We should have drafted Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. Then Horry would have fit in perfectly. Next.
But that's one thing I did leave out of my previous post. Obviously a Chicago v Houston matchup of '91-'93 (or even '95) would differ dramatically from '96-'98. I personally feel Jordan was greater during his latter championships, but it doesn't really matter now. As good (not great) as Hakeem was, the Rockets probably couldn't have handled the Bulls come the mythical Finals of '96-'98. Consider this, in the season series with the Bulls from their first championships, Houston was a combined 5-1. During the second of the Bulls' championships they were 1-5. (And I remember that 1 win! Well, most of all I remember Elie playing PHENOMENAL D and Willis stepping up.) Irrelevant, but the teams were 1-1 in '95 (both Jordan-less games). The argument for Houston would depend on Clyde and on a much higher level, Barkley who did have the Jordan experience in '93. At that point, Barkley would've stepped his game up ginormously for his desire to win and carry the team (wishful thinking?). Would he have taken a similar spot as Malone did, but with help from super-role players like Clyde and Hakeem and finally prevail? Damn if only it occurred; keeps bugging me to know what would have happened, even if it was a defeat. I suppose there could be a "next-gen" of Hakeem v Jordan with LeBron vs. Yao/Amare, but it wouldn't be as exciting.
The thing I remembered is everytime the rockets played the bulls in chicago, it was almost always their fourth game in five nights. They were already a veteran team and it looked like it took its toll on them. As for that one win I remember that one well. Hakeem was celebrating Ramadan and couldnt eat or drink and still played a hell of a game. I remember Barkley missing the game due to injury and talking to Marv Albert for a few minutes during the game. My favorite moment was when Pippen drove into the lane and got hit by a Kevin Willis elbow. Barkley said if Pippen didnt like getting hit then stay out of the paint. Great stuff.
There has never been a time when Barkley was the best player on the team. Dream may have simply deferred to Barkley, but never was Barkley better.
After '97 Barkley was definitely the best player on the team. Even Rudy T said their most effective play was to isolate Charles on the low block. He had such patience to wait for the double team and it seemed that no one could stop him 1 on 1. Hakeem's peak was definitely higher than the Chuckster's, but CB4 was simply better in the twilight years.
This is a decieving statistic. I will concede that the second Bulls' dynasty was superior to the Houston Rockets of 1996 (2-0 against them), but only four of those games took place after the Barkley trade. 1-3. Still not looking good for the Rocks, but as JamesC pointed out, one of those losses came on something like the Rockets' fourth game in five nights. Another loss, Barkley was the only Big 3 member not injured. The last loss however has no excuse. The Rockets were at full strength but just rolled over in the second half... The one win we had, interestingly enough, came without Barkley (and to be fair, Denis Rodman was suspended during the time as well). I really believe that the '97 squad would have defeated the Bulls. Olajuwon, Barkley and Willis would have destroyed anything Chicago could throw at them in the paint. If Drexler could be half as productive as Jordan, we'd be ok. What could really hurt the Rockets though were the lanky athletic role players Chicago would use. Pippen would be a factor, making it hard to feed Dream and Barkley down low. They would definitely have done their homework on Maloney and not underestimate him. And the Kukoc was always a threat back in those days.
