I really don't care what Wilbon thinks...we got the rings...that's all that matters. It really doesn't piss me off that people think our championships were "illegitimate"...they really have no cases. They can't go back in time and change the past....so i just ignore em. How can anybody hate Wilbon for that long...PTI is the best show on TV!!!
I detest this what if garbage! Let me explain (if I may be so arrogant). The Rockets would have lost to the Bulls the first year that they went to the finals. They barely beat the Knicks and the Bulls would have been a better team had Michael been playing. The Rockets with Clyde would have beaten the Bulls in the second year that they went to the finals because no team in the history of basketball could rightfully say they had a good shot of beating Houston that year. Here is where the "what if" garbage starts to tick me off! 1) Michael wasn't there. Too bad! It is freakin' hard to win 8 championships in a row, and something is always bound to happen. Shall I list all of the "what ifs" in sports history that were favorites to win championships but didn't because of some weird reason. 2) The Rockets wouldn't have been in a position to win the second time if they didn't gain the confidence from winning the first. Does that mean that they shouldn't have won the second? What if? 3) Likewise, the Bulls wouldn't have won 6 if they didn't gain the confidence from winning that first one. "What if" they lost that first trip to the finals. No one goes back the next year after losing because it saps confidence. There goes a dynasty. What if? 4) MJ had amazing longevity, but Hakeem could single-handedly carry a basketball team better than any player in the league... including Michael Jordon. I can't think of a player in the last 12 years that was better than Hakeem was in those 2 seasons. 5) If MJ had played straight through he would have burned out faster than Pippen did. There is no way they would have won more than 6. They might have only made it to 4 because the Rockets would have given them one severe pounding in the finals the following year (remember ugly ball, I love it). MJ would have retired early had he known that he was going to have to face Houston again. What if? Shall I continue? That journalist can bite me!
Maybe they were a better team, but head-to-head, I take Hakeem's Rockets every day of the week. Hakeem absolutely demolished Patrick Ewing, Shaq, and David Robinson. Everyone remembers each and every single one of those demolition jobs. Everyone knows Hakeem wiped the floor with the undeserving MVP (Robinson), and Shaq said in his book "he dusted my butt", and Ewing. Well, who didn't know that would happen? You're telling me Longley, Cartwright, or Williams weer gonna stop Hakeem from doing ANYTHING Jordan in the BEST game of his WHOLE career could do? You KNOW Hakeem could carry his team just as well as MJ. Even Better, since we had Drexler or MadMax to matchup with MJ. I know the Bulls are the better team, but some times, matchups prove difficult.
Hey, winning isn't everything. But losing and claiming afterward that you would have won? That's nothing.
Of course the Rockets don't deserve those two titles. When will these writers realize that any championship team post the early Celtics team that won 8 out of 11 should have an asterik besides it. I mean, if Russel and Co. didn't get all old and bad they'd still be winning today. Certainly, the Bulls 6 championships only came due to the void of another great team at the time. Magic Johnson retiring, Larry Bird gone, etc, etc???
And if the refs would have called the illegal screen by Malone in 96/97...the Rockets would have taken the Bulls.
As some have pointed out, Jordan's playoff stats are actually better in 1995 than they were from 1996 to 1998, the Bulls 2nd 3peat so the whole "he was rusty" is pure BS from Jordan worshippers who simply believe the guy to be God. The reason they lost in 95 to Orlando was not because of MJ, but finally running into a team with a dominant Center who didn't fold in the playoffs ala Ewing. In 96, they got Rodman and he helped them deal with Shaq. Personally, I think the Rockets and especially the current Lakers would smash the old Bulls because Olajuwon and Oneal would just dominate the Bulls trash heap of Centers moreso than Jordan could dominate Kobe or Clyde. It's funny how none of the media ever mentions Jordan not having to beat a team with a great center in the Finals.
Don't bring up that 96-97 season ever again. I hate the **** with a passion. That was such a fat load of a game and the refs have always favored Utah. Remember the year when they didn't start running down the clock until 3 seconds after it was passed in? We still won that series in spite of their cheating. FREAKING LOSERS!
Didn't the Bulls come back the following year and beat the Magic in the playoffs? Not too sure........trying to remember. Anyway, just because you don't face a Good/Great center in the Finals doesn't mean you've never faced one before. They've faced and beaten teams with Shaq, Mutombo, Ewing, and Zo.....before the illness. Yeah, they were always out matched at the center position, but the other team still had to match up with 23. I just will always give praise to a team that beat teams like Magic's Lakers, Clyde's Blazers, Barkley's Suns, Isiah's Pistons, Stockton and Malone's Jazz[twice], and the Payton/Kemp Sonics..........that we COULDN'T even beat over our beloved Rockets. The Rockets with Clyde would have beaten the Bulls in the second year that they went to the finals because no team in the history of basketball could rightfully say they had a good shot of beating Houston that year. Did I read right? No team in the history of basketball?
I gotta disagree with you. That "very rusty" Michael Jordan dropped 55 on the Knicks near the end of the regular season. He was anything but rusty. He'd kept in shape playing ball in Birmingham while avoiding the physical rigors of an 82 game season. He played, what? Fifteen or 20 regular season games plus the playoffs? Any rust he had had been shaken off. No, Michael Jordan well-rested, in great condition and IN HIS prime when he was beaten by the Magic, who were then swept by the Rockets. Further, even if Michael had made it tot he Finals, it was certainly no lock that they'd have been the Rockets as they were only one of two teams to have a winning record against the Jordan Bulls. They matched up very well. Mario Elie regularly contained Jordan while the Bulls had no answer for Hakeem. You don't need to go back and play the games because they've already been played. Michael was there rested, in -shape and in his prime. He lost. The Rockets won. End of story. There is no argument. Any attempt to say that the Rockets somehow ducked Jordan is revisionism.
This argument isn't whether or not Jordan's Bulls should be praised. It's whether or not the Rockets shoudl also be praised as a great team. Most here beleive they should. I mean, they beat the same Suns and Jazz teams (both more than once), they dominated a Spurs team with the MVP, they beat Patrick Ewing's Knicks (who always played the Bulls very very close), absolutely destroyed Shaq and Penny's Magic (who MJ coudln't beat). You can play the what if game forever (what if the Rockets and Bulls met in the Finals), but the fact of the matter is you'll never come to a conclusion. Both teams should be praised. Pretending like one only won their championships because of Jordan's absence (which has been poitned out isn't entirely true anyway) would be akin to saying Jordan only won because Bird, Mchale and Parrish didn't play on the Celtics anymore. It's just foolish and ridiculous.
whenever one of the zombies pulls the "jordan was rusty" argument out of their ass to explain away the '95 championship, i usually counter with a reminder that the rockets made a major trade with 35 games to go in the regular season that completely overhauled a championship team built on chemistry and changed its dynamic tenfold. and still, they won, and in a much tougher conference. if they have any knowledge of the game, any at all, they usually concede this point. and for the record, i don't think there's any way in hell the rockets beat the '94 bulls -- the bulls dipatched better teams prior to that. in fact, i don't even think the rockets would have beaten the sonics. however, they shouldn't have to apologize, nor should it ever tarnish their championship. as for '95... it would've been one hell of a series... but beating jordan would've been tough. people forget -- the rockets' playoff run was EXHAUSTING. they played 5, 7 and 6 games, all as the underdog and basically using, iirc, 7 players; plus they had extensive travel to utah and phoenix (got a break with SA)... i really think they got a bit of a break facing an inexperienced orlando team who had to play game one wearing depends. it would have been a steeper hill against the bulls. but again, the rockets don't have to apologize for a thing. they earned what they got. f wilbon.
