ESPN Offseason Spotlight: Rockets are a Playoff Team!

In the pole that ESPN had in that article; "Who will be the key to next years team", I actually had to think about that a little bit, because at first I chose Stevie. But right afterwards I thought that Francis isn't going to be the intangible to the Rockets success next season.
The unanswered question on the roster next year is Cato's performance. I was surprised that Kelvin didn't get as many votes as I thought. And, ESPN doesn't really have a clue if they think Dream is gonna start and contribute all year long.


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I'm not clumsy, I just have to know my surroundings.

 

ESPN is just parroting the typical no respect for the Rockets line that if Jordan had been with the Bulls those two years it would have been impossible for the Rockets to win the title. As with most everyone else they convieniently ignore the fact that that the Rockets consistently beat the Bulls during the 90's and were probably the one team that had a legitimate shot at dethroning Chicago. Unfortunately, Seattle owned the Rockets during the Bulls first threepeat. Hakeem was in decline and the Rockets never regained the chemistry of the championship years during the second.

Houston fans really say, "What a pity Michael had to sit out those two years. If he hadn't Hakeem would have gotten all the accolades he deserved."

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In the Rockets second playoff run, Jordan did play enough. Well enough to have 55 points and many big games. The bottom line is that they lost to Orlando because Perdue,Wennington and I believe Longley couldn't guard Shaq and Penny was that the top of his game. Also,Grant had joined Orlando that season

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C'mon guys, why are you guys blasting Michael Jordan, and blaming the media? Michael Jordan is the best basketball player ever to play the game. If we put our championship teams up against Michael's Bulls, it would have been a great series, but I think Michael would have prevailed. I have learned over the years to never doubt or bet against Michael, he is simply that good. You guys are a little too biased in doubting Michael Jordan. When he came back to basketball in '95, you guys have to understand that he took almost 2 years off from the game of basketball. Remember he wanted nothing to do with it. Imagine not shooting or dribbling a basketball for almost 2 years. I know you guys don't think that he never touched a basketball during his "baseball years", but he really didn't try and play basketball at all after his retirement. Simply put, Michael wasn't ready for the rigors and demands of basketball when he came back. Sure he scored 55 points against the Knicks, but he's Michael Jordan. Even with a 55 point game, he ended up averaging only 26 points a game and that's only in about 15 to 20 games, which means that 55 points would increase your scoring average a lot. Anyways Michael's usual scoring average is up there around 30. The summer after our last championship, Michael got dedicated to basketball once again, and you know how hard he works. His work paid off with the 72-10 season and a NBA chamionship. I know are '94 team wouldn't have beaten Michael's Bulls, because Michael and Scottie(admit it, he was good back then) would have demolished Horry and Vernon Maxwell. Scottie is nothing without Michael, but with Michael he was a great player. Our '95 team would have a better chance since Clyde would present a bigger challenge to Michael. I know that the Rockets never get serious about the regular season, that is why our franchise record for wins is only 58 wins, but Michael's Bulls in the Dynasty years won 60 games in a year many times. They also had that unbelievable year in which they won 72 games! That year we were swept by the Sonics, but the Bulls beat them 4-2 in the finals, and that was after going up 3-0. I know some of you won't agree with me, but c'mon quit hating Michael Jordan.

 

LiLStevie3,

There is no hatred of Jordan in this. You are entitled to your opinion that the Bulls would have been in the finals and beat the Rockets those two years if Jordan had stayed in the league. What we are upset with is the assumption that the ONLY reason that the Rockets won their titles is that Jordan was out the first year and not in shape the 2nd year. The reason that the Rockets did not meet the Bulls in the finals during the first threepeat is that they couldn't get past Seattle. The Rockets did not match up well with Sonics. They played Seattle well but just could not get past them. The Bulls on the other hand, even with Jordan, did not match up well with the Rockets and generally had problems beating any team with a truly dominant center (The notable exception being Miami since Rodman could always get Mourning to lose his cool.) This is primarily why Orlando beat them in the playoffs in '95. To ignore this fact is to ignore an obvious truth that basketball games are as much a matter of exploiting matchups as they are overall talent. It is POSSIBLE that the Bulls could have beaten the Rockets if had they met in the finals but by no means CERTAIN. What rubs people the wrong way is the ASSUMPTION that it is certain. That ASSUMPTION equals no respect for the Rockets.

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My memory is a bit hazy here.. BUT - didn't the Chicago Bulls make the eastern conference finals in '94?? So they were a pretty darn good team without Jordan, but it seems that even when Jordan came back in '95 it just wasn't enough because their spare parts big men just couldn't stop Shaq - if they couldn't stop Shaq then what chance against Hakeem??

Imagine this year, take San Antonio as an example, now add a 26ppg scorer who just so happens to be a demon defensive player.. it'd take a pretty darn good team to stop them. That's similar to the situation the Bulls faced when Jordan returned. But hey, a pretty darn good team DID stop them (Orlando) - and then THAT pretty darn good team was derailed by a rampant juggernaught... but hey if Chicago had had Rodman for those 2 years then maybe the rockets wouldn't have those championships... of course had Houston had Pippen 2 years earlier the bulls wouldn't have had a second threepeat....

..I'll tell ya what, all these fanciful "what ifs" need to go - Houston won 2 championships which they fully deserved.

No asteriks.

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wilt chamberlain is the best basketball player ever to play the game . and jordan would have lost had he gone up against the rockets in 94' and 95' they had no post player to stop hakeem and in 95' we had drexler to equalize jordan at the 2 guard spot, and they lost anyways!!! jordan was there , jordan's game was better then than it was in his final season!when did he ever score 55 points after that?he was back and was not rusty.

and dont say wilt only won 2 rings, and jordan won 6 .does that mean that john salley is better than wilt? and i can guarantee you that if jordan had played against the russell and cousy led celtics, he would not have won any championships.




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johnny "red" kerr:i'm glad the bulls did'nt draft steve francis.

dan roan: why!!!!!

johnny red kerr:because he would forever be compared to michael jordan.

 

Bottom line is the Bulls got it done 6 out of 8 years, and the last 6 years that Jordan started off the season with them.. No I don't think we should have our championships astericked but the Bulls were the team of the 90's and we just happened to win championships during their runs.
I agree with lil Stevie that MJ when he wanted to could almost singl handedly will his team to win. I have no doubt he would have found a way to beat Dream & the Rockets, just because he was MJ. Yes they did lose to Orlando and yes he did play over 1/2 the season that year but during the Bulls run MJ was hands down the best player ever.
We did everything to try to beat the Bulls, but we couldn't get back there. We signed Chuck to offset Rodman going to the Bulls (and to get over on Seattle), we signed Price as a veteran PG, we brough in vets like Willis. All in all the Rockets teams with Dream, Clyde, Chuck had more talent but MJ overcame everything.
Now it's time for us to get over it and try to rebuild another championship team.

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no one needs to get over anything, because there is nothing to get over. we would have won those titles with or without jordan here (although he was).the rockets were a team of destiny and not even mj can stop something that is destined to happen.

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johnny "red" kerr:i'm glad the bulls did'nt draft steve francis.

dan roan: why!!!!!

johnny red kerr:because he would forever be compared to michael jordan.

[This message has been edited by brahma rocket (edited August 03, 2000).]

 

[/B][/QUOTE]It is really amusing to hear people say Spurs will beat the Lakers since they have the matchup advantage and when it comes to Jordon they say, "MJ will somehow find a to win despite the matchup problems."
Some of you regard Jordon as "Personified God". Come on guys Jordon was no god, he was a human being like rest of us. Luc gave him the screen, Pippen made a dishes, Rodman was always on the board when they needed him to be. In return Michael carried them. Without them Michael's wouldn't had to put those kind of numbers, and in return Jordon gave him the championship. It's called "chemistry", and this is a main reason why Chicago won 6rings, with the little help from the officials.
On the other hand Dream's 94 season was unique. Unlike Jordon, Dream got others involved, remember Mario's kiss of death, remember Maxwell's shot in game 7 of the final, the whole team denifited from having Dream around, whereas in Chicago they sacrificed everyone just to get Jordon involved. I don't remember any former Bulls taking last minutes clutch shot, it was ALWAYS JORDAN, ALWAYS.
There is no way of dening that Jordon was a great if not the best player ever but his attitude to the officials, to his team mates, front office was appalling. Jordon, set out a bad examples how to behave on the court to the kids, who looked upon him as a god.

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Hack a Shaq you'll be winning
Hack-him you'll be dreaming.

 

i do agree with you, but, steve kerr and john paxson took huge shots for the bulls in the finals.

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johnny "red" kerr:i'm glad the bulls did'nt draft steve francis.

dan roan: why!!!!!

johnny red kerr:because he would forever be compared to michael jordan.

 

IMO- Jordan was a basketball god during that 8 year run.

Also Jordan & MJ made those around them better. Neither one had a great supporting cast (Pip he has shown is nothing w/o MJ, Rodman is a rebounding & defensive freak but I don't consider him as a player that can carry a team. Kerr, Paxson, Armstrong, Grant, Longley, etc are all nice role players with nice niches (Kerr & Paxson could both shoot if open) just like Dream's cast of characters. Clyde came the 2nd year and he was a good all around player but all the others were good, solid, fundamental players who needed a superstar like Dream to carry them.
And Paxson hit the shot to beat the Suns in game 6 of the finals so it wsn't always MJ.

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jordan and mj?

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johnny "red" kerr:i'm glad the bulls did'nt draft steve francis.

dan roan: why!!!!!

johnny red kerr:because he would forever be compared to michael jordan.

 

Sorry Brahma-
Jordan & Dream

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oh i thought you got off the subject and started talking about magic johnson.

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johnny "red" kerr:i'm glad the bulls did'nt draft steve francis.

dan roan: why!!!!!

johnny red kerr:because he would forever be compared to michael jordan.

 

Get off Jordans dick!!!

Mike was gone in 94, but the reason the Bulls lost in 95 was because Horace Grant was gone (and playing for the team that beat them).
During their championship runs, their defensive PF's (Grant and Rodman) made up for the loss of NO CENTER. What a big coincidence that the team they lost to had the best one in the Eastern Confrence. Mike didn't have the quality big man that he needed to win a ring that year and his team lost....so quit making excuses for the man.

And if we only have two rings because MJ left, then he only has 6 because the Lakers, Celtics and Pistons all got old. Michael didn't seize the torch!!! When Larry, Magic and Isiah got old (as well as their teams), it was passed to him.

Once again, GET OFF HIS DICK!!!!!!!!!!!

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I think all championship teams before and after Jordans playing days should get on their hands and knees and thank the almighty that fate was fortunate enough to not have Jordan playing then and to allow them the great joy of actually winning a championship and not losing to his holyness, MAster Jordan :

Thats right, Russell, Magic, Bird, Shaq, Robinson, Duncan, Isiah, Wilt, Kareem, Walt, etc, etc, etc.....like the lowly Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets, you all won your championships when his holyness, Master Jordan, was either not playing or had yet to fully reach his destined basketball maturity and are undeserving of your titles.

Oh, its almost ten oclock. I must go prepare for the hourly prayer to the Master.

OMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
OMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

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Jackie Treehorn treats objects like women!

 

When you see the old "asterisk" theory, just think about this and you will feel better:

THE ONLY TEAM JORDAN NEVER BEAT AND THE ONLY PLAYER HE DID NOT BEAT WAS...HAKEEM OLAJUWON.

Thats all. And then think of the ass whooping Jordan would of got if they did meet in the finals. Jordan whooped up on Shaq, Ewing, Robinson and Malone. I don't think he went out beating Dream and the Rockets, did he? Nope.

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I Want To Thank God For Making Me A Rocketfan

 

Can anyone seriously say that the Bulls would have won eight straight titles? Come on, that is a nearly impossible order. I know Boston did it, but that's it.

I don't think many people realize how tough it is to motivate oneself after extreme success. Jordan himself even stated that one of the reasons for his first retirement was that he had "nothing left to prove."

Teams adapt quickly now, and I can guarantee you that no team will ever win more than three straight titles ever again. It's nearly impossible.

I also believe that Jordan's time off helped him. The rigors and demands of the sport wear down the body, and that rest had to prolong his career. Just look at guys who've played 13-15 consecutive seasons. Jordan played nine years, took a year and a half off, and then played three more seasons. That's a relatively short career of only twelve and a half years of wear and tear.

Just to add some more credibility to our title runs, in 1994 we defeated three of three of the Western Conference champions that the Bulls did- all in one playoff run! The Bulls lucked out essentially only having to worry about Detroit(for a short while), New York, Orlando(for a short while), and Indiana. We regularly went up against the likes of Los Angeles, Portland, Phoenix, Seattle, Utah, and San Antonio- all of whom won the West in the 90's, and we BEAT each at one time or another!!!

Had Jordan not retired, his image would be the tarnished one. It's likely that he'd only have half of his titles!

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WE WILL WATCH THEM FALL... Next year

 

Oh MY GOD , They are telling us The Rockets won the Championship because some guy named Michael was playing golf when Hakeem was dunking all over David Robinson . GOD DAMMIT the Rockets cant get respect , Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon won the Championship climbing back from 3-1 holes and easily defeating the hapless Shaq and Penny Team . Dont anyone tell me the Rockets couldn't have done that unless MJ was out of Basketball , That sickens me , that is pure Bull-S*it . and dont you ever forget it

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President of the Rockets/Raiders Fan Club

[This message has been edited by moestavern19 (edited August 03, 2000).]