That would be a great finals to watch...I would have to go with the Rockets. They had Clyde the Glyde and Hakeem the Dream...The Bulls had no great BIG MAN...So The Dream would do his stuff...It would be close..and the DRexler vs. Jordan rivalry would be a great acrobatic show. They would've played each other if it wasn't for the suns? or the sonics? aint sure. But what would you think what've happened? Would it affect their Dynasty (the BUlls) and Jordan's career?....u be the judge.
Ha, that was a matchup that anyone interested in the NBA at the time was dying to see. But you need to specify: which year are you talking about? If you meant the first half of the Dynasty, you're wrong, because that Rockets team, minus Hakeem, sucked. And only the second Houston title had Drexler('95). The first one still had Otis Thorpe. And then in the second half of the Dynasty, the Rockets added Barkley in '97, and still had him in '98. If the Bulls and Rockets met in '96: I would go with the Bulls, 4-0 sweep. This Rockets team wasn't very deep, and the only reason why the Sonics that year won 2 games in the Finals was because they were deep and because they had 3 stars to divide the scoring between. The Rockets really only had Clyde and Olajuwon. There were others(Horry, Cassell, Kenny the Jet, Mario Elie), but for the most part the team was focused around two stars. On offense, the Bulls could just feed Harper, Jordan, Kerr and Pippen, who would wrack the Rockets with midrange and outside shots. Clyde was old by '96, and couldn't keep up with Jordan, not like in '92. On defense, the Bulls would sic Pippen on Clyde to shut him down, and give Jordan some time on him. Olajuwon would have been tough to handle, but Dennis would have been put on him, and just as he shut down Shaq in the ECF, he would have at least harrassed Dream too much to dominate. If the Bulls and Rockets met in '97 or '98: I'd go with Bulls 4-3. This matchup would be much closer, an actual series. This is the one team the Bulls didn't want to meet. They knew they could beat Seattle, Utah, LA, and Phoenix. San Antonio only had Duncan by '98, and he was still a rookie, so they didn't worry them too much. But Houston had three major stars who could all kill you with 30 points. The matchup on defense for the Bulls would have been Jordan on Drexler, Rodman taking turns on Barkley and Olajuwon, and Pippen trying to disrupt the passing lanes and taking turns on Drexler and Barkley. They'd basically have to pick a poison, and the best one would be Olajuwon, who'd likely get his points anyway and who was least hungry for a title by that point. On offense, the Bulls wouldn't have had it much easier, but Pippen would have had a heyday, as would Toni Kukoc. He could take any Houston defender off the dribble, and with his range and length would have been hard to stop anyway. Jordan really would have had to rise to the occasion, and despite that, the series would have been tougher than any other in the Bulls title years.
Regardless of the outcome, I do not believe it would have effected Jordan's career or the Bulls as a whole. The Rodman vs. Barkley matchup would have been something for the history books, I would have loved to seen that. <font size="1">I'm moving this to the NBA History forum.</font> <font size="1"><font color="Red">Don't, this is not an article - KJ</font></font>
Contrary to what most people believe, I think the Rockets would of had a good shot at playing real close, and maybe even beating the Bulls in the 94 finals. If there was one player who could match up defensively with Jordan, it was Vernon Maxwell. Although known for his wild temper, Maxwell was a good shut-down defender back then. During the Bulls' 3 championship seasons, the Rockets went 5-1 against them in the Regular Season with the Jordan-Maxwell matchups. As for a Rockets-Bulls matchup during the last 96-98, I would think the Bulls would have easily won in 96, but the 97 and 98 finals would of been great ones to watch with the Bulls probably having the edge in the end.
Mad Max wouldn't stand a chance defensively against MJ. This would be a series to watch....but still, the Bulls would win it...simply because it had MJ and a bunch of roleplayers capable of scoring and defending any given night...
Personally,I think a much more intriguing match-up would be the '81-'82 Lakers versus the '95 - '96 Bulls....Kareem,Magic and Jamaal Wilkes along with teammates such as Norm Nixon,Kupchak,Michael Cooper and the always lethal Bob McAdoo taking on MJ,Pip,Ron Harper,Kukoc and Rodman. It's one match-up I've always wondered about.
It would be no match. Longley was enough of a threat down low to help the Bulls. And Rodman had the boards under control.
lol @ longley...he was garbage...and NOT a threat at all... it would've been a good matchup...but it also depends which Rockets squad ur talkin bout, cuz in 94 they didnt have Clyde...I think they would've won either way, IMO, because the Bulls couldnt reach out to the 3 pt shooters and also double Dream...but of course, i'm biased...
The Bulls would win it. MJ is the greatest player of all time, and would refuse to lose a series like this. I think the Pippen vs. Clyde would be a nice matchup. But like Starman said, the years of the teams count a lot.
rockets definitely wouldve won 94-95. this was the year when MJ came back with 17 games left in the regular season, they went 13-4 to end the season with MJ. they went into the playoffs with full momentum and then fell flat against a freight train also known as shaq. i recall orlando crushed mj and the bulls in the series 4-2, orlando then went on to play houston and we all know what went down. chicago lacked size. so, what did they do? they went out and got rodman, and gave more minutes to longley and totally got rid of purdue. result? they won a title. and 2 more after that.
He was talking about the years that Jordan was retired and Houston's back to back championships. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting The Prophecy:</div><div class="quote_post">The Bulls would win it. MJ is the greatest player of all time, and would refuse to lose a series like this.</div> What exactly would "this" mean to you? Sounds to me like you are degrading the Rockets which would not be very bright to do. Olajuwon was the closest thing to MJ at that time, and speaking of MJ where was he at? Trying to play baseball. So if anyone is going to be looked down on it should be him for bailing out on his team. The Rockets were the best 3 point shooting team in the league in 94, they were very unselfish too. This team was so clutch as well, trailing in playoff series after playoff series and still finding some way to win. The 94 Rockets would have no answer for MJ, the Bulls would have no answer for Olajuwon. It would come down to the Bulls great team defense against the Rockets 3 point shooting. Of course we know the Rockets beat the Knicks in 7 games (Knicks had a chance to win it in games 6 and 7, but failed) In 95 the Rockets traded for Drexler after starting the season and playing really terrible. They did not play well with Drexler either until it was playoff time where him and The Dream just took over. Both of them had 40 points in one game against Utah in a unreal performance. Drexler and Jordan 2 would have been something to see, and Olajuwon would have been his normal dominant self. Jordan/Pippen - Drexler/Olajuwon would have canceled one another out, so it would come down to the role players yet again. Rockets ended up beating the Magic 4-0 I don't know who would have won, I would feel safe though in saying that Houston would have at least won one, they were that good. Please note that Rodman was not a part of these Bulls teams.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting King James:</div><div class="quote_post">He was talking about the years that Jordan was retired and Houston's back to back championships. What exactly would "this" mean to you? Sounds to me like you are degrading the Rockets which would not be very bright to do. Olajuwon was the closest thing to MJ at that time, and speaking of MJ where was he at? Trying to play baseball. So if anyone is going to be looked down on it should be him for bailing out on his team. </div> Boo freakin' hoo. So he tried baseball. He loved baseball as a kid. His dad got him into it. Since his dad had just recently died, I think that had a lot to do with his decision to try baseball out. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> The Rockets were the best 3 point shooting team in the league in 94, they were very unselfish too. This team was so clutch as well, trailing in playoff series after playoff series and still finding some way to win. The 94 Rockets would have no answer for MJ, the Bulls would have no answer for Olajuwon. It would come down to the Bulls great team defense against the Rockets 3 point shooting. </div> And you know where the Bulls excelled at on defense? The perimeter. And what he (The Prophecy) meant by "this," was that MJ excelled when it came down to will. MJ's will to win was off the charts. He literally would will his team to victory. Thats what he meant.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting King James:</div><div class="quote_post">Tell me something I don't know. <font size="1">(And that sig still needs to be smaller)</font></div> My sig is fine, thank you. I appreciate your concern.
Back on track here... So where do you stand? Was it really that much of a stretch to say that the Rockets would have got one ring out of this?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Vintage:</div><div class="quote_post">My sig is fine, thank you. I appreciate your concern.</div> I think he refers to the text in your sig.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting The Black Widow:</div><div class="quote_post">I think he refers to the text in your sig.</div> He took care of it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting The Black Widow:</div><div class="quote_post">I think he refers to the text in your sig.</div> LOL- No way.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting King James:</div><div class="quote_post">Back on track here... So where do you stand? Was it really that much of a stretch to say that the Rockets would have got one ring out of this?</div> I think the Rockets would have posed the best chance to beat the Bulls. I think the Rockets could have stretched it into a 7 game series. I don't believe the Rockets would win though. And that is where I stand. Edit: Does anyone remember the Sonics-Bulls series? Had the Sonics put Payton on Jordan to begin with, I think they would have faired better. Its finals time. You need you best players to step it up. (Potential) Foul trouble be damned, if you're Payton, you should have demanded to guard MJ- to give your team the best chance of winning.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting King James:</div><div class="quote_post">He was talking about the years that Jordan was retired and Houston's back to back championships. Please note that Rodman was not a part of these Bulls teams.</div> Did you ask him if he meant '94 and '95? If so, and if those are the years he's referring to, then, assuming Jordan played in both years, you have to also assume that Horace Grant and Bill Cartwright were still on the team. And if the Bulls had had Grant vs. Orlando(who actually had him), there's no doubt in my mind that Chicago would have won that series and probably gone on to the Finals. And in '94 they almost made it to the Finals without Jordan. Taking all that into account, I still think the Bulls would have won, but I agree that Houston would have taken some games, probably extending at least one of those series to seven. in '94: pg - B.J. Armstrong and John Paxson would have outdone Kenny Smith and Sam Cassell. Cassell was a rookie and not much of a factor, and Pax was getting too old to be much of a factor too. B.J. was an allstar who was too quick for Smith. Both were great shooters, but B.J. had better penetration and played better point defense at this time in their careers. sg - Jordan easily outdoes Maxwell and Elie. No contest. And coming off a 32 ppg season, he easily could have gone for 35-40 vs. Houston. sf - Pippen was too wily for Robert Horry, and could shut him down on defense, as he did 6 years later in the WCF. pf - Horace Grant v. Otis Thorpe would have been a close matchup. I'd say they cancel out. Otis was better offensively, Ho better on D and rebounds. c - Hakeem easily outdoes Cartwright/Perdue/King/Williams, but they were a big frontline, physical, so expect him to be bothered on boards but light up the scoreboard Bulls either 4-1 or 4-2 In '95: very similar, except shooting guard and powerforward: MJ v. Clyde would be close, but this clyde was older and only a 20 ppg guy, whereas MJ was still a 30 ppg guy. Ho Grant v. Carl Herrerra or whoever else: Horace Grant easily has advantage in both scoring and rebounding and defense, and can help shut down Hakeem Bulls either 4-2 or 4-3
