Every-thing Sports
Can this Rockets team repeat what the '94-'95 team did?
Jan 15, 2019, 7:10 am
Every-thing Sports
We have lived watching an era of sports in which we've been blessed to have seen a ton of all-time greats. There have been some of the greatest individual, team, and league seasons that can be put up against any in history and argued to have been the greatest.
With that said, we have also seen history repeat itself. Kobe Bryant was the closest thing we've seen to Michael Jordan. Tom Brady has eclipsed anything we thought about Joe Montana and John Elway. Steroid Era aside, we have seen home run records fall, .400 has been remotely threatened a handful of times, and some of the most dominate pitching in a hitter-friendly era.
But have we ever seen a season in any sport, from any franchise come close to what this year's Rockets team may be able to mimic when it comes to the '94-'95 team did? Before you get started saying "Jermaine has lost his damn mind again," hear me out.
I know full well the '94-'95 team won back to back titles and this team has yet to win one. I know that team hold a special place in the city of Houston's collective hearts, and this one tends to hold a special place as a pain in the city's collective ass. But there are some similarities worth paying attention to.
Let's start with the obvious. Each of these teams featured a dominant alpha dog that was/is the centerpiece of everything. Hakeem Olajuwon and James Harden are the two greatest players in this team's history. Both will be in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (Olajuwon already is). Both won league MVP the previous season. Olajuwon infamously lost out on back to back MVP awards to rival David Robinson of the Spurs and made him pay dearly in the playoffs. With the stretch Harden is currently on, he may win back to back MVP awards, but if another player's team finishes higher in the league standings, he may be given the award over Harden. In this regard, I'm specifically looking at Russell Westbrook as it refers to this article for historical parallels being that they have the possibility of meeting in the playoffs. The Thunder currently sit in third place in the Western Conference while the Rockets are fourth.
That '94-'95 team also made the key trade for Clyde Drexler two days after the All-Star game to help boost their run to a title. This year's Rockets team has been off kilter and desperately need to make a trade to help them down the stretch run. While much of this team's struggles are due to injury, the struggles are similar. This year's team is 25-18 through 43 games played, and the '94-'95 team was 28-15 at the same point in the season, finished 47-35 and won the NBA title from the sixth seed (lowest ever to win it all).
Am I saying that this year's Rockets will repeat what one of the most beloved teams in franchise history has done? It may not be likely, but it is possible. This year's Rockets are 9-8 against all current Western Conference playoff teams, including an impressive 6-3 against the four teams ahead or tied with them in the current standings. That 3-5 record versus the teams below them is bothersome, but not as off-putting as it could be. If this team doesn't get healthy, make a deal for reinforcements, and James Harden doesn't maintain his level of play throughout the playoffs, none of this will come true. Admit it; these two seasons do look eerily similar. How sweet would it be if they ended similarly?Jalen Green tied his career high with 42 points, capped by a layup that gave Houston the lead late, and the Rockets rallied for a 120-118 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
The Grizzlies were down by four before Jaylen Wells made a 3-pointer followed by a steal and layup from Brandon Clarke that put them up 115-114 with just under a minute left.
Green’s layup put the Rockets on top 116-115 before a turnover by Ja Morant gave Houston the ball back. Amen Thompson was fouled and made two free throws with 8.1 seconds left to make it 118-115.
Morant missed two free throws after that and Fred VanVleet added two free throws for Houston with 2.1 seconds left to make it 120-115 and secure the victory.
It was Houston’s fourth straight win overall and second in a row over Memphis after beating the Grizzlies 119-115 on Thursday night.
Morant swished a 38-footer to put the Grizzlies up by 12 with about eight minutes to go.
The Rockets went on a 16-2 run after that to take a 107-105 lead with 4 1/2 minutes remaining. Green and VanVleet had 3-pointers during that stretch and Thompson added six points to help Houston erase the deficit.
Morant had 29 points for the Grizzlies, and Desmond Bane scored 25.
Grizzlies: They need to do a better job of finishing after leading by 12 in the fourth quarter.
Rockets: Green delivered the kind of dominant performance the Rockets need from him on occasion as they look to remain among the top teams in the Western Conference.
Houston’s 16-2 run that erased the double-digit deficit.
Houston had 15 offensive rebounds to just eight by Memphis.
Houston visits Denver on Wednesday night, and the Grizzlies play the first of consecutive games at San Antonio that night.