HabaneroBuck
Non-Nike Design
AKAK suggested that no one cared about the Houston Rockets' championships of 1994 and 1995. Obviously, the Knicks series in 1994 is a cultural icon for its double-panel shot of the basketball game being played simultaneously with Al Cowlings' demonstration of how to safely execute a highway trooper evasion, but many believe them to be "illegitimate" championships for the sake of MJ being gone.
I disagree. I think those teams would have beaten the Bulls at least one of the two years in which they won championships. The reason being, of course, Hakeem. For those two seasons, I wouldn't take any center in the history of the League over him. He was putting up 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks a game during the playoffs those years. Most of all, he was the thing that MJ never had to beat in the Finals...a dominant center. MJ beat Ewing in the playoffs during his run, but it is clear that Ewing was not Hakeem. As for the finals, the centers that MJ beat were Vlade/Kareem the aged, Duckworth, whoever on the Suns, whoever on the Sonics, and Ostertag or somebody on the Jazz...in other words, I can't even remember half of them. All of the teams that MJ beat were small-ball like the Bulls! They might have been more PG-oriented than Chicago (Magic, KJ, GP, and Stockton), but they did not have a go-to guy in the 5-spot.
He never faced a challenge like those Rockets teams, and I find it hard to believe that he would have overcome both years. In particular 1995, when a 6-seeded Rockets team overcame every obstacle in their path en route to dominating a talented but young Magic in four games flat.
I disagree. I think those teams would have beaten the Bulls at least one of the two years in which they won championships. The reason being, of course, Hakeem. For those two seasons, I wouldn't take any center in the history of the League over him. He was putting up 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks a game during the playoffs those years. Most of all, he was the thing that MJ never had to beat in the Finals...a dominant center. MJ beat Ewing in the playoffs during his run, but it is clear that Ewing was not Hakeem. As for the finals, the centers that MJ beat were Vlade/Kareem the aged, Duckworth, whoever on the Suns, whoever on the Sonics, and Ostertag or somebody on the Jazz...in other words, I can't even remember half of them. All of the teams that MJ beat were small-ball like the Bulls! They might have been more PG-oriented than Chicago (Magic, KJ, GP, and Stockton), but they did not have a go-to guy in the 5-spot.
He never faced a challenge like those Rockets teams, and I find it hard to believe that he would have overcome both years. In particular 1995, when a 6-seeded Rockets team overcame every obstacle in their path en route to dominating a talented but young Magic in four games flat.