OK. I'm assuming by this you believe there was a tangible impact on team/player performance in that offseason from not playing a full 82 game schedule. Would this be a correct assumption? If so, then Rockets fans shouldn't counter the "Jordan wasn't playing/wasn't himself" argument with "he did play." That's all I'm saying.
No hate here. I don't like their dirty plays and flopping, between them and Utah they are slowly moving basketball away from what it should be. It really is getting to be like floppers in soccer and I wouldn't complain if they start giving fouls for it. That said, I do appreciate the Spurs ability to play championship basketball: total defense, and they ALWAYS stick to their game down 20 or up 20. These guys don't panic and in most cases, always end up forcing the opponent to play at a Spurs pace. It's amazing, w/ them you always know which team shows up every night, and especially during the playoffs. To have that level of consistency and the mentality that they will prevail if they just keep w/ the gameplan is unmatched this year.
These types of polls would be much better if the authors don't put in their own reasons. Just a Yes/No poll would suffice.
Man, what a bunch of whiny-ass little girl fans! Each and every one of you would take Horry & Bowen for the Rockets in a heartbeat! While Houston fans are content to argue about which of two players long since out of the league is the better player, San Antonio fans are getting ready for the 2007 NBA Finals. So go ahead and hate on the Spurs all you want - you can hate until your faces turn Rocket-red and it still won't get the Rockets out of the 1st round of the playoffs. After reading these posts, I can understand why the 3 major sport franchises in Houston are all losers with a capital L.
horry is always welcome back, but bowen is a cheap shot dirty punk who intentionally tries to hurt people - i would never want someone like that on my team.
Uh, the Rockets getting the no.1 pick to take Yao was also more luck than anything so what's your point or should we discuss how the Rockets "tanked" the season to get into the Hakeem lottery?
And he is just the type of cheap shot dirty punk we need on this team of creampuffs like Mr. "It's On Me".
Right, if folks here want to talk smack, let's start with the conversation about the Rockets winning their two championships during the 2 years when Jordan wasn't playing...
I don't like Bowen. He took out Steve Francis and Steve was having a horrible year anyways. Hate Bowen!
The Mavs got exactly what they deserved...They thought that all they had to do was to show up, wave to the crowd, shoot a few 3s and smile for the camera. They thought it was all exhibition basketball on the way to the NBA Finals but somebody forgot to tell Golden State. They thought it was really the NBA playoffs.
"Jordan is one player who returned and had no direct impact on the Rockets championship, since he didn't even get to the finals." Do you not see how comparing one player's return to a season in which every team played only fifty games makes no sense? That's like saying that even though Roger Maris got more regular season games than Ruth did to break the homerun record, that didn't matter because Ruth didn't face a pitcher like Early Wynn. The entire basis for the Jordan argument is that they would have beaten the Rockets in the NBA finals (since that would be the only way his team could impact the Rockets). What was the Chicago Bulls record against the Houston Rockets in the early 1990s?
I don't think that the '99 season is "tainted," as I would this season, because every team had the same amount of games (there was nothing "unfair"), but I do think there should be a note that the season was the second shortest in NBA history because of the strike.
I hate kobe, and most recently I started to hate the Mavs. In fact, I like the spurs, except for Tony Parker, I cant stand him, I dont like his style of play.
The Spurs were already a great team when they got the pick. The year before Robinson was hurt they were in the Western Conference Finals. Then they got Duncan and Robinson back. THAT is luck, not just being a being a sound, smart organization. The Rockets were crap when they got Hakeem and Yao, not just down due to a single season injury to a single player.
I don't think you're understanding me correctly. I'm not saying I believe the Jordan argument or that I think the Rockets title is tainted in the slightest way. I'm in complete agreement with you on that. I'm just pointing out the inherent contradiction by those who do make that argument and at the same time believe the Spurs' title in 1999 is tainted. To me, it doesn't make a lot of sense.
