[espn -insult] Jordan or no Jordan, Olajuwon was great

The reason I say Duncan doesn't come close is that Olajuwon was just as good or better than Duncan at everything Duncan does well while also being far more athletic. He was so much quicker and agile than Duncan that it leaves Duncan in the dust, in my opinion. I was exaggerating the "not even close" part to emphasize my point but I believe that Olajuwon was the significantly better overall player.

 

QFSTFU!

 

My argument for Duncan is that he maximized his potential for a longer period of time than Hakeem did. Hakeem's peak was 1992-93 to 1996-97......where as Duncan's peak was 98-99 to 07-08....that's a long time.

IMO, Duncan is the best power forward ever, and Hakeem is the best center ever....but it is not fair to say Olajuwon was way better than Duncan.

I'd pick Hakeem over Duncan. I think Hakeem had better overall skills, but not by a landslide, as other Rockets fans claim.

 

I guess you would also say that Cleveland and Orlando were better teams than the Rockets last season because they made it past the 1st round of the playoffs.

The conference you play in was a factor last season just like it was in the 80s and 90s. And, it is also true that playing tougher competition during the playoffs wears you out more than the team from the other conference.

 

With the way Yao Ming has been outplaying Duncan, I would agree without a doubt that Olajuwon would take Duncan to school.

 

I never said they did. If the Rockets were as good as the Bulls or better as you try to claim, they would be in the Finals each year Jordan made it and including the 2years the Rockets been in would make 8.

You better put your feet back on Earth son, you're not talking to any ordinary rookie. Don't let that C-Member status swell your head.

 

I truly agree and it's not out of any kind of disrespect to Duncan. It's amazing what he can do given how flat-footed and slow he is relative to a player as agile as Hakeem.

As tinman pointed out, Hakeem was also a better shooter. There isn't an area of the game that Duncan is better than Hakeem while there are a few where Hakeem clearly comes out on top.

 

There is no evidence to suggest that they would've definitely beaten us.

You would have a point if for the first 3 titles we had made it to the finals and got crushed by the Bulls and then didn't make that many changes. The truth is, during the first 3 years we didn't have the talent. Then 93-94 came around, Horry has a year under his belt, we draft Cassel and pick up Mario Elie as a free agent. The 93-94 season was the year of our franchise best record for a reason. Its why we made the finals for the first time that decade. And there is just no reason to conclude that the Bulls definitely would've beaten us (especially since Jordan was in the playoffs that second year).

I'm not going to say the Rockets would've definitely beat the Bulls for the same reason, but hey, we were the champions that year so it doesn't matter.

You can't just say "oh, Jordan was so great, they obviously would've won!"

 

That holds no water. The East in those days had tough challenges like the Knicks, Pacers, Pistons, and towards the later part of the decade the Heat. It's not like they beat up on scrubs to advance like they do now.

 

As far as the article is concerned, it was definitely poor choice by Adande and reflected his personal bias in favor of everything Jordan. It was especially poor judgment considering that Olajuwon is being inducted in the Hall of Fame today.

If I had a choice between Adande or no Adande, I would choose no Adande.

 

Maybe not during the whole 8 year span, but those two years, I would argue the Rockets WERE better than the Bulls could've been with Jordan. Our regular season records while the Bulls were winning titles were about what they were the past 3 years. Averaging about 50, maybe a 42 win season here or there. Then suddenly we win 58 games in a season and thats the year of the first title. It wasn't like we were great the whole time but kept getting beat. Really, the fact that we didn't make the finals before and then suddenly did in dominating fashion should tell you how good we were that year.

Thats the defense for the first title, the second title is moot because Jordan WAS PLAYING for the Bulls during the playoffs and HIS team got knocked out. You are trying to say that because we didn't make the finals the 6 years the bulls won it that they were better, but when the opposite happens in 95, somehow there is still an excuse for the Bulls?

 

I have visited here for enough years to see your opinion on what a Rockets fan should be. You could take that opinion and shove it up your ass. You ain't the law of Rocket fandom.

 

Truthfully, I can't recall enough detail to say how much imbalance, if any, there was between conferences back in the mid-90s. I have been following basketball for decades but I wouldn't try to make an argument on this issue without refreshing my memory and looking at statistics.

The bottom line is that "if" the Eastern Conference was relatively weaker and more specifically, if the Bulls playoff competition was lesser during most, or all, of those years, then you can't make the simplistic argument that because the Bulls made it to the finals x number of times while the Rockets only made it x number of times proves that the Bulls were the better team or that they would have won it all if Jordan played during the Rockets championship seasons.

Playing in different conferences could have played a major factor in how many times those two teams made it to the finals. If the Rockets and Bulls played in the same conference, then maybe you can draw different conclusions. Maybe, if the Bulls were in the West and the Rockets were in the East, the results would have been different. Maybe not.

 

Fact of the matter is, that 94 team was the best team the Rockets had ever put on the court. And compared to the teams 2-3 years before a MUCH bigger improvement. You just can't say that the Rockets for sure wouldn't have won because you are talking about the difference between the 90-93 teams and the 94 team which are two completely different stories.

And no one has yet to defend the fact that Jordan was actually there in 95.

 

They actually could have been on the same team. There was a draft day trade with Portland that had Sampson for the #2 Pick (MJ) AND Drexler. For whatever reasons, Houston didn't accept the trade.