i think 95, without a doubt. Quite simply, it had more talent with drexler in the fold vs thorpe. Also, both cassell and horry were a year older and wiser. I think their poor record going into the playoffs was simply due to injuries and chemistry-developing time due to the v-day trade for clyde.
I liked the '94 Rockets. They were, definately, more of a 'team' in that they'd been more or less together for several years. They were, effecient in maximising their talent, in that they had the offensive building block, in Hakeem, and players were built around him. Also, the team seemed to emphasise defense and hard work all around. They reminded me in many ways of both the '76ers team last year, and the Jazz teams when they got to the championships, in that the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. The '95 team, on the otherhand, seems to have been the start of many of the trends which, IMHO, have lead to the downfall of the Rockets. That was the first time that I saw a team that was more intrested in offence than defense, and the point at which the rockets seem to have devalued hustle players and role players.
That's tough to answer. If we're talking regular season then it's obviously '94. But out of the two year span, the best the Rockets ever played was the '95 playoffs. The '94 championship meant more to me because it was the first, but the Rockets playoff run in '95 was one for the ages.
The main differences in matchups between these two teams (or who they had to match up against others ) were basically Maxwell and Thrope at the 2 and 4 (1994) vs Drexler and Horry at the 2 and 4 (1995). Who do you think would have had the advantage? Which 2-4 was more lethal against other teams? Thats a tough one to decide Also why did Maxwell not play in 95 playoffs????
