Sadly, this crap goes on and on... Any Bulls-Rockets finals would have been freakin awesome, and a 50-50. The Rockets gave the Bulls fits those years, and, Hakeem came up just as large in the playoffs (at least for those two years) as Jordan did.
Every time this crap comes up somebody needs to remind the crap bringer upper that the Rockets played the Bulls better than even back then. Not even -- better than even. They did NOT win 8 in a row and Jordan's an ass for saying so. The reason they didn't is cause he left. If he hadn't, according to regular season matchups, they STILL wouldn't have. We'll never know though and that's his fault. As a result, he should shut his sorry trap.
And the Bulls didn't even face a quality center in the finals. Sure MJ beat Ewing every year, but as we all know, Hakeem was a much better player. In the current NBA, dynasties usually die after three years, and the Bulls would have met their match in the Houston Rockets because our role players were just as clutch as theirs. The trend is always that one team will always meet its match. The Celtics were the big dogs of the Finals until the Lakers finally conquered them in 85, then 87. But the Celtics were still the beasts of the east, but eventually the Pistons overcame the Celtics and Detroit was the beast of the East. (Detroit also had to overcome the Lakers in the Finals, and they did) Then the Pistons owned the Bulls, but eventually the Bulls overcame the Pistons and they were the beasts of the NBA and played three decent offensive minded teams in the Finals. If MJ didn't quit, his Bulls would have gone through the same process as the Celtics, Lakers, and Pistons. Eight titles in a row? That is impossible in today's NBA. People who honestly believe that are hitting the reefer a little too hard. If Jordan would have stayed in the league in 93-94, he would have matched up against a stingy defensive ballclub with a dominant center. The Rockets matched up well with the Bulls teams of the early 90s, and they would have beaten them. The Rockets would have been the Bulls match because, again, Houston's role players were just as dependable as the Bulls.
Worst Champion Ever > Every Other Season From Every Team Where They Didn't Win A Title . . . Combined.
But it's true. Stop being homers! It was the ugliest, and most talentless (except for Hakeem) team that ever won. I can't speak for pre-1975.
The 94 team is under-appreciated. They had the most dominant force in the game...yes, in the current NBA Kobe is regarded as the best player and the MD is Shaq. Similarly, the MD of the early 90s was Hakeem, not Jordan. When judging a team, you can't look at just one player...you have to look at the offense and defense system. Offensively, it may not have been the best thing to watch, but we had a system not one championship team before or after could stop (pre-zone era) --feed it to Hakeem in the low post and if he's single covered he'll score. If he's doubled, we had the greatest array of 3pt shooters who could knock it down. Kareem could be pushed around, Shaq is good from 5ft & in, but Hakeem was effective 15 ft and in using that system. Defensively, Hakeem is the most dominant defensive force I've ever seen. Motumbo may have received many awards, but that's because he couldn't do anything else. Hakeem was quicker and had more range. I hear people rave about Ben Wallace, but his help defense is still not as good as Hakeems. Shaq has never been active enough to be mentioned with Hakeem. On his own man, Hakeem also had the ability to steal the ball that gets overlooked. Now to the other players. OT was solid. Horry was long-armed and bothersome. Maxwell was tough and a competitor. Mario Elie ditto. With the greatest defensive force in nba history behind them (no disrespect to Bill Russell), it made them that much better.
The 94 Rockets were probably the second worst NBA champs in recent memory to the Spurs who won in the strike shortened season.
Last year's Refs..i mean..Lakers...seriously the Lakers during their 3 year run have gotten A LOT of calls. it's to the point that it's sickening to think that, if they get by san antonio, they'll win again..and probly no one would want to stop them.
94 and 95' Rockets championship teams are extremely underrated. As for worst championship team ever, I'll take the 99' San Antonio Spurs.
No one can tell me that the Bulls could beat the Rockets in the Finals. We had ample defense to TRY and slow down MJ, but really, how can you think of stopping someone who absolutely DEMOLISHED the likes of Shaq, Ewing, Robinson, and Mutombo among other on his way to the Championship. You're telling me Luc Longley? The Bulls C rotation would've been the WORST the Rockets would have faced during the ENTIRE playoffs those 2 seasons. I was hoping to God that Hakeem would be able to show the world that he was, truly, unstoppable. I could easily see him averaging more than Jordan for that series. Easily see him averaging 40+ppg for that series.
It's true. The championship is really just a testament to how good Hakeem was. Question: when was the last time a team won a championship with less than two perennial All-Stars/hall-of-famers on the team?
look at the team again, in their primes you have the following players Olajuwon, 24 ppg Thorpe, 20 ppg Cassell, 22ppg Maxwell, 19 ppg Smith, 15 ppg Horry, 12 ppg I mean Jesus. You collectively have one of the better teams ever. Our role players were other teams go to players.
jordan is rapidly becoming a whiny bitter little man in his old age. vernon maxwell would have slugged him in the mouth a few times for that... well... maxwell would have slugged him anyway. they weren't too fond of each other. both championship teams were underrated. the lack of stars and personality is what people are pointing to. role players and chemistry won it for them.
Jordan never gives Maxwell any credit or recognition as a great defencive player. The reason is because he was theONLY one that could guard Jordan and even outscore him. He would never give the Rockets, of that era, any credit because the bulls were shown to have limitations when it came to playing the Houston Rockets. The match up was in favour of the Rockets in both home and away games. I used to take such delight, every time we torched them! If Jordan didnt retire then I feel confident that the Jordan Mistique would have been tarnished. Phil Jackson is not a Great Coach he is only a manipulator of great players, he never has put a team together [young players] and developed them, only walked into cushy jobs. Remember he retired after Jordan when faced with the task of developing the Bulls.
Had to add this, think about the teams the Rockets beat before you make a claim like that. The Jazz, The Suns, Portland had Drexler, and the Knicks, which was a very similar team. Also in the playoffs in the west were Seattle with Kemp and Payton. That's just the Western Conference. The Rockets played unbelievably well during that year and as someone stated, its a true testament to Olajuwon's greatness.
The championship Rockets were a lot like the current championship Lakers. They didn't have as much talent as the competition, but had a couple great players and role-players who knew how to play as a team, run the system and play great defense. Too often, when comparing one champion to another, it of necessity reverts to a paper comparison -- like when you compare the Clippers to the league and say they have such great young talent, how can they lose? But, the championship is about great teams, not great players. I think the '94 Rockets would have won at least 3 games against any champion that has come since. A similar thing I think could be said of the '99 Spurs. When they won that championship, they were on a roll I had never seen before.
PSJ, On that list, I really think that only 2, possibly 3 of those players were true go to guys. Hakeem - definitely Cassell - At the time, somewhat, definitely later in his career though Maxwell - Was a huge wild card. Was a go to player when he was on fire, but could very well shoot you right out of a game. I think Smith, Horry and Thorpe were excellent role players more than go to guys.
