which nba playoffs series loss hurts you rocket fans the most of alltime

To me, that "other" option would have to be the Rockets' 1977 ECF series with the Philadelphia 76ers. I don't know how many members on this board have memories that far back. I do think that the 1977 Championship series has to have been one of the most painful ones for Rocket fans to watch since the Portland Trailblazers ended up beating the 76ers for the NBA Title. People can remember how the Rockets handled that Trailblazer team quite well that season.

 

How could anyone NOT vote for 1986? Do you realize what the opposite of losing in that instance meant? CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!! With the others, there's no guarantee that we would win it all.

Beyond that obvious one, and 1981, losing to Dallas by 40 in G7 after being up 2-0 still sickens me.

 

Ranked by likeliness of bringing home a third championship to Houston.

1) 2005 Rockets @ Dallas - Because the Rockets were cheated. However, it was still the beginning of the Yao/McGrady era. Both Yao and Tracy were at their healthiest together. If that series ended in 5 games like it should have, the Suns would have been the biggest threat (who the Rockets were tied with during the regular season). JVG ball would have crushed San Antonio and Detroit. This team could have been the lowest seed ever, at 5th, to win an NBA championship breaking the record of the '95 Rockets, at 6th, ten years later.

2) 2007 Rockets vs. Utah - 10 years later and the Rockets were favored this time against the Jazz. Losing to Utah in game 7 at home sucked more than anything. Re-watch the last seven minutes of the game and you will notice the officials don't call travel anymore in the NBA (when it's the Jazz). Golden State, the oldest Spurs team to win a championship, and a young LeBron against a slightly older Tracy and Yao were very winnable. Official end of the Yao/Tracy era.

3) 1997 Rockets @ Jazz - Rockets were the second best in the west, and the Jazz were first. I still believe the Rockets would have beaten the Bulls if they somehow passed the Jazz. Unfortunately, like the Supersonics the Jazz were the Rockets kryptonite. There was .4 left on the clock, but we all know how much a game seven in Utah would have sucked.

 

I was born in 88. What happened in 86?

 

Oh boy... You missed quite a show...

 

I had to go with 86. It just seemed like all play-off games with the Rockets were so emotionally charged that year. The Rockets knocked off the defending Champs (LA Lakers) in the WCF finals. Akeem was ejected in the game that Ralph hit the shot that got us into the championship.

I remember me and my friends talking about the Celtics have no chance at guarding a 7'6" power forward and Dream will dominate. This was supposed to be the Rockets coming out party where they were suppose to be placed on the same pedestal as the Lakers and the Celtics. This was when the Rockets were suppose to take the spot as the next dynasty of the NBA. Instead I remember Bill Walton, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale dominating in the paint. I remember getting pissed at the way the Celtics (in my opinion) were just plain dirty. I remember Ralph Sampson and Jerry Sichting and the fight. And I remember being devastated at the end of that series.

For me that was far and away the most painful loss because it marked the end of an era before it could really even start.

 

That's in my top three, dandorotik. Here they are:

1997 Rockets vs. Jazz - We was ROBBED!! I'll never for get it. There are a couple of Oilers loses that are right there, and at least one from the Astros, but this is the worst for me and the Rockets.

1993 Rockets vs. Sonics - As Leeb said, we would have won a championship had we managed to get by ****in' Seattle and could have had a Three-Peat. Those Sonics teams gave us nightmares.

1986 Rockets vs. Celtics - At the time, it didn't give me as much a blow as the other two. We were young and every damn expert in the NBA said we were the next Dynasty. Everything was before us and the future seemed limitless. When the team blew up after the season, with losing Sweet Lou and Mitch Wiggins, after already losing Lucas to the White Powder, then Ralph turning out to have an injury from that damn Celtics series that would lead to the end of his career, just how awful that loss really was sunk in. Years in the wilderness followed. Losing Lucas, Lloyd, and Wiggins would have been a blow, but Sampson was the killer. Had he stayed healthy, we could have rebuilt around the Twin Towers, or reloaded by trading Sampson, a healthy Sampson being a talent teams would have emptied the vault to grab from us. Haunts me to this day.

Folks, it is HARD being a fan of the Rockets at times.

 

At the time it was pretty painful. Having your dynasty end with a sweep really was hard especially after sonics fans were taunting our two rings only as being able because we didn't have to play the sonics.

And I don't think the Sonics were all that much better. Cassel was hurting, Clyde has torn his ankle, and we really didn't figure out how to play them until game 4. I think if our guys would have been healthy we would have had a chance.

97 was tough, but we lost in 6 games.

 

woah. OG in the house. i was only 1 at that time. i didn't follow until dream was drafted. until then i was following the astros and oilers. earl campbell was my hero before olajuwon.

1997 wcf stockton with the dagger. that will sting for the rest of my life.

we not only lost to the j*zz with a stockton stake thru the heart, but we also lost our chance at the bulls. that would've been possibly our 3rd banner and would shut all the "*MJ wasn't there" people up. even if we lost against the bulls i guarantee it would've gone 7 games and MJ would've had to pull a rabbit outta his arse.

 

here comes another Jazz bashing thread.

 

No, just the truth. There is a reason we don't like the Spazz.

 

For me personally that they are as follow;

the 93 series vs the Sonics just ripped my heart, that damn team was just kyptonite for our team. I remember how much that hurt, making the following years, watching the Sonics go out in early rounds both times, so much sweeter!

97 vs the jazz, just felt my stomach fall out, same series I ran around like a crazy man after EJ hit the game winner.

Recent memory and the games we were at, game 7 for the Rockets vs mavs and vs the j*zz really hurt.

I still remember the game up here in Dallas, we stayed till the bitter end of that beat down, told my wife we were staying till the end regardless.

The jazz game 7 was just painful because it was right there for the taking, once the buzzer sounded my wife cried for a good 30 mins..

 

Jazz series in 1997. I actually shed a tear cause I really thought we had the team to go face Jordan and the Bulls in the Finals. Damn you Stockton!!!

Mavs in 2005 doesnt hurt but it's a series that just ticks me off cause of Mark Cuban, and those paid off refs.

 

Definitely the Jazz loss in 1997. I was there, sitting in the upper deck and directly behind Stockton as he took that final shot. I could "just tell" it was going in as soon as it left his hand and I saw that it was on line.

It still haunts me to this day...it was the only time that I've personally witnessed 16,000 people having their hearts ripped out and stomped on like that.

 

rockets vs dallas 2005 west 1st round 4-3 series loss

This one hurts the most becuase the expectations on the year. It was the first series with McGrady, the first series where Yao had started maturing. Hate on McGrady all you want but he played like M. Jordan in this series. We had contravesry with the refereeing, and still took it to a Game 7, we didn't even compete in Game 7. Lastly, we all thought this would be the begining of GREAT THINGS in Houston but it ended up being the Finest Hour of the Yao/McGrady experiement... and it shouldn't have been.


A Close 2nd would be the Jazz 97' loss because that team was poised to take the championship!

 

Tough question. I was at most of the deciding games in all of those series', but I think I have to go with the '97 Jazz because of who we were playing. However, having said that I almost have to go with the '05 loss to the Mavs because we were blatantly cheated by the refs. I've never wanted to hurt a ref the way I wanted to after that series. Donaghy claimed that that particular series was manipulated so that the Mavs won, and I don't doubt it for a second. I'm getting angry just thinking about it

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kn6yFfwyRM

too many for me to narrow it down, especially since I was at most of the game 7's... the more recent ones hurt, but the youtube clip still gives me nightmares

 

THIS

that series is what made me hate the spurs more than the sonics themselves.the last game of the 93 season robinson tipped in a game winning shot that clearly didnt count.. even calvin took off his headset and yelled. upset,we lost in OT. that game cost us homecourt vs the sonics,and as yuo know every home team won that series. we could of beat the suns and could of beat the bulls,no doubt. even jordan and phil said "we are glad we dont se houston in the playoffs,they give us fits" maybe we could,maybe not,but i think we had the best chance.

on to 97
i always wondered why we didnt make a complaint to the league. i saw the bearhug then and have seen it lots of times on nba tv. again we could of beat the bulls.

05
finleys out of bounds play screwed us in game 5, we could of had em in 6 or less,that series stings,never seen a team complain so much. i was glad the heat and warriors beat them after..

07 and 08
we had them, just needed a rebound, in 08 the ak47 flop,we win in 6

sonics didnt bug me that much,not from a cheater standpoint,we couldnt beat em,got barkley,then could. the 93 and 96 sonic teams drove me nuts though.

the 2000-2003 playoff drought was hard times too

 

I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY... want to see Olajuwon against the Bulls dynasty in the finals

 

i din't see the series vs seattle, that other playoff moment i hate most
i really really wish the ugliest thing to Karl, Kemp and Payton