting choices and order for the top ten. Not too many surprises with the top three though.

[Houndy]

Awesome job Axel, gotta love Donte at number 4.

[rise]

No one can shot FT like Chuck.

Exactly, I've tried and I can't

[kibaxx7]

Lovin' it man. Also nice to see Donte.

[Lamrock]

Nice retrospective on the top 10 rockets. Surprised to see Donte Greene so high though. The epilogues are very cool as well. Great way to wind this down.

[Mandich]

K-Mart was MVP material in your Dynasty

[Axel The Great]

Lol, it's funny how I asked you guys this:

Now that I have shared my top 10, who is in your top 10 players from the story? They don't necessarily have to be Rockets, just players who've shown up in the story.

And yet, nobody said their top 10. Oh well, just disregard it.

K-Mart was just sensational on your Dynasty. Clearly the face of the thread

Nice article,though I would rank Scola over Battier,because of his overall performance(and because he was notable more than Shane on the whole story)

But Scola didn't have to stop the likes of Kobe, Durant, and others. Stopping the best players is much harder to do than help Yao score down low. That's why Battier's in the top 5.

Great top 10 list Axel. Can't think of anyone you left off.

I left a certain brick-shooter out.

I love that Donte is #4. No question about #1, K-Mart was probably the best player in the league in this story. Back-to-back Finals MVP's do the talking.

Well, actually in the epilogues, I wrote that Martin went back-to-back-to-back for Finals MVP. Yeah, it is satisfying to have him take the "best player in the league" title from Kobe/LeBron.

Greene #4? Wow, nice.
K-Mart is awesome, hope he will continue play like MVP in 2k11.
Chuck #9? Are you kidding me? He needs to be first No one can shot FT like Chuck.

Yeah, just put up the first recap, but unfortunately, K-Mart is in a slump. I've actually tried shooting free throws like Chuck, pretty hard, but at least I can hit rim.

Interesting choices and order for the top ten. Not too many surprises with the top three though.

Yeah, top 3 had to be the big 3 here. They were definitely the ones who contributed the most to the championships in the story.

Just a curious question though, Andrew, how come I don't see you in the 2K association section?

Awesome job Axel, gotta love Donte at number 4.

Lovin' it man. Also nice to see Donte.

Nice to see Donte get some praise.

Nice retrospective on the top 10 rockets. Surprised to see Donte Greene so high though. The epilogues are very cool as well. Great way to wind this down.

I like retrospectives (which is why Kenny's Nuggets is the best story imo), I feel like I didn't do many or any in this story. Donte is high on the list because he got shot by Damon Stoudamire and still played basketball (in the story of course ). Also glad you liked the epilogues.

K-Mart was MVP material in your Dynasty

The Michael Jordan of the Rockets.