If you are trying to assert that without Barkley we would have made it to the finals, I have to disagree. We could not beat the Sonics. They had just swept us the year before Barkley came and with Barkley we DID beat the Sonics and had the Jazz on the ropes before Barkley torn his bicep muscle and had to sit the rest of the series. The fact of the matter is that yes Seattle did have our number before Barkley. But we had Utah's number before aquiring Barkley. We were never able to handle Utah after the trade. The aquisition of Kevin Willis would have been enough to overtake the Sonics in my opinion. The Big 3 Rocks were never cohesive and looking back, it's amazing how they were able to win as much as they did with no chemistry and 3 players wanting the rock in the same block. Barkley was a chump when we were kicking his but in Phoenix and didn't do anything to warrant the trade once he arrived. I like Charles as a person but on the court he never knew what it took. It sickened me almost every time he waved Dream from the low block.
Nope, I don't think so. The forthcoming salary demands of Bob Horry and Sam Cassel caused the "end of an era." The Barkley deal was a good trade, and he did what he was acquired for (getting the club past Seattle).
Total bs...there were a lot of factors that went into it. One that pisses me off the most is the Malone bear hug on Clyde to get Stockton that open shot. os
Barkley came in and did exactly what he was supposed to do get us past the Sonics. Had Drexler not been held Stockton would have missed the game winner and the Rockets would have gone on to beat the Bulls 4-3 in the greatest finals ever.
dwil-Uh, do you remember the 1998 season, when we had Utah on the ropes in the 1st round? We were up by 20 points in the 2nd/3rd Q, when CB4 goes down with an injury, and the Rockets end up choking and gave the game to Utah, who then beat us in Game 5. If CB4 were healthy, we win. And your "out of your ass" myth is pretty much shot down. Also, don't you think part of why we didn't own Utah anymore, was because Utah improved in their 2 year run? Is it too much ask for newbies to use their head?
well hopefully that 8686 in his name doesn't refer to his date of birth b/c i doubt that he could remember that.
Agreed.....with Horry and Cassell we were able to beat Utah, with Barkley we were able to beat Seattle. Pick your poison. Anyway, I just never understood how the ref couldn't call the "Bear Hug"? I mean, it was literally a bear hug! Besides, weren't we up by double digits in the late part of the 3rd quarter of that game?
We had a real shot in that series. We came out and won the first game and then the third but choked when we couldn't win either of the next two. However, the Utah fans showed real class when Drexler exited the game for the final time.
dwil, You could not be more wrong, I mean seriously, do you know anything about basketball?? I have to question that after that statement. Now if you look back at the 1997 Seattle series, Willis was not that effective. Sure he had a few baskets, but it was against the Sonics second unit. Willis' field goal percentage in the playoffs (with houston) fell sharply in 97 and 98. With the exception of Game 1 vs the Jazz in 1998, did Willis make any shots in the playoffs? All I could remember were his airball 3 footers, his butter-finger hands, his short arms, and his overall non-smart decision making on the court. Yet Willis gets soooo much praise around here, I just don't understand it. Guys, Kevin Willis was the biggest reason the Rockets lost the 1997 Western Finals against Utah. In all the games in Utah that series, he was awful, he could not do wrong right. The refs targeted him because of his bad attitude. He would not leave the refs alone. I could go on. But, If Willis was here without Barkley, Seattle would have taken advantage of Willis' constant playoff ineffectiveness, but the advantge of the Barkley trade was that Seattle had Barkley to worry about. With the lineup of dream, willis, Horry, Glide, and Cassell, Seattle would have raped the Rockets as usual. The rockets bench loses a lot of depth with cassell at the point. Kenny was leaving after 96 anyway.
Also, don't you think part of why we didn't own Utah anymore, was because Utah improved in their 2 year run? Well if Utah was improving while Kemp was rumored to be leaving Seattle, why would we break up a championship nucleus to beat Seattle. Utah had been the same Utah for 10+ years. They didn't get any better. We got worse. UpChuck never put his hand in Malone's face once. Instead he only retreated to the basket hoping to pad his stats with a board. We brought him here to beat Seattle? Partly. We brought him here to increase revenue and to re-establish the Rockets as champions. And squash that newbie stuff, I've been a die-hard since the early 80s.
I didn't realize that a "championship nucleus" included going 48-34, and getting swept in the 2nd round... I suggest you just stop posting, because you just make more and more asinine posts. In your next post, I fully expect you to say that what we really missed was Buck Johnson at SF.
i'll apologize for my ignorant...no wait...STUPID comment, dwil. my thoughts on what happened: 1. kemp was satisfied in seattle until the sonics signed jim mcilvaine to a 5 year 35 million dollar contract (after the 95-96 season) and it was almost time for his free agency. in fact, he was disgusted that mcilvaine made more money than he did and kemp's relationship went to hell with george karl. and lets face it, sonics would have had our numbers back in 93-94 if not for some acts by God to stop that from happening. Karl and his players played some tremendous ball (defense and offense) that the Rockets were unable to stop in the playoffs. no way would Willis have been enough to even neutralize Kemp. 2. you're right, the Big 3 never meshed on the floor. the rift b/t clyde and charles was never a good thing to hear about. but they got pretty far even through their differences. they would have made it to chicago if not for Malone's WCW move. 3. the way that the sonics swept us in 95-96 probably gave you an inclination that the rockets traded away horry, cassell and co for barkley is a good one. maybe that's what happened maybe not. but i'll agree with you that adding barkley also helped increased revenue for the rockets. but: a. there was no way, after the sweep, that the rockets could have themselves believe that they could actually beat the sonics w/ the same guys. rockets run in 94-95 in the playoffs was amazing but lets face it: the sonics was never in the rockets way during our 2 championship run. if you look at the rockets homepage at nba.com, the sonics had beaten us 9 straight before the playoffs that year...which we were swept out of. b. barkley was needed because he could actually neutralize kemp and actually contribute on the offensive end. big price for the injured power foward, but it was needed. think of it this way: was it better to be swept w/ the championship team in 95-96 or to limp away beating the sonics in 7 games in 96-97? 4. stockton's shot in the WCF. if he didn't drain that shot, we wouldn't have this argument right now and probably would be talking about how great the rockets vs. bulls final was. it was a mix of luck, cheap play, and everything else.
I suggest you just stop posting, because you just make more and more asinine posts. Like what? No chemistry once he arrived? Three go-to guys that demand the same spot on the floor? Barkley's steadfast refusal to defend his man? Face it. The guys arrival was the day the "team" (in that word's truest essence) died. Go Stevie Franchise!!!!!!!!
or....flash back one MORE year and see how the sonics swept our championship team clean like how they would have back in 93-94. that was the day the team died.
Exactly. The championship team died when they went a ho-hum 48-34 in the reg season, and then got their ass handed to them by the Sonics. Don't blame Barkley for this, he was in Phx.
I agree totally. However, I don't think the Sonics would have swept the Rockets in 1994 playoffs had they met, but Seattle would have won the series. All I have to say is, Thank You Denver.
It's nice to see a person of reason on the thread.........I do agree that the Rockets could not beat Seattle and the entire town rejoiced when they were ousted in 94 and 95 (I still hate Nate McMillan. This guy friggin went Jordan on us everytime we played). Were we demoralized after the second round sweep in 96? Yes. Did we need to TNT the entire team? No. Up until then our teams played team defense and hustled. Why not bring in someone of the same cloth?
Because we needed something more than just defense and hustle... By bringing in another Chucky Brown, we don't improve any.
