Otis Thrope was not a hall of famer, but he played stellar DEFENSE and grab lots of rebounds key to the victories agaisnt Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 championship (The Rockets won 2 championships, just letting you know). Did you not read his stats? that year Otis was 3rd in the league in field goal percentage and he played everygame. 1993-1994: As the only Houston player to start all 82 games in 1993-94, did the dirty work on the Rockets' front line ... While teammate Hakeem Olajuwon was having an MVP season, ended up ranked third in the league in field-goal percentage (.561) and 15th in rebounding (10.6 rpg), setting a personal single-season high for rebounds in his 10th NBA season ... Also tallied 14.0 points per game, second on the club to Olajuwon ... On 1/20 at Denver, blistered the Nuggets for 24 points, 20 rebounds and three steals in a career-high 54 minutes ... On 3/17 he beat up the Golden State Warriors for 21 points, 21 rebounds, three assists and two steals ... Also became the 54th player in NBA history to grab 7,000 rebounds in a career ... Thorpe and Olajuwon are the only active teammates to have reached that mark ... After winning the Midwest Division championship, Houston advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1986 ... The Rockets then took home the title after a seven-game victory over the New York Knicks ... Averaged 11.3 points and 9.9 rebounds in 23 postseason games. Hey we had 3 hall of famers , Pippen, Barkley and Dream and we didn't win it. We won with great chemistry and great role players. I'm glad you are dissing Otis Thorpe cause it exposes your lack of Houston Rocket basketball knowledge.
you can say an infinite what ifs? comparing players that have won championships for the Rockets vs the current team is like comparing Ferrari's to rickshaws. Sure Yao can have an MVP type of year, but he hasn't. Hakeem has. Sure Wesley could hit a 3pointer to seal a game 7 against the knicks, but he hasnt. As long as there is air on Earth. That 93 team will be defended by me and true Rocket fans. That team still lives on. Mario-helped spurs win a championship, now a coach with GS Warriors Kenny Smith-best NBA analysts, always gives props to the old rockets, Dream, Vernon, Sam..etc Horry-only 6 championships later, people recognize he's the best post season clutch shooter, #2 in 3pointers (playoffs) behind Jordan Scottie Brooks-assistant coach in Denver Sam Cassell-an allstar last at 35, countless playoff victories, leading the Clippers to a winning season When I talked to Otis Thrope at the Horry Katrina benefit, I told him how much I appreciated him winning that championship for us fans and the city of Houston. he was very humbled and said he was so proud of that championship. I'll take a PF who's battle tested against Karl Malone, Anthony Mason, Shawn Kemp, Charles Barkley and SG who's held Michael Jordan under his average. Cause they are true champions.
I didn't say hall of famers. I said an MVP candidate. That year none was at the top of their games like Dream was in 93. And when/if TMac gets to that level, only then will we vie for a championship. And Juwan and Wesley will perform great next to a white-hot TMac. This Thorpe discussion is irrelevant to my point since I'm not singling Thorpe out. But I'll play your game. People who get only dunks have a high FG%. Cato also had a high FG%, IIRC, in Rudy's last year cause all he did was alleyopp. And so far, Juwan hasn't missed a game to injury this year either. Juwan and Otis are both quality PF's, albeit very different style of players. But your blind hatred of Juwan cannot allow you to have a rational discussion. And one little peice of trivia called THE BEST PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE. Sorry to tell you but good role players alone ain't enough. More often than not, its the superstar that performs in crunch time that makes the difference. Comparing Thorpe to Howard isn't a diss. Thorpe was awsome. Straight up... on our current team, I'd take Thorpe over Howard. That being said, Howard is a better scoring option which we desperately need right now. But ONCE AGAIN that wasn't my point. I said, I'd take Howard AND Wesley over Thorpe AND Maxwell because two players are better than one since Maxwell went AWOL. They are all four quality role players when on the court. Problem is Maxwell isn't always on the court. If Maxwell was more reliable, he's DEFINATELY an upgrade over Wesley. But Mad Max is useless in street clothes. You've got your opinion and I respect that. My only beef is your total blind hatred of Howard. The dude is a quality NBA player. He's just been snake bit because he signed big contracts on bad teams and was asked to be the star player ...which he is NOT.
first of all, i dont hate juwan. i want him to help us win games. we aren't. he wasnt there last year in the playoffs and this year we stink. is it because of him? no, but he's a cursed player. him and webber are cursed. oh VERNON... #11 sitting next to DREAM ok, then who was on the court for game 7 against the KNICKS?? http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19931994.html Olajuwon again came up big in Game 7, as did guard Vernon Maxwell, who had his best game of the series with 21 points. The game was close throughout. The Rockets held a narrow lead most of the way, and the outcome was not decided until Olajuwon nailed a 6-foot hook and Maxwell canned a three-pointer with 1:48 left, giving the Rockets an 83-75 lead and putting the game and the champagne on ice. ok, who devestated Phoenix when we were called CHOKE CITY? http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/millennium_index.html (May 13, 1994) Down by 12 points at halftime in Game 3 of the 1994 Western Conference Semifinals, Vernon Maxwell turned the Rockets into road warriors. After losing the first two games of the series to the Suns at home, Maxwell made sure Houston wouldn't go down 0-3 in Phoenix by scoring 31 second-half points to lead the Rockets to a 118-102 win. "We are back," Rockets Head Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "Phoenix still has home-court advantage, but the pressure is on them now. And it's a lot different playing when you're under pressure." Let me give you more evidence that Vernon Maxwell was on the court: 1993-94: After this, his sixth season, Maxwell was included among the NBA's all-time leaders in three-point shooting-he ranked 10th in three-pointers made (634), just 15 treys shy of Larry Bird, who played 13 seasons....Maxwell also ranked fifth in three-pointers attempted (1,981) and easily ranked as the Houston Rockets' all-time leader in both categories....In 1993-94 Maxwell had a spectacular eight-game stretch in which his three-point shooting was largely responsible for Houston victories.....Perhaps the most memorable occurred on 12/9 in a game with the Miami Heat, when his fallaway trey from 35 feet sent the game into overtime.....then hit a three-pointer in overtime to give Houston a 7-point cushion.....On 1/6 Maxwell suffered an episode of atrial fibrillation, a particularly frightening event in the wake of Reggie Lewis's death in the offseason.....Medication restored Maxwell's heartbeat to normal rhythm, and he missed only three games....For the season, he averaged 13.6 points and a team-high 5.1 assists....Shot .389 from the floor, including .298 from three-point range....Became the 13th Rocket to score 1,000 points in a season and passed Sleepy Floyd for 12th on the team's all-time scoring list.... With an average of 13.8 points and 4.3 assists per game in the postseason, Maxwell helped the Rockets to their first NBA Championship. Houston defeated the New York Knicks in seven games in the NBA Finals. 1992-93: While continuing to bomb from three-point range in 1992-93, Maxwell developed a reputation as an outstanding defender....Held opponents below their scoring averages in 35 of his 68 starts and notched 86 steals for the season.....Meanwhile, Maxwell led the Rockets in three-point field goals made for the third straight year, hitting 120 of 361 for a .332 percentage....His season ended prematurely when he fractured his left wrist at Seattle on 4/17, amid one of the best streaks of his career....In a sizzling span of nine games, Maxwell averaged 18.7 points while shooting .496 from the field and .404 (19-of-47) from three-point range....Also had 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game during that stretch....For the season, Maxwell finished second on the Rockets with an average of 13.8 points per game. He returned from his wrist injury to play in 9 of Houston's 12 playoff games, averaging 14.0 points in the postseason. 1991-92: Maxwell again led the NBA in three-pointers made (162) and attempted (473) while finishing 29th in the league in three-point percentage (.342)....He bombed from downtown at a torrid pace in March, hitting 50 of 121 attempts (.413) to become the first player ever to make 50 three-pointers in a month.... Starting in all 80 of his appearances, the fourth-year pro set new career highs in scoring (17.2 ppg), three-point percentage, free-throw percentage (.772), rebounds (3.0 rpg), and assists (4.1 apg)....The first Rockets guard to average 17-plus points in consecutive seasons since Calvin Murphy had done so from 1973 through 1980....Scored a season-high 35 points twice-at Denver on 11/2 and against San Antonio on 12/14. On 3/12 he completed a four-point play against San Antonio, becoming one of only five NBA players to record the feat in 1991-92....Maxwell also notched at least 100 steals (104) for the second straight season. 1990-91: Maxwell began shooting three-pointers on opening night, and he didn't stop until the Rockets' last game of the season....Hoisted 510 three-point attempts for the year, second only to Michael Adams' then-NBA-record 564 attempts....Made 172 of those shots, topping Adams' mark of 167. (Majerle has since passed them both with 192 treys, on 503 attempts, in 1993-94.)....On 1/ 26 Maxwell lit up the Cleveland Cavaliers for a career-high 51 points-30 in the fourth quarter....At the time, only four other players in NBA history had scored 30 points in a quarter: George Gervin (33), David Thompson (32), Wilt Chamberlain (31), and Michael Jordan (30)....Maxwell hit 14 of 25 field goals in that game, along with 4 of 10 three-pointers and 19 of 22 free throws in 46 minutes....He later scored 45 points in a game against Denver on 4/5, making a career-high 8 of 12 three-pointers, thus becoming only the fifth player in league history to make 8 treys in a game....Maxwell became a starter for the Rockets four games into the season and finished with an average of 17.0 points per game. He also led the club in steals, with 127....Houston posted a 52-30 regular-season record behind NBA Coach of the Year Don Chaney, but the Rockets were postseason disappointments, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. 1989-90: Maxwell played the season's first 49 games for the Spurs but on 2/21 became the victim of a team overhaul when San Antonio traded him to the Houston Rockets for cash.....Satisfied with Willie Anderson at off guard and rookie Sean Elliott at small forward, the Spurs decided Maxwell was expendable....San Antonio enjoyed immediate success, transforming a 21-61 record the year before into a 56-26 mark and a Midwest Division championship. A 7-footer named David Robinson had a little bit to do with the turnaround.....Meanwhile, Maxwell thrived in Houston, appearing in the Rockets' final 30 games, the last 10 as a starter, and averaging 12.5 points....Scored a season-high 32 points against the Denver Nuggets on 3/13, adding 9 assists and 6 rebounds....Helped the Rockets (41-41) clinch a playoff berth with 27 points in the season finale against Utah.....Fired away in the postseason, shooting only .370 from the floor but averaging 19.8 points in a four-game first-round series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ok, well lets bring it up to 2006, shall we? I was happy we won in '93 but I BELEIVE. I beleive we can win in the next year or two ...with THIS squad (barring injurries). You apprently, don't want our current team to win. You'd rather stay trapped in '93 than root for the 2006 Rockets. Who is the true Rockets fan? Well, it is possible that Howard and Wesley could BECOME champions. And as long as they are on the Rockets, I'll still root for Howard and Wesley because they got a chance, IMO. You apparently enjoy hating our current squad. I don't call that a fan. If you want to hate on Swift, go ahead. He's an underacheiver. But this team isn't underperforming because of Howard or Wesley. We are underperforming because TMac and Yao are hurt.
NEWSFLASH: We aren't losing games cause of Juwan. Hell, without Juwan we'd be getting blown out. So when you stop beleiving in unicorns and evil witchcraft curses, you can join the rest of us in reality. The reality is Howard is a quality NBA player...and he is all we got so I'm living with it. If you put Juwan on a good team, he'll do his role. And I beleive that TMac and Yao are special enough players to take us to the promise land. Would I like to upgrade Juwan. YES But I'd also like to trade Yao for the 2000 Shaq. I'd also like to upgrade TMac for the Sunday night Kobe. I'd also like to trade Alston for Chauncy Billups, etc etc etc. You can't have it all and Juwan is the least of our concerns right now.
true. this season has made me angry, i want to go ask some teenage hotel worker from colorado to come to my room so i can...
