Clutch City. I know I will catch some heat for this and the thread will probably be closed but I hope it won't. The way I see it, those two championships are legit and fully deserved. The Rockets went indeed from choke to clutch and continued that from game 3 against the Suns in 1994 until game 1 in the 1995 finals. It was something that the media brought on and Houston and the NBA rolled with it. We were clutch city and the 2nd title was double-clutch. So I can understand the name and how it stayed for a few years. However, I think the name should've stayed with the back-to-back championships. Yes the name reminds of us of that time but it's about time to start something new. With the 95-96 season, the start of the hideous court and jersey era, we basically said goodbye to a jersey they had for a long time. It was the start of something new, though not very positive. Had we won a championship in 1997, then maybe the name could've stayed (for a little bit longer) since there were some clutch plays in those playoffs. That didn't happen and in 2003 when Yao came in, we said goodbye to Rudy T, Olajuwon was retired and we changed our jersey again we really started a new era. There's nobody really in the organisation tied to the Clutch city days except for the owner who basically inherited the championship teams along with CD who hangs around a bit. Ok, there's Drexler in the booth and Bill Worrell but that's nothing much. It was Gene & Jim who everybody remembers with their commentary. So just for the sake of it, please bring in any arguments to say the name should stay or go. We all recognize we haven't done anything that comes close to be deserving of that name. The 22 game winning streak is the only memorable thing between the back-to-backs and now. You could maybe make an argument for the 96-97 season but that's it. Now for the sake of looking at being clutch or making clutch plays over the last few years, there haven't been many. The Rockets, as we all know, are known for blowing huge leads in the 4th at least the last few years. We were as a un-clutch as they come. There's some personal late game heroics like Tracy's game winner in the 2005 series, the 13 in 35, Francis had some moments, obviously Novak's game winner but that's pretty much it. During the clutch years, besides Maxwell with his late game heroics of game winners and buzzer beaters, we had a team that was just clutch when it mattered. Different individuals stepped up at different times, Kenny had some moments, Horry, Elie, Cassell and of course Olajuwon. I hope this doesn't turn into a bashing of the thread and people will seriously discuss this.
Are you stating the premise as achievement or late game heroic thrill rides? A lot of people say these Rockets have been over-achieving. Wouldn't that be clutch? And it sounds like you just sort of coast by the 22 game win streak. That would be historic, not just memorable, wouldn't it? As far as memorable, that might be looked upon as being the only multiple post season 7 game series the Lakers had to face until this year. You end up mentioning personal heroics by individuals. Ok, then how about 45 points on 13 of 18 shooting, or does it only have to happen during wins? If that's the case we could go with 30 points on 9 of 15 shooting. Not sure it's a good time to bring this up with the way the Rockets finished this season.
Yeah, it's a great idea for every team to totally give up all their traditions after a few losing seasons. That's just what sports need -- less tradition. That way the fans have nothing to identify with. Sounds like a great plan.
I knew nobody would get it. All I'm saying is, let the name be associated with the glory days. If we keep calling it Clutch City than it holds no meaning anymore. Please close the thread because this is only going to get worse. To everybody talking about banning me and such, it says more about you than me.
Seriously though, why "give up" the name? Who attributes "Clutch City" to the current Rockets team? It will forever be associated with the back-to-back champion era Rockets. The same way the Detroit "Bad Boys" will forever be their late 80's team. But the moniker will forever be a part of the Pistons, and no one else should "have" it. Same with the "Showtime" Lakers. Etc etc.
