Do you think the Rockets would have more titles if Robert Horry never left?

You are partially correct. Horry switched to the 4 only for the latter stages of the 1995 playoffs. I don't think it was until the conference semifinals until Rudy T switched to the Elie-Horry front line . It was Chucky Brown and Pete Chilcutt that were starting before then - Horry never actually guarded Barkley or Malone in the early rounds. The next season, Horry slid back to the SF spot with Brown, Chilcutt, and Mark Bryant playing power forward.

As for Seattle, you're right that Barkley got us past them, but who's to say that a team with Kevin Willis at PF and all the other pieces in place couldn't have accomplished the same thing? I think by that season Sam Cassell could have certainly been much better than Matt Maloney. Horry would have continued to improve, and I'm sure our front office could have signed some decent bench players.

All those wasted years having young players but never rebuilding and having a team without a real identity we could have pushed back or avoided I think by keeping our homegrown players.