I read on some other board about how the Rockets only won the championship due to Jordon's retirement. I don't think so. The Rockets were the best team in the league for 93-95. No doubt in my mind. We swept the Magic (Shaq), who beat the Bulls (MJ). I don't know where some people come up with this crap. What do you think?
The Magic beat the Bulls only because Jordan didn't have a full season. So, don't count that as Jordan's best. As far as the Rockets... Our defense was tops in 1994 and Hakeem was our mainstay. In 1995 we had the Clyde. Could we have matched up? Not sure. Would we have choked like the Oilers? Not sure, again... Or, if we lost to Jordan in 1994, would we have made a trade for Clyde in 1995 and had the confidence to prove we deserved to get back to Finals? Because, as you know, the main reason we made it back to the Finals in 1995 was because everyone (besides Houston) thought it was a fluke. That was our motivation (plus Cylde's last chance). The key would have been our supporting cast. Could they have performed at the same level as the Bulls supporting cast? That's what I always thought was our weak point. Our supporting cast in comparison to the Bulls'. There are too many unknowns. I like to believe that we would have made it to the Finals in 1994, lost 3 in a row against Jordan's mighty Bulls. Then, we would have stormed back and been the first team in history to come back from a 0-3 deficit in the Finals. I can dream!