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95 Rocks make ESPN's list of top 10 worst team champions

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by hoopgod13, Apr 29, 2002.

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  1. hoopgod13

    hoopgod13 Contributing Member

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    http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/championteams/worst.html

    1. 1997 Florida Marlins
    One of the great flukes -- a wild card that outperformed its Pythagorean numbers (that is, they won far more games than they statistically would have been expected to considering their overall run differential), then upset the Braves and beat the Indians in a wild World Series (including a comeback in the ninth inning of Game 7). Some might consider them a strong team, because they had a lot of famous "veteran" players, but they didn't show that during the regular season. The Marlins basically got "hot" for a few weeks, caught some breaks (the Braves made some mistakes and also were plumb unlucky), and will go down as perhaps the most notorious champs since the 1985 Royals or 1919 Reds.

    2. 1995 Houston Rockets
    The Rockets entered the playoffs seeded sixth in the Western Conference with a 47-35 record. But they became the lowest-seeded team to win an NBA title, beating four 50-game winners in the process -- Utah, Phoenix, San Antonio and the Magic, who they swept in the finals.

    3. 1906 Chicago White Sox
    The World Series looked like a total mismatch -- the 116-36 Cubs (their .763 remains the best regular-season winning percentage in MLB history) vs. the White Sox, whose seven home runs on the year and anemic team batting average of .230 had rightly earned them the dismissive nickname of "The Hitless Wonders." Somehow, the Sox won the title in six games.

    4. 1987 Minnesota Twins
    The Twins finished the regular season with an 85-77 record, and they were lucky to do so -- during the season, opponents outscored the Twins by 20 runs, and statheads will tell you that without luck, the Twins would have been 79-83. Bert Blyleven and Frank Viola were good starting pitchers, but after that came Les Straker and Mike Smithson and pray for something. Still, they managed to beat the heavily favored Tigers in five games for the AL pennant, then rode Viola's arm and a monstrous home-field advantage (all four wins came in the Metrodome) to a seven-game victory over the Cards in the World Series.

    5. 1980 Oakland Raiders (Super Bowl XV)
    The Raiders, led by Jim Plunkett, tied for the best record in the AFC -- they were one of five AFC teams to go 11-5. But the Raiders were the wild-card team, and hadn't exactly overwhelmed opponents during the regular season. Still, in one of the great Cinderella stories, Plunkett led the Raiders to a 27-10 win over the Eagles in the Super Bowl, completing 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns. The Raiders were the first wild-card team to win the Super Bowl. In 1981, they fell to 7-9, fourth in the AFC West.

    6. 2001 New England Patriots
    The Pats may (or may not) have been the best team in the AFC, but they were arguably only the fifth or sixth best team in the NFL. How they beat the Rams -- who during their 14-2 season outscored opponents by almost a 2-1 margin -- remains a mystery. Is anyone betting on a repeat?

    7. 1985 Kansas City Royals
    Kansas City finished first in the AL West with a 91-71 record. The Royals were a truly multidimensional team at the plate -- they had the worst on-base percentage in the AL, the second-worst team batting average (George Brett's .335 was 57 points higher than the team's second-best batter, Willie Wilson), and were a mediocre power team. Fortunately, they had a good pitching staff, which led the league in shutouts with 11, and were second in the AL with a 3.49 ERA. The Royals beat the Blue Jays in a seven-game ALCS, then beat the Cardinals in a seven-game World Series. Pitching was the key for the Royals -- they held the Cards to only 13 runs (and a .185 batting average) in seven games.

    8. 1945 Detroit Tigers
    When asked whether the Cubs or the Tigers would win the 1945 World Series, Chicago sportswriter Warren Brown said, "I don't think either one of them can win it."

    9. 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs
    The Leafs finished third in the six-team NHL, compiling a 32-27-11 record while being outscored 211-204 by opponents (by comparison, the first-place Blackhawks outscored opponents 264-170). But the Leafs managed to beat Chicago in the semifinals and the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup finals.

    10. 1991 and 1992 Pittsburgh Penguins
    The Penguins followed up two mediocre regular seasons in a row with two championships in a row. The Pens were 41-33-6 in 1990-91, finishing only third in the weak Prince of Wales Conference. In 1991-92, they could only manage a tie for third in their division, with a 39-32-9 record, but swept Chicago in four straight games in the Stanley Cup finals.
     
    #1 hoopgod13, Apr 29, 2002
  2. red

    red Contributing Member

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    ehh that's why espn blows...their reason alone is why that championship rules...
     
    #2 red, Apr 29, 2002
  3. DCkid

    DCkid Contributing Member

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    HOGWASH!!! That's pretty stupid...WORST Champions? How about "Least Likely Champions."
     
    #3 DCkid, Apr 29, 2002
  4. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Contributing Member

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    There's no mention of the other teams rolling over for us and we were the defending champs, how did we get on this list? We might not have been the best Western conf. team record wise, but we were clearly head and shoulders above all the teams in the east. How come nobody bashes the Lakers for taking it easy during the regular season? "Never underestimate the heart of champion!" - Rudy T. That is exactly what Espn just did.
     
    #4 Oski2005, Apr 29, 2002
  5. kidrock8

    kidrock8 Member

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    What they should have said was that those Rockets teams weren't as strong as the previous Bulls, Pistons, Celtics, and Lakers dynasties...
     
    #5 kidrock8, Apr 29, 2002
  6. moestavern19

    moestavern19 Member

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    Morons.
     
    #6 moestavern19, Apr 29, 2002
  7. dave feitl

    dave feitl Member

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    As much as they suck Shaqs ****, you would think we would get a little credit for sweeping his big dumb ass.
     
    #7 dave feitl, Apr 29, 2002
  8. knifejc

    knifejc Member

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    I agree with DCkid it the title should have read "Least Likely Champion"
     
    #8 knifejc, Apr 29, 2002
  9. HOOP-T

    HOOP-T Member

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    yawn
     
    #9 HOOP-T, Apr 29, 2002
  10. Clutch

    Clutch Administrator
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    #10 Clutch, Apr 29, 2002
  11. Dallas Rocket

    Dallas Rocket Contributing Member

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    Hey, ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT THE ROCKETS WON!!..THE LAST TEAM STANDING. No, they weren't the best team on paper but they figured out ways to win when others could not.

    If they wanted to declare a champion from the 82 game season, why have a playoff? Quite often in all sports, the "best team" doesn't win the championship, but that's why they play the games.

    All I can say is "get over it:rolleyes: :rolleyes:"

    Dallas Rocket
     
    #11 Dallas Rocket, Apr 29, 2002
  12. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    espn-"entirely stupid putrid news"- for sure.
     
    #12 Deckard, Apr 29, 2002
  13. bsb8532

    bsb8532 Member

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    Dave got it right, why is Shaq so hyped now yet he lost to the worst championship team in NBA history? Shaq's on a 'dynasty' yet he got tooled by that 95 team. Absolutely tooled by Hakeem and Shaq hasn't improved a lot since then (statistically he might have been better then than now).

    The thing that is overlooked is that after the Drexler trade it took that team awhile to gel, but once the playoffs came they turned into one functioning unit. I think of any team in the 90's that 95 team had the best chance to beat the Bulls (with MJ) by the time they made it to the Finals. Drexler on MJ would be classic, Horry (who played unbelievable defense in both the 94 and 95 playoffs) could take on Pippen, but who could gaurd the Dream? He would have absolutely dominated any lanky, useless 7 footer the Bulls could throw out there.
     
    #13 bsb8532, Apr 29, 2002
  14. IVFL

    IVFL Member

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    What a bunch of idiots over at ESPN, are the just bored so they complie a list of teams they wished hadnt won a championship. there criteria is very weak.

    1. the team had to either have a low seed or "poor" record

    2 or they had to of had a bad year before

    that was the required elements of a bad team, Sorry excuse for journalism. I truly hope no one payed for that crap becuase I would wipe my a** with the paper it was written on.

    I think rolling through 4 50+ win team and a couple 60 win teams without homecourt advantage would make you a great team. Not in the eyes of ESPN, you were a bad team because you were a low seeded team. Lame, they dont even consider injuries trades or chemistry. they just look at the numbers and statistics.

    As Mark Twain once said there are three types of lies, lies, damn lies, and statistics.

    I am disgusted that this trash was even printed
     
    #14 IVFL, Apr 29, 2002
  15. Drewdog

    Drewdog Contributing Member

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    What a dumb fu#king topic to write about......
     
    #15 Drewdog, Apr 29, 2002
  16. Cato=Bum

    Cato=Bum Member

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    Stupid. Every champion is crucified for not dominating the regular season? Who gives a rat's A$$ about the regular season if you step up in the playoffs and beat all the premier teams to win the title.

    The 95 Rockets were much better than the 94 Rockets despite not having as good a regular season record. The way Hakeem was playing in 95, I've never seen a player play at that level, Jordan and Shaq included. I'd put them team up against anyone. But of course, they only won 47 games in the regular season, they'd be a weak champion if they'd have gone 15-0 in the playoffs!

    No team that repeats is a weak champion. The Rockets and Penguins have no business being on that list whatsoever. 99 Spurs should be on there, only team in the last 15-16 years not to repeat and won in a half season.
     
    #16 Cato=Bum, Apr 29, 2002
  17. DEANBCURTIS

    DEANBCURTIS Member

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    So a championship only counts if you've been predicted to win?
     
    #17 DEANBCURTIS, Apr 29, 2002
  18. dream_team

    dream_team Member

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    so a team that are defending champions... beating the 4 top teams in the league... and has two of the 50 greatest players of all time is one of the worst championship teams of all time?

    not to mention they embarassed the league's MVP and swept the East's best team (which put Jordan and his Bulls out of the playoffs)

    this has got to be one of the most idiotic things i've read.
     
    #18 dream_team, Apr 29, 2002
  19. DCkid

    DCkid Contributing Member

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    not to mention that the Rockets STILL had the best player in the league, regardless of who won MVP. That is just completely devoid of thought. This person must have just looked at the Rockets record. That ESPN page 2 is a joke. They also said Mobley gave up 35 points per game, but on further examination it turns out Mobley averaged more than opposing SGs.
     
    #19 DCkid, Apr 30, 2002
  20. Houston-in-LA

    Houston-in-LA Member

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    2. 1995 Houston Rockets
    The Rockets entered the playoffs seeded sixth in the Western Conference with a 47-35 record. But they became the lowest-seeded team to win an NBA title, beating four 50-game winners in the process -- Utah, Phoenix, San Antonio and the Magic, who they swept in the finals.

    How in the world is this a BAD thing??? Yeah beating 2 60 game winners and two 50 game winners means you are awefull...and sweeping the glorious Shaq and Dream showing him how to become the most dominate center in the league now ranks right up there with the freakin awefull Patriots!! Sure :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
     
    #20 Houston-in-LA, Apr 30, 2002
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