Hakeem vs Jordan (We would have beat them in the finals)

What if what if what if what if

Move on folks

 

I know this thread isn't about last night or LeBron.

But look at how Jordan plays. You can smell the assassin in him even through the internet.

Also, notice how athletic the Rockets and Bulls are. And I can argue the defenses were better then than they are now especially since they call the hand checks and ticky tack stuff now.

 

God dang, basketball was really fun back then.

 

More...

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...n_droughts#NBA_Playoffs_appearance_droughts_2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NHL_franchise_post-season_droughts#Stanley_Cup_droughts_2

Just drawing off of my two favorite sports.

Don't act like it's the end of the world. But stay thirsty, my friends.

 

91 Kenny Smith was badass

Notice this was obviously made by a bulls fan because the majority of the highlights were of the bulls, plus the obvious WGN telecast.

if you don't look at the scoreboard or watch the whole thing through, you'd think the Bulls were whipping the Rockets.

Ah, Larry Smith and Sleepy Floyd...

and #1.. Buck Johnson!

 

game 6 , 95, orlando vs chicago on nba tv right now
i think the theme tonight is shaq's career, the other hardwood classic games have shaq in it.

 

The Rockets edged out 4-3 against the Knicks in 94, one where Hakeem needed a block of a potential series winner from John Starks.
The Knicks edged out the Bulls 4-3 in 94, one the Knicks needed a controversial foul against Pippen to win.
The Bulls did not have Jordan in 94.

Look, I figured there are gazillion spins to show how we could've won. I figure I might as well present a case that we really had no chance.

I'm a rebel.

 

it's really hard to predict what may happen had both teams met in the playoffs. you can't use reg season meetings to predict the results.

both jordan and hakeem were completely different players in the playoffs (jordan averages a godly 33.4ppg in the playoffs, while hakeem's scoring averages goes up by 4-5 points in the playoffs also).

it would have been extremely fun b/c jordan and hakeem are 2 of the greatest 2-way players to have ever grace the court.

 

or maybe you didn't watch the rockets in the 80s and early 90s.
or never saw rockets vs bulls in the regular season.

 

How about this:

The rockets swept Orlando 4-0
Orlando won against Bulls 4-2
The Bulls had Jordan in 95.

So we swept the team that beat Jordan and the Bulls in 6 games.

Think about that.

 

Vernon was very athletic... dude made a lot of sick ass moves under the basket.. he was my favorite Rockets

 

If there was a team that matched up well against the Bulls (w/ Jordan) and had a legitimate shot at beating them it was the Rockets.. but the world will never know... :grin:

 

god damn basketball used to be such a beautiful game.

 

If only the Sonics weren't such a pain in the ass

 

A part of saying that the Rockets beat a team that beat the Bulls is similar to saying fighter X beat fighter Y who beat fighter Z so fighter X beats fighter Z. It just doesn't work that way.

A much more credible argument would be examining how they played in the regular season (which has been done extensively here) since they never met in the playoffs. But even then, it's a difficult comparison in that, it's the Finals and you just don't know how players will react to the environment, to other players, etc. So I would not so boldly declare one team would easily beat another. But I don't see why any of that should taint ANY championship. A championship is a championship, end of story.

 

Winning by 3 pts at your own home court ain't that great. This prove Rockets are not better than the Bulls.

 

how about this one bulls fan.. or were not born when this happened
?


Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Date: FRI 02/02/1990
Section: Sports
Page: 1
Edition: 3 STAR

Rockets crush Bulls 139-112/Chicago's newfound unity fades into thin Air Jordan

By EDDIE SEFKO
Staff

If this were golf, the Rockets today would be deflecting accusations that they are sandbaggers.

Whether or not it was by design, the Rockets set up Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls for a big fall, then slugged them Thursday night with a 139-112 haymaker that must have caught the visitors from the blind side.

The Bulls, after all, had spent the night before doing homework. They had watched the Rockets on television blowing a fourth-quarter lead, missing nine of their last 10 shots and losing at Dallas.

It was enough to give anybody a serious case of overconfidence.

"I think that they thought we would come out timid," said John Lucas. "And we didn't. We came out strong, hitting our shots.

As a result, fans at the sold-out Summit saw the best of both worlds. Jordan was airborne much of the night, scoring 35 points. And the Rockets got a runaway win.

It was a great game all the way around, unless you were a Bull.

"I don't think we showed up," Jordan said. "I don't call that a game. There wasn't any ball played on our part.' Considering the Rockets plowed through the Bulls' defense to a 41-21 first-quarter lead and widened the gap to 34 by the fourth quarter, Jordan was right.

The Rockets established season highs with 41 first-quarter points, 77 first-half points and 139 points for the game.

In their eternal pursuit for the .500 mark, they now are 21-23.

Otis Thorpe had 30 points and 13 rebounds, playing his best overall game of the season. It was his best point production since he had 33 in the fourth game of the season.

He had loads of help. All five Rockets scored at least 16 points. Akeem Olajuwon had 23 points. Sleepy Floyd had 20 points, hitting all three of his three-point shots in the process.

Sometimes, the Rockets can look pretty good when they play five-on-five basketball.

Playing five-on-one, they can look downright invincible.

They ganged up on Jordan.

The Rockets breezed by the Bulls like they were nothing but Air. And, on this night, Chicago was nothing but Air.

The Air Jordan show was magnificent as Chicago's superstar scored 25 points in the first half. He could have posted a remarkable scoring night had the score not gotten out of hand. He sat almost the entire fourth quarter.

"I have only one thing to say," Chicago Coach Phil Jackson said. "This was one of the longest nights I've ever spent in the NBA. And I've been in the league 18 years.

"The Rockets were terrific. And we were equally as bad.' Affirmative on both counts. The Rockets hit their first seven shots, fired in 72 percent of their attempts in the first quarter and hardly slowed down the rest of the way.

For the game they knocked in 62 percent of their field-goal tries.

"It's really amazing what a day will do for a team," Coach Don Chaney said. "Last night (Wednesday against Dallas) we couldn't buy a basket.

"Tonight, we shot the ball from all over and made everything.' In a way, it was no surprise. The Rockets continue to be a good home team and an awful one when they step outside the city limits.

"It's driving me crazy," Chaney said, "because I can't figure out why we can't hit a shot on the road. At home, we take shots and know they are going in. On the road, we're a different team.' But for one night, the Rockets successfully stole the spotlight from Jordan, although he had his moments.

He scored 15 second-quarter points, mostly on swooping drives to the basket, levitating above and beyond the Houston defense when necessary.

And while the Bulls may have subconsciously been underestimating the Rockets, Houston certainly got a boost by Jordan's once-yearly visit to The Summit.

"There's no question that when you've got a great player like him, your intensity level rises," Chaney said. "I was worried about this game because of the fatigue factor.

"But I don't care how you feel. When you go against somebody like Jordan, you get up for those games.' And the Rockets were never in trouble. They steadily increased the lead. Their shooting was as good as it has been all season.

"When you shoot the ball like we did tonight, everything falls,"said Mitchell Wiggins.

Including the Bulls.

But then, they were set up for the putdown.

 

How do you like these apples?

Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Date: SAT 12/12/1992
Section: Sports
Page: 1
Edition: 3 STAR

Rockets turn Bulls inside out

By EDDIE SEFKO
Staff

CHICAGO -- The Rockets have caught flak, patched up holes and mended their wounds during the first six weeks of the NBA season.

All of a sudden, they became Bull-etproof.

That's the way they looked Friday night when the Rockets overwhelmed the two-time defending world champion Chicago Bulls 110-96 at Chicago Stadium.

And the impressive thing is, the best team won.

Call it a validation of the Rockets' leap into the upper crust. Call it a morale booster for a team that had yet to prove anything away from The Summit.

Call it the Rockets' fourth victory over the Bulls in their last five meetings.

"It's gigantic," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "This game is so much more important than just a game in terms of getting respect around the league and gaining confidence in ourselves."

It remains to be seen if that confidence and respect carry over tonight in Minnesota, but the Rockets started their three-game swing through the wintry northlands with a superb effort.

Hakeem Olajuwon had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as all five Rockets starters hit for 17 points or more. Otis Thorpe had 19 points and rookie Robert Horry had 18 points. Kenny Smith had 17 points and seven assists, hitting all three of his 3-point attempts. Vernon Maxwell had 19 points and did a respectable job of making Michael Jordan work for his 26 points.

Defense? After giving up 34 first-quarter points, the Rockets held Chicago to 62 in the final three periods. In the second half, the Bulls were 11-for-40 from the field until they hit their final three attempts in junk time.

It was a dynamic performance for a collective victory.

When the Rockets fired off a 13-2 run in the third quarter, they took a 71-60 lead. Even when the Bulls bit into the lead and pulled as close as 91-87 early in the fourth quarter, the Rockets responded, rattling off a 19-3 surge that spoke volumes about how strong the Rockets were playing and silenced the sellout crowd.

"Today, I saw in the papers where Chicago was picked to beat us by 13," Maxwell said. "And what did we win by? Fourteen?

"This proves that we are an elite team when we play at our best and execute."

And there's one more requisite, Olajuwon said.

"We have to play as a team," he said. "When we do that, it makes all the difference. It's a big plus."

True enough, but when Olajuwon is dissecting an opposing defense like he did the Bulls, everybody can tag along for the ride.

"They just isolate Hakeem," Jordan said. "He's an All-Star player. He got hot and the way to stop him when he gets like that is simple -- you don't let him get the ball.

"Because when he does get it, you can't stop him. We have no one who can match up with him. No one."

Not Bill Cartwright, he of the lethal elbows. Not Scott Williams and certainly not Stacey King or Will Perdue.

It was precisely the kind of energizing victory that the Rockets got two years ago here, a win that came during a 13-game victory streak. The Rockets (10-6) won their third consecutive game and stopped the Bulls' six-game winning streak at home.

The Rockets had not beaten anybody of note on the road. Their three road victories were over teams with a collective record of 14-35.

But a victory over the Bulls at the Stadium is a red-letter achievement, and it was surprisingly easy down the stretch.

The Rockets had started the game with an offensive explosion, hitting 12 of their first 13 shots. Even so, they were ahead only by three points and they never got any breathing room until the third quarter.

With the game tied 58-58, the Rockets got a 3-pointer from Smith, a steal by Smith that led to Horry's dunk and Olajuwon's 15-footer. After B.J. Armstrong scored for the Bulls, Horry and Olajuwon converted for a 71-60 lead.

Horry did a splendid job of shackling Scottie Pippen, the Bulls' talented small forward. Pippen had 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, but shot only 8-for-22 from the field.

The Rockets dodged a bullet in the middle of the fourth quarter when the Bulls outscored them 5-1 to pull within 91-87.

This is the time when the Rockets usually turn meek and lose their composure. Not tonight. The Bulls had no more rally bullets in their chamber.

When they needed it, the Rockets came through with a crucial bucket. Olajuwon slammed with 8:03 to go and after an exchange of misses, he curled in a 15-foot baseline jumper.

On the Bulls' next possession, Olajuwon stole a poorly executed pass from Trent Tucker and fed Maxwell for layup.

That put the Rockets up 97-87 with six minutes to go. Moments later, Horry rose up for an astounding dunk. Before it was done, the Rockets' lead would bulge to 110-90 with a minute to go.

When looking at breakthrough victories, this one qualifies.

"One of the things we've stressed since training camp is that we have to go out and earn respect around the league," Tomjanovich said. "There were a lot of negative things about this team and the only way to change that is to go out and do it, to play smarter, to hang together and take better shots.

"That's been our rallying point."

And it has landed the Rockets a spot among the NBA's upper echelon.

 

never gets old.
"Jordan for threeeee!!! BLOCKED by Olajuwon!!"