Remembering Moses Malone, A Houston Rockets Legend

What’s better than three Rocket’s legends sitting down and talking about not only a Houston Rockets legend but a NBA legend? The answer is a deeper appreciation for a player and the game of basketball.

To that end, John Lucas, Calvin Murphy and Major Jones sat down with host Joel Blank and reminisced about former NBA great Moses Malone on this edition of the Rockets Round-table.

Moses Malone passed away on September 3rd at the young age of 60, due to natural causes. Blank and the group spent about a half an hour trading stories of Moses and how much he loved the game. One such story was even in the off-season he would play at the local playgrounds in his community. Good luck finding players willing to do that in today’s game.

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I’m a little too young to have any memories of Moses Malone during his hey-day. Malone retired right around the time I discovered basketball and my love for the Houston Rockets. From the research I have done, I could tell instantly that Malone was a masterful rebounder as he led the League in rebounding 6 years of his storied career. Calvin Murphy said during the round table that in itself was no easy feat because unlike today’s NBA with flagrant fouls it was much harder to rebound.

Back in the those days you could get physical in the paint, just imagine how hard it must have been to try and rebound with guys like Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason trying to take your head off or putting an elbow in your back. You had to be tough as nails to pull down the number of rebounds Malone did. Guys like Dwight Howard are lucky they don’t have to go through the same punishment players like Malone had to. Some of the younger Rockets like Montrezl Harrell and Clint Caplea could learn a thing or two from Malone on how to work in the paint, Malone made it look easy.

Moses Malone was a man who cared about the game of basketball to a level that most would never understand. He was a fearless player on the court but a kind-hearted man who cared about his community off the court. If you have time go look at some old videos of Moses Malone doing what he loved. I’m sure by now all of you know about Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, but it was Moses who paved the way for all of them. He will truly be missed by not only Rockets Nation but the NBA family as a whole.

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Make sure you catch up on our entire Team Preview Series, our Houston Rockets Player Profile Series as well as our SCS Round Table Sessions to help you get through the early season. Start your morning with SCS Rocket Science Daily and visit us throughout the day to keep abreast of all your Houston Rockets news and updates

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