Could you win a title with this team?

Sam, I just tried a few of different games.

1. Houston Rockets (93-94) defeated Los Angeles Lakers (current)

2007-08 Los Angeles Lakers
PLAYER MIN FGM/FGA 3PM/3PA FTM/FTA OREB REB AST BLK STL TO PF TP
2007-08 Lamar Odom* 39 6/8 0/0 4/4 0 9 2 0 0 2 2 16
2007-08 Kobe Bryant* 38 4/14 1/7 6/6 2 10 4 0 3 4 3 15
2007-08 Pau Gasol* 35 6/15 0/0 2/2 3 8 3 1 0 3 2 14
2007-08 Derek Fisher* 27 3/6 1/3 0/0 0 1 2 0 0 2 3 7
2007-08 Vladimir Radmanovic* 24 2/7 2/6 2/2 0 2 2 0 1 3 3 8
2007-08 Luke Walton 22 5/9 1/1 4/4 1 4 5 0 0 1 0 15
2007-08 Andrew Bynum 22 2/7 0/0 1/2 5 10 1 4 0 1 1 5
2007-08 Jordan Farmar 21 3/6 1/3 1/3 1 1 3 0 0 0 2 8
2007-08 Sasha Vujacic 10 3/5 1/3 2/2 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 9
2007-08 Trevor Ariza 3 0/1 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 34/78 7/23 22/25 12 46 22 5 5 16 18 97
43.6% 30.4% 88.0%

1993-94 Houston Rockets
PLAYER MIN FGM/FGA 3PM/3PA FTM/FTA OREB REB AST BLK STL TO PF TP
1993-94 Otis Thorpe* 38 8/12 0/0 4/8 2 10 2 0 1 0 4 20
1993-94 Hakeem Olajuwon* 36 8/16 0/0 5/6 2 7 7 1 1 3 3 21
1993-94 Vernon Maxwell* 33 6/13 2/6 1/1 1 7 5 0 1 2 3 15
1993-94 Robert Horry* 30 6/12 1/2 0/0 3 8 2 2 1 0 0 13
1993-94 Kenny Smith* 28 7/13 2/6 3/3 0 2 4 1 0 1 2 19
1993-94 Mario Elie 19 1/4 0/0 0/0 1 4 1 0 1 0 0 2
1993-94 Carl Herrera 16 3/5 0/0 2/2 2 4 1 0 0 1 4 8
1993-94 Scott Brooks 15 1/3 0/0 0/0 0 0 3 0 2 0 1 2
1993-94 Matt Bullard 13 0/2 0/1 0/0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
1993-94 Sam Cassell 5 1/4 0/0 0/0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 2
1993-94 Eric Riley 4 1/2 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
1993-94 Earl Cureton 2 1/2 0/0 0/0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
TOTALS 43/88 5/15 15/20 12 44 27 4 8 9 18 106
48.9% 33.3% 75.0%
* - denotes game starterPlayer of the Game
Otis Thorpe (Houston)

Kobe, 4/14 shooting and only 15 points, I wonder who guarded him (outplayed him)

 

2. http://www.whatifsports.com/NBA/boxscore.asp?GameID=1443465&nomenu=1&teamfee=-1/ (modern day Rockets vs. 92-93 Knicks) Away team 1st - Home team 2nd

3. http://www.whatifsports.com/NBA/boxscore.asp?GameID=1443488&nomenu=1&teamfee=-1/ (99-00 Lakers vs. 85-86 Celtics)

4. http://www.whatifsports.com/NBA/boxscore.asp?GameID=1443510&nomenu=1&teamfee=-1 (Last year's Magic vs. Final's Magic), strange, but Dwight Howard outplays a young Shaq. Why is this strange, because Dwight has rarely gotten the best of old Shaq.

5. http://www.whatifsports.com/NBA/boxscore.asp?GameID=1443565&nomenu=1&teamfee=-1/ (First CHampionship Rockets team beats Last NBA Finals Jazz team by 15 in Utah)

 

Enough to only take 14 shots ... , Kobe was awfully conservative in that game.


a more realistic stat line ... 8/28, 21 points.

 

For some reason, I think the site gives modern teams a slight advantage ... I just put in Rochester Royals (56) and they got crushed by last year's Grizzlies.

A team with last year MJ (Wizards) on the road defeated a team with first year MJ (Bulls). Also, old outplayed young.

Against Rick Barry's Warriors, Kobe goes off for 46 (16/24) and hold Barry to 27 (11/31).

Barkley's 93 Suns crushed the Championship Pistons of 89-90 by 39 in Detroit. 136-97

 

good job pluto

some notes from my perspective:


I like your analysis about each player and their possible contributions. Its pretty evident that the team will struggle with outside shooting and bench play.

This team will kill the Rockets and Wilt will simply overpower and frustrate Yao. Once Wilt takes Yao out the game , it will be a fatal domino affect esp. without a healthy Tracy.

I am sure the 80's rockets and 99' Spurs could have a serious chance of beating this team in a 7 game series.

Wildcard teams:

2001 Lakers: Epic Battle between Shaq and Wilt, Kobe

2004 Piston: team defense against Wilt, MJ would have to get out on break at any opp to get Coz going. In any case if teams send hard doubles to Wilt , I would insert Ced into starting lineup to rain jumpshots.

1991 Bulls: Jordan. Lack of center. Pip on MJ (prime)

2008 Celtics: Strong opponent who would play it close every qtr , but loose a close games. Could win twice every ten games.

Pistion, Heat, Knicks : roughneck teams wouldnt be able to score enough,but will cause defensive chaos for Wilt led team.



The key to this team is inside - outside play, half-court offense. Screens and motion plays will be a staple if Wilt doesnt have initial shot. Any steals will signal a fastbreak immediately.

Coaches:

Head Coach: Pat Riley (coached both extremes ie showtime lakers, defesive juggernaut knicks and heat)

Asst. Coach: KC Jones (defeated showtime lakers and bad boy pistons)

Asst. Coach: ?? best coach out there who can teach/run motion offense

 

87-88 Bulls lose by 1 on the road against 06-07 Spurs. MJ goes for 44 6 6, (18/34) ... MJ probably missed the game winner.

110-111

Last year's Rockets vs. the First title year Shaq/Kobe Lakers, Rockets lose 90-112 in LA, typical. , Shaq goes for 34-14, Glen Rice goes 30, and Kobe only gets 15 (7/17) shooting, thank you Shane.

T-Mac shot 9/20, and Yao was dreadful 6/17, only 16 points and 5 rebs.

Strange thing about this one is I put in the 05-06 version of the Rockets, they still lost, but put up a better fight with Yao outplaying Shaq. And the Rockets still holding Kobe in check with only 14 points.

 

could it be a healthy tmac and the addition of bob sura? I wonder who is holding kobe?

 

Remember, this is a very young version of Kobe, 19 to 20 year old version, he's not quite at the 05-06 level, or even 02 -03 power. He often had games were he didn't make out of the lower teens. Also, remember these were JVG Rockets, who often did well against superstar wing players, mostly a result of good team defense. Kobe has only lit us up a few times compared to us shutting him down. He's very much hit or miss against us. He's had some spectacular games against us and some downright dreadful ones (yes, some even before Shane came into town, even some pretty JVG).

The Bad Boy Pistons could hang Lakers and Celtics high scoring attacks, but I don't think they would be strong enough under the basket to slow Wilt down.


For the Bulls, I believe their best unit to beat this Harlemalum team would be the 96 version, because Harper and Rodman are better defender than Armstrong and Grant. They can disrupt Magic's harmony assists, while they can use hack-a-Wilt to somewhat limit Chamberlian.

I think Spurs should be another wild card team, especially 99, 05 and 07 version. The Spurs are sneaky good against these kind of teams. Duncan will probably have his hands full of Chamberlain at times, but Ginobili, Parker, and Finley will run wild on offense. I don't see anyone that team who can remotely slow down the Spurs backcourt and outside shooting.

You left out some of the Rocket teams. I used 86 version Rockets (earlier), because they thrashed LA that year. And, this team is similar structure wise to that team also. Who is going to defend Akeem, if Wilt is guarding Sampson? Who guards Sampson, if Wilt is on Dream? Also, look at the teams suspect wing defense. I even used the 94 team, since Hakeem was at the height of his ability and the team played outstanding defense at time, while hitting some very clutch shots. Maxwell, Horry, and Thorpe can definitely pose problems on defensive end for this team. Again, remember this Harlem team is somewhat vulnerable on defense and there is a player on the floor who can neutralize Wilt.


This Harlemalum is an all time team, but there are couple more teams out there that could beat them in certain years.

 

excuse my spelling mistakes ...using a new laptop with weird keyboard


In my post above I agree with the 80's Rockets because of the Twin Towers.

Good point about the young kobe, i missed that.

I doubt the bad boy pistons could derail the WLT (wilt led team).

What do you think of the coaches I pointed out?


PS: have you tried the 94 bulls vs 94 rockets with the addition of MJ? or 95 bulls vs 95 rockets?

 

Ok Rocket Fans, I tried this last night, this might come as big shock to some people, but after trying 6 sets of simulations (7 games per set, like NBA playoff series) the Rockets won 4 out of 6. The Bulls had most of the homefield advantages, because of better regular season record.

Things I notice:

According to this simulation, the Rockets were more times than not a better team than the Bulls (head to head). The Rockets beat several Bulls title teams with some very weak squads (teams that won less than 50 games)
Bulls (obviously) no answers for Hakeem Olajuwon. He was downright unstoppable, except in the last series, 97-98. Hakeem in every series, except 97-98, averaged 26 ppg to 34 ppg with at least 12 rebs (and as high as 14 rebs).

Vernon Maxwell was pretty much the Jordan stopper … in some games. Not all of them (Jordan still averaged around 26 to 30 ppg on 48% shooting). Also, Max actually averaged single digits, twice. But after 94 teams, MJ torched the Rockets to a crisp in some games. Rockets probably should be more commended for the job they did on Pippen, who was non-factor in the early series. Although, Pippen did great without MJ (93-94) (almost averaging a triple double) and with the 96-97 squad, too.


Weird things – Olajuwon wasn’t the MVP in the last two matches. You all probably can guess who brought the cake home, finally. We wouldn't be hearing tired jokes about on TNT Thursday Nights every time a special guest shows up.

The 94-95 teams had Thorpe and Drexler together.

The 95-96 Bulls defeated the 94-95 version in 7 games, but lost in 5 games vs. 95-96 Rockets who were swept in the 1st round by Supersonics (don’t worry, we actually swept Seattle in 4 games).

1st matchup - Houston Rockets (1992-93) defeated the Chicago Bulls (1992-93) in 6 games
2nd Matchup – Houston Rockets (1993-94) defeated the Chicago Bulls (1993-94) in 6 games, Pippen had a great series, though.
3rd Matchup – Chicago Bulls (1990-91) defeated the Houston Rockets (1993-94) in 7 games
4th Matchup – Chicago Bulls (1995-96) defeated the Houston Rockets (1994-95) in 7 games
5th Matchup – Houston Rockets (1997-98) defeated the Chicago Bulls (1997-98) in 5 games
(Remember, this is a 41 win Rockets team against 61 win Bulls team)

6th Matchup – Houston Rockets (1996-97) defeated the Chicago Bulls (1996-97) in 6 games

7th Matchup – Houston Rockets (1995-96) defeated the Chicago Bulls (1995-96) in 5 games

There were no low scoring games, unless it was blowout, which were on both sides in some games. 70% of the games were pretty close (<7) between the final scores.
15% were blowouts, mostly in favor of Houston, 5% (>7).
The Rockets held MJ under 30 ppg for 4 out of 7 matchups, but he still shot over 49% in 5 out of 7 matchups.

Sidenotes: I also pitted the Rockets (93-94), maybe the best Rocket team ever against 99-01 versions of the Lakers and Spurs (05, 07). The Rockets almost swept each version, except 00-01 Lakers team. I especially surprised how they did against the Shaq/Kobe Lakers. I’ve always contended to Laker/Shaq fans that if Shaq didn’t stop Hakeem in 95, there’s no way he could stop him in his 00s body. In fact, Olajuwon scored slightly more points and grabbed more rebounds against the Lakers than he did against the Bulls, Spurs, and Jazz.

In some games, especially the later ones, Dream held Shaq in single digits or under 14 points shooting under 50% Even when Shaq did outplay him, the Rockets still one. Otis Thorpe looked like the 2nd coming of Tim Duncan in some games against Lakers he had few 20-15 games.


96-97 Rockets also beat 84-85 (in 6), 87-88 Lakers (swept this version) and dismantled the 85-86 Celtics in 5 games. I promise you I am not lying go over to SimMatchup (http://www.whatifsports.com/nba/default.asp#top).

93-94 Rocket teams also swept the Mavs NBA Finals team, came back from a 3-0 deficit against last year’s Lakers (Olajuwon’s totals were greater than Bynum and Gasol’s put together), and thrashed both Pistons squads, especially the best 80s team.

But, the 03-04 Larry Brown squad was more competitive, even holding Olajuwon under 50% three times in 6 games. The games were very low scoring, barely reaching 90s, twice with 04 Pistons. 89-84, 83-70, and etc.

Last thing, even after crushing the best Spurs teams (except one), beating the greatest Bulls teams and taking out the Shaq/Kobe Lakers twice (with some of our weaker squads) and two Showtime championship teams (84,87), I know most Rocket fans are going to hate this (me most of all). This sucks more than wet wedgies in freezing cold weather.


Don’t get your hopes up, we still managed to lose to the best Jazz teams (96-99 squads), except one (97-98 team matched against the 93-94 Championship squad). I mean it was … ugly. Example, It was 93/94 Rockets against the 96-97 Jazz. We managed to win game 2 (in Utah) and game 3. Then, we managed to lose the next 3 games by 77 (25+ ppg) points. Scores, like 119-92 or 124-98. Karl Malone having multiple 40 point games and looking like unstoppable against us. And Utah bench going absolutely insane, Chris Morris and Shandon Anderson almost averaging 16 ppg.


Also, the 04-05 Spurs almost swept 93-94 version Rockets, we only won one game in San Antonio. As the Rockets lost every single game in Houston. Tony Parker and the Spurs bench went crazy for some reason. While, last year’s Celtics beat them in 6 games.

 

a 3-peat would not be out of the question