1994 A great Rocket who deserves lots of praise. OTIS THORPE: 1992 No second banana, OT worked OT to provide the brute strength behind Rockets' first title By FRAN BLINEBURY Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle F0R 17 NBA seasons, Otis Thorpe was usually part of the background and rarely the focus of the photo. If he were part of a flower, he'd be the stem that holds it up and not the pretty petals. It he were part of a car, he'd be less like the engine and more like the four wheels that keep it moving down the road. "I wouldn't necessarily call Otis an enforcer because he wasn't that kind of person with a mean streak," said former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich. "But there was something about him that always projected an image of strength. I can say that I always felt good knowing that we had a guy out there in those days who could bang and score." Those days were Thorpe's seven seasons with the Rockets from 1988 to 1995, including the first championship run in 1994. He was their defender on the front line, doing battle with the likes of Karl Malone. "OT was the guy who had my back," said Hakeem Olajuwon. "There were a couple of years after Ralph Sampson was traded that I felt one of our biggest needs was to have somebody strong at the power-forward position. I felt like if I went to block shots or to do all that I could on defense, that I was leaving us open on the inside. "But all of that changed when OT came to the team. He was the kind of guy who you could always depend on. He was there for us every night and would always do whatever it took." Thorpe's talents were far more than those of a mere second fiddle or a garbage man who cleaned up around the basket. He could run the floor and finish on the fast break. He could hold on to the basketball as if it were a softball and wheel inside for one-handed dunks. He could pour in 30 points on a night when nobody was expecting it. It was in the 1991-92 season, when he averaged 17.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and shot better than 59 percent from the field, that Thorpe received his only recognition as an All-Star, joining Olajuwon on the Western Conference team in Orlando, Fla. "It tickled me to death when Otis made that All-Star team," said Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson. "He'd spent all of those years in his career always being one of 'the other guys,' and this was one of the few times when he really got to enjoy the limelight as an individual. "Otis was the missing piece of our championship club. He rounded out our team. Not just with his talent, but with his attitude." While Thorpe was rarely a quotable figure for the media and, in fact, did his best to stay out of the spotlight, he was a vocal force inside the locker room and on the practice floor. "I remember how hard we all took losing to Seattle in that great seven-game series in the 1993 playoffs," Dawson said. "As a coaching staff, we flew home from that game so depressed, and it affected us for a long time. "I saw Otis pretty soon after those playoffs were over, and he was already working out. He told me he was getting himself ready, that it wasn't going to happen again. I know that he went into the locker room with the guys before the start of the next season and said he was done with the losing and wasn't going to get pushed around. "Well, we started off the next year 15-0, and of course we went on to win the championship. There's a lot of different things that you think about that go into a season like that. But I think the attitude that Otis brought right into training camp was something that pushed us from the start, and it usually gets overlooked." Typical Otis Thorpe.
94 I was in college, in the midwest, where EVERYONE was a Bulls fan. There were only two of us from Houston at the school and we watched every game at this dive bar. We bet the locals that the Rockets would win and won alot of free drinks. I really felt like this season was magical. It began for me in the 93 Playoffs, even though we lost to the Sonics in overtime of Game 7, I felt like they had taken a huge step forward. What a great ride.
the legend began here. It began to look like a return trip to "Choke City" when the Rockets blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 3. But with the Knicks holding a two-point lead and Ewing, Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason providing a triple-team blanket, the shot clock was running down when Olajuwon spotted an open teammate at the last possible second. "I saw it was Sam," Olajuwon said. "All I thought was, 'Good!' " And it was. Cassell's 3-pointer with 32.6 seconds remaining put the Rockets in front 89-88. He added four free throws. Seven points in barely half a minute, and the rookie, whom the New York tabloids had linked to a late-night dalliance with Madonna during the series, saved the Rockets.
I vote for '94. Being a kid back then I didn't watch much basketball. Since the Rockets were playing great in '94, my dad watched every playoff game. I watched the games with him and became a fan. When the Rockets got to the finals we went out and got jerseys. I got a Sam Cassell #10 Away jersey. They won the Championship, and we got to go see them downtown as they rode around in fire trucks. I had lots of fun during the 1st Championship, and I've been a fan ever since.
Tough choice! '95 was probably the better, more amazing run. Totally unforgettable and sweet in so many ways. But, nothing could be sweeter than the first. Ever. Watching the team struggle and tease and ultimately fail for so many years... then to battle through the playoffs, teetering on the edge but defying elimination time and again, all the way to game 7 of the Finals... and the explosion of energy and emotion that long-time fans had pent up spilling out into the streets that night was... just too special for words. oooo... I get chills recalling it.
There's nothing like the first one, 94. BUT.. the storyline, drama, and just flat out inconcievability of the 95 run makes it one of the greatest NBA championships of all time, period. Clyde and Hakeem together again, erasing the doubts from championships past.. beating hall of famer after hall of famer in their primes.. on the road.. from the lowest seed in NBA history. Nothing will ever come close to that, in any sport.
94. I just simply never believed it would happen. I was so close to being jaded after growing up watching the '86 series (both Mets/Celtics), the Oilers debacles, and then the '93 series against the Sonics. 95 was amazing as well. Picking between these two is like picking which one of your children you love more.
all this reminiscing is sorta depressing to me, the notion I get is that alot of us is living in the past...is our future that bleak?
what else is there to talk about in the offseason, jj redick? actually I was thinking the same thing when the cassell and maxwell thread was started.
The only negative memory I have of the championship years is seeing all the bandwagon fans. You know who I'm talking about, the people who never watched a single game until the Finals but were first in line at Academy to buy up all the championship shirts and hats.
i did mention the sunglasses. that's recent rocket news. its not depressing. those were great memories. you want to bring back memories of us getting beat by 50pts by the suns this year? or how about how we got clocked by dallas in game 7? how about Tmac's back?
kind of like the astros in the world series.... man i totally forgot about that SI cover. what a freaking joke and a disgrace. makes me pissed all over again.
I went with 1994 for a different reason........ If we didn't win Game 6 vs against the Knicks, I don't think there would have been a 1995. Game 6 of the 94 Finals was the most nervewracking Rockets game I've ever seen in my life (a close second being the 1997 Game 7 vs Seattle), even over any of the 1995 games because the consequence of losing that game would have been catastrophic compared to any other game the Rockets have played in. Just the way it came down to the final possession and the Rockets didn't have the ball, I literally could not talk to anyone at that point, and when Hakeem blocked Starks shot I felt no sense of satisfaction, just relief. It's the only time I've felt mentally exhausted after merely watching a basketball game on TV. I had the same feeling with the Astros in 2004 for Games 1 and 5 against the Braves because I thought the Astros were better than the 2004 Braves (plus the fact that the Astros had never won a playoff series). Yet didn't have that feeling for any of the Astro playoff games in 2005 because I knew they would beat the Braves (plus they had already won a playoff series) and didn't think they would beat the Cards (because I thought the Cards were better) Point being it's more stressful to watch your favorite team play, knowing your team is the better team, only to see them blow it.
no bigger swing of emotion EVER for Rocket fans than between Game 2 and Game 3 vs Phoenix 94. Game 2, we blew a 20 pt lead in the 4th quarter at home. I saw this with a huge group of Rocket fans. It was demoralizing. People had that 'Buffalo Bills' look on their face. Game 3, second half. Maxwell goes bezerk. Rocket fans were just as shell shocked as the Suns. Maxwell just destroyed Phoenix by himself.
The '95 one was probably sweeter just because it was so improbable. I swear, every series there was something that made you doubt the Rockets could ever repeat: The Jazz series - Hell, going into this one did anyone really think the Rockets could go all the way again? Yes, I knew that Dream was the best player in the world at the time, but it's not exactly like they entered the postseason on a roll. Then Game 1 ended with Stockon's game-winning layup and a Maxwell 3-pointer that missed and it just felt like it wasn't their year. Despite the 140-126 drubbing they gave the j*zz in Game 2, they quickly followed that up with a Game 3 lemon. I went to Game 4 where Glide and Dream both scored 40+, but despite the decisive victory, winning a Game 5 in Salt Like wouldn't be easy(especially after they lost Carl Herrera to a shoulder injury....again). Then that horrible close to the first half where Hornacek hit all those 3's plus the 7-point deficit with 5 minutes to go had me feeling nervous to say the least. But once Olajuwon hit that Dreamshake fadaway that actually banked in, I knew they had the game. David Benoit bricking every shot he threw up also didn't hurt. The Phoenix series - Games 1 and 2 were horrible. Jake O'Donnell showed more intensity than the entire Rockets team combined. And with the NBA's stupid scheduling, they were forced to play Games 3 and 4 back-to-back on the weekend, so the Suns quickly bounced back from a blowout to take a 3-1 lead. And if going back to Phoenix with that deficit wasn't bad enough, Clyde was on his death bed before the game. But again when Barkley missed those free throws and Dream tied the game to force OT, I started getting that feeling that they could pull off the comeback. We all knew Game 6 would be a breeze, but remember that 20 consecutive Game 7's had been won by the home team at the time(3 of which involved the Rockets the previous 2 seasons). Still, the fact that the Rockets played terribly in the first half but were not down by much and that Barkley was limping on one leg gave me hope. And you just knew when KJ finally missed his first free throw, the game was ours. I still screamed at Mario when he launched that 3 though. That took some serious balls. The San Antonio series - Here's where it would all end though, right? The Rockets were 1-5 against the Spurs in the regular season, and the one victory came thanks to a miracle 3-pointer by Maxwell who wasn't even on the team at this point. But the Rockets kept it close thanks in part to Mario Elie who was hitting everything he threw up(gee, you think his confidence wasn't high?), and Robert Horry of all people stepped inside the 3-point line and calmly hit the game winner. I know everyone refers to him as Big Shot Rob these days, but keep in mind that he was largely absent in the '95 playoffs up until that game. He was a changed man after that moment. Then Game 2 was the Dream show. I knew he was a great player, but I didn't think he could be THAT dominant. Of course the Rockets went and did their best Phoenix Suns impression and pissed away their 2-0 lead. But then they calmly went into the Alamodump and destroyed the Spurs in Game 5. I figured they'd break the home court jinx though and win Game 6. I think the Rockets took the Spurs a little too lightly after Games 1 and 2 and needed a wakeup call. The Orlando series - I really didn't know what to think going into this series. I figured they could beat the Tragic. I mean, there's no way they came that far only to lose in the Finals. But I'll confess I was a little uneasy after Orlando went up 20 in the first half. Still, the Rockets closing it to 11 at the half was a good sign, reminiscent of Game 7 in Phoenix. And when Nick the Brick put on his best Shaq impression at the end of regulation, I knew the Rockets would win. C'mon, did anyone ever doubt Kenny wouldn't hit that game-tying 3? Game 2 I felt good about going in. You knew a young team like Orlando would be shattered after blowing Game 1. And after that, it was only a matter of the Rockets learning their lesson from the San Antonio series and closing the deal at home. I know the first championship was magical and a major milestone for this city, but the 2nd one was just so improbable and still unbelievable to this day that I have to give it the edge. Plus it enhanced that first title and shut up the detractors and MJ apologists(at least most of them). Hell, even Sports Illustrated came around, although that still didn't prevent a packed house at the Astrodome from booing the SI rep out of the building.
