What would you do diffrently after the Rockets won the two championships?

It's a pointless argument to make because you automatically assume we'd be paired against the Sonics. Had we been we'd probably stand a damn good chance with that squad and maybe some minor tweaks. Trading half your good players to net one over-the-hill star is a crap move to fix any problems you see.

 

Well, odds are we would have faced them again. We did in 2 of the prior 4 years and probably would have in 3 of the 4 had it not been for one of the greatest upsets in NBA history. I would have probably bet money that we would have met them again.

The one argument I've read that made the most sense was signing Kevin Willis and leaving everything else alone. Don't remember how or what the cap situation was back then but I could go with that. Besides that, banking on not playing them again or making minor adjustments after getting smoked the year before isn't a viable option to me.

 

Barkley played his butt off and that season was extremely exciting.

We needed another low post presence and Horry couldn't handle Kemp.
How are we suppose to know that the downfall of Shawn Kemp was cheeseburgers?

 

This is the truth. The only mistake we made that year was trading away our first round pick to Vancouver. Derek Fisher would have been a nice pick up. That season was great. We got off to a 21-2 start before the injuries started piling up. Sedale and Eddie were great pick up in the middle of the season. The problem was they were old and Drexler played horribly against Utah. We should have closed Seattle out at the Summit in game 5 but everybody except Dream was a no show. Then we came out flat against Utah because we didn't have any rest and our old legs killed us in the first two games. I can't blame Barkley who played his heart out despite whatever his stats were. I blame the shooters in game 5 and I blame Drexler for shooting the ball too early right before the Stockton three. That was a horrible shot. Elie's shot was off throughout the series.

 

Sampson?

Lloyd and Wiggins didnt hurt us in '86.

But going from Lucas/Lloyd/Wiggins to Minniefield/Leavell/Johnson/Harris/Maxwell took us out of contention.

I did like Purvis Short. That guy had a jumper for sure.

 

I'm a pretty big Rockets fan but I just can't see us beating Seattle without trading for Barkley. I remember when we got swept, that game was on NBC and Walton and Grumbel kept saying that Seattle had either a 12 or 13 game winning streak against us. I just can't see us beating them with the same roster.

 

sorry.i meant players we lost unpredictably.

 

Right dude, because the jersey plays basketball.


I seem to remember the Lakers wearing a Blue Jersey. Sure they moved to LA, but who cares right? This is tinman logic.


Jerseys don't make the players, players make the jersey.

 

Amen... Swept, destroyed, pounded into submission...

 

yeah. but those jerseys were real ugly.

 

well, that happened, because Malone bearhugged drexler so he couldnt follow stockton, and barkley had to guard him at last minute.

Barkley gave everything he got to the rockets, all hustle and heart.

 

Charles is not the problem. Its Pippen.....
And I just can't understand the hate on the 2nd best if not the best player on the roaster during those few years.

 

I can't believe how many people actually believe the Barkley trade was a mistake.

It started with the Drexler trade. The 94 team was dead in the water, they had to make that trade or we don't get out of the first round.

That got us our championship but it left a glaring hole at PF. Seattle always owned our ass, and it showed when we got swept.

They made the trade for Barkley and were a great team again, all the way to the conference finals. No Barkley we probably win 47 games again, and get bounced early.

We were still in a championship window with dream and we took the shot which was the right thing to do. We traded Horry and Cassell who were beloved, but neither of them would have won us a title.

They took one more shot in 97-98 hoping the window was still open, but it was clear age had caught up, thats when we should have rebuilt after 97-98.

Instead we made a series of bad decisions from 98 until we drafted Yao.

Pippen trade
Francis trade (yes it was a bad move)
Griffin trade
Collier selection
Cato/Moochie contracts

Never should have changed our jersey's either, but that didn't have an actual effect.

 

I would have brought in KJ and replaced Maloney.

 

This was an option?

 

Should have fired Rudy T earlier...hate to say it.

 

That non-trade for Mighty Mouse just ruined the 98 team. Half the team gave up on the season because they felt the Rockets didn't want them.

 

They were around 29-15 so not dead in the water. They just needed to come back strong after the all-star break. Some1 should've stepped up as a leader and make sure they were all on the same page.

Maxwell, Kenny and more were dealing with ego issues but nothing that couldn't wait until the offseason. While Max was suspended, Elie could've stepped in at SG and make sure he got a talking to about the incident.

The Rockets were not that bad, the year prior they also had ups and downs and there was also a lack of consistency. I'm not saying they would've won a championship without Drexler, but not ruling it out either.

With the irregular heartbeats and blood anaemia of Olajuwon and Maxwell, having them missing many games it would've been no shame had they not gotten deep into the playoffs.

However, with Thorpe there, I don't see why not because he was great on Malone & Barkley in 94. Also Maxwell could've turned it around and play like he always played. The WCF might have been too hard to overcome, but then Admiral goes on to play Shaq and both deserved a title.

Then 95-96 we would have Cassell, Elie, Horry, Thorpe & Olajuwon (I don't think even after some talk Maxwell would've been part of the team after that incident and the whole contract issue). If we resign Herrera, which we should have considering how he played in 94-95 (!), and keep Kenny & Chilcutt - that's a nice 8 man rotation.

The back-up or new starting SG could've been sought after in free agency or through trade. Also a nice back-up center for Olajuwon would've been nice, since they didn't have a decent on since Mr. Mean!

A give that team a better shot in 95-96 then the one with Drexler & Chucky Brown, I'll tell you that.

 

I know some people really love Charles Barkley around here but I just never felt like he was the IT factor that the Rockets needed. I liked the well-rounded depth we had with Horry and Cassell (especially with Mad Max). It was just nasty to watch that crew tear people up. And yes we beat the crap out of the Sonics with Chuck, so for that I'm thankful, but we just didn't have the team to beat the Jazz. In the end there is no ONE way to go about getting a championship because both routes would have probably gotten us no where in retrospect...

 

It's better to finish first then wherever than 2nd twice in a row, just ask Jazz fans....