10 years ago, we were on top of the world!

holla

 

Maybe not this year. Rome wasn't built in a day. I'd settle for a 50 win season, a first round playoff series win, a competitive 2nd round series, then reload for a serious championship run the next year(s).

But 2006 and 2007....look out, baby!!!

"We go from here!"
- Hakeem after the game 7 loss to Seattle in 93

 

i think we have just as many tools as anbody to get the job done, whether or not they gell together is to be seen.......

 

Remember who was on the opposing bench...

 

Judging from edc's previous posts, I think he has more insightful opinions than
what you said above. Hint: check his signature

 

Actually, last season was the 10 year anniversary of the first championship. 93-94, 03-04

 

Did you drink red bull before you posted this? I see wings, that's all I'm sayin'.

 

This season will be our 10th anniversary of our 2nd championship.

 

I just ran across a video tape of the 94 game 7, plugged it in and watched it while organising my office. Man, what memories!!

 

Wow I almost completely misread this:

"and watched it while ORGANISING [in] my office. Man, what memories!!"

 

Well, the memories were good, but not quite *that* good

 

*This day in sports history:

5 years. It seems like a century ago...
_______________________________________________
10/01/1999 - Houston Rockets F Scottie Pippen was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Kelvin Cato, Stacey Augmon, Walt Williams, Carlos Rogers, Ed Gray and Brian Shaw.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13047996&BRD=1698&PAG=740&dept_id=352954&rfi=6

 

i did the same thing. but since it started off talking about game 7 in 94, it didn't seem weird at all.

man, i don't know how CD was able to snag ed gray in that deal. that has been paying dividends since day one.

 

Think about it, though: this is the decade anniversary of unquestionably the best Rockets season ever. Ten years ago, we were world champions going into the season, but we had no idea of the troubled road to ultimate victory that lay ahead.

Illness and injury would bring down Hakeem for stretches of the season. Vernon Maxwell would have his troubled and petulant episodes. Internal turmoil would divide the team. The huge Valentine's Day trade for Clyde would profoundly alter our approach as a team. We would win a decent 47 regular season games, but have the toughest hill to climb one can imagine in the playoffs, four 50+win teams.

Ten years ago:

- No one had ever heard Rudy's triumphant "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion."

- No team had ever won a championship after so many elimination games.

- No champion had ever won as many road playoff games. No team has ever taken such a variety of parts and molded them so successfully.

- No one had ever defeated four 50-game winners in the playoffs.

- No one had ever played five games in which they faced elimination and won the championship.

- They won a record seven in a row on the road.

Ten seasons ago, the Rockets proved to the basketball world that they were more than just a fluke; they were a team to be reckoned with. Bottoms up to the 94-95 Rockets; the best Rockets team in history!

For the nostalsia buffs, here's a nice recap of the 94-95 Championship season:

http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/sports2000/numbers/165234.html

[Sporting News #1 Most Surprising NBA Champions]

No. 1: Houston Rockets, 1994-95
"Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion."

That was the battle cry of the Houston Rockets' 1995 season. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, nobody, except for the Rockets themselves, took Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich's words seriously. The Rockets won the NBA title in 1994 but were given little chance to repeat as champions. In fact, when people look back on the 1995 season, a certain guard's return to the NBA from a brief professional baseball stint will probably overshadow Houston's incredible accomplishment.

The 1995 Houston Rockets withstood a disappointing regular season in which they had to deal with numerous injuries, a major midseason trade and some in-house turmoil. The result was a 47-35 record and the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. To win the title, not only would the Rockets have to defeat four 55-plus win teams in succession, but they would also have to do it without the home court advantage in any of the rounds. When the playoffs began, the odds against the Rockets repeating as NBA Champions seemed stacked.

One thing the Rockets did have going for them, however, was their dominant center, Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon, who was clearly the best player in the league during Michael Jordan's 18-month hiatus. Although the rest of the team's roster was virtually the same from the previous season, it was still largely filled with former CBA veterans such as Mario Elie, Chucky Brown, and Charles Jones; and young, inexperienced players such as Robert Horry and Sam Cassell.

Sensing that the team was becoming lethargic and complacent after their 1994 championship, Rockets management worked a major trade during the season in which they brought in high scoring guard Clyde Drexler from Portland, who was also Olajuwon's Phi Slamma Jamma teammate during their days together at the University of Houston, for their dependable power-forward, Otis Thorpe. The trade was met with disdain at first, as some the Rockets' players wondered why the team would alter the its nucleus during the middle of the season. By the end of the year, however, it was became widely acknowledged that the trade for Clyde Drexler was the jump start that the team needed.

The Rockets' first round opponent in the playoffs was the Utah Jazz, who were 60-22 in the regular season. Despite initially trailing two games- to-one in the series, the Rockets came back to win their first round match up in five grueling games.

In the second round, the Rockets were down three games-to-one against the Phoenix Suns, who won 59 games that season as well as the Pacific Division title, before coming back again to defeat Charles Barkley and company in seven games and advance to the Western Conference finals.

Their next opponent was the San Antonio Spurs, who had the NBA's best record that season at 62-20, as well as the league's MVP in David Robinson. The Rockets' resolve and will to win was never more apparent as it was during that series as they would split the first four games before going on to win the series in six games against the seemingly more talented Spurs. Olajuwon, who many felt deserved the MVP award, completely dominated his counterpart, Robinson, averaging 34.5 points per game during the series while shutting down Robinson on the defensive end.

As the Finals began, the Rockets were the overwhelming sentimental favorites. Many people believed that the members of the team, especially Drexler, had paid their dues throughout the years and earned whatever success they had coming to them.

Their opponent, the Orlando Magic, was the complete opposite. The Magic had hit the draft lottery's jackpot the previous two seasons and had a lineup that featured 23-year old behemoth center Shaquille O'Neal, and 22-year old velvety point guard Anfernee Hardaway. In addition to the two young superstars, the Magic's starting lineup also included long range shooters Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott, as well as power forward Horace Grant, who had defected from the Chicago Bulls after helping them win three consecutive championships. The Magic was definitely considered a team of the future, but many felt that they still had a great deal to learn. Their lesson would come soon.

The Magic began Game 1 in Orlando on fire and built a 20-point lead in the second quarter. The Rockets, however, who refused to concede anything, cut the deficit down to 11 by halftime and eventually took a 87-80 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Orlando came back to take a three-point lead with 10.5 seconds left, and had a chance to seal the affair as Anderson strode to the free-throw line for two foul shots. Unfortunately for the Magic, he missed both, and then missed two more free throws after grabbing the offensive rebound. The Rockets tied the game on their next possession and eventually won in overtime, 120-118, on a last second tip-in by Olajuwon.

Houston then went on to post a 117-106 victory in Game 2. It was the Rockets' seventh consecutive playoff road victory, and ninth overall -- a new playoff record.

Two nights later, Horry made a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to seal a Game 3 victory for the Rockets, 106-103. Olajuwon had 31 points and 14 rebounds, while Drexler had 25 points and 13 rebounds. Twelve years after their shocking loss to North Carolina State in the 1983 NCAA championship game, it finally looked like Phi Slamma Jamma was going to deliver a championship to the city of Houston.

Game 4 was highlighted by Houston's 11-2 fourth quarter run that enabled them to pull away for a 113-101 victory. Olajuwon went off again for 35 points and 15 rebounds, and closed out the scoring by hitting a 3-pointer from the right corner. He was voted as the unanimous NBA Finals MVP for the second consecutive year, joining Michael Jordan as the only players to ever do so.

Many experts left the Rockets for dead at the end of the 1994-95 regular season. On paper, they should have been defeated in the early rounds of the playoffs. Then again, judging by their performances during each playoff round, it's amazing to think that a team that could average 114 points per game against the top four teams in the league only won 47 regular season games. The Rockets taught the Jazz, Suns, Spurs, Magic and the rest of the league a concept that only they seemed to understand: Don't Ever Underestimate the Heart of a Champion.

 

thanks for reminder, might watch some of the 94 finals tonight

 

Clutch City, Double Clutch, 2 Hakeem specials, and 3 games will be on NBA TV this Sunday.