[NBA.COM] My favorite team: 1982-83 Rockets, pride among the losing

[Tb-Cain]

... And my favorite team remains the 1982-83 Rockets, who finished with a rock-bottom record of 14-68. Not for the way they played, but for the way they held their heads up along a difficult journey from October to April when, in the end, everyone in Houston was openly rooting for them to lose. The Rockets were just two seasons removed from a surprising run to the 1981 NBA Finals that ended with a loss to Bird and the Celtics. But that run had been made on the back of two-time MVP Moses Malone, who became a free agent and eventually forced a trade to Philadelphia just a few weeks before the start of training camp. Houston got a No. 1 Draft pick and center Caldwell Jones, a defensive specialist who averaged just 7.9 points a game in a 17-year career in the ABA and NBA. So the Rockets went from a dark horse contender with a puncher's chance in Malone to a no-hope, non-playoff team virtually overnight, especially when athletic small forward Robert Reid decided to retire to become a minister for his church. ...

Nice little read on the 82-83 Rockets.

More here - http://www.nba.com/2010/news/feature...s=iref:nbahpt1