Although the Houston Rockets were never considered primarily rivals of the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s, they were the only team to have won the title during the two three-peats of coach Phil Jackson’s team.
However, though they did work hard to win two consecutive championships, the sole speculation remained — had Michael Jordan played throughout the 1994-95 campaign and not returned merely towards the business end, would the Rockets have successfully defended their title?
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Kenny Smith, a member of the Rockets team, is certain that even if his team were to battle against the mighty MJ in the championship round.
“The Jet’s” stance
During Mike’s absence throughout the 1993-94 campaign, Hakeem Olajuwon seized the opportunity and led the Rockets to their first-ever championship. This achievement stood without any hypothetical scenario. However, the subsequent season was different when, with 17 games remaining in the regular season, the 6’6″ guard returned to the Bulls and averaged 26.9 points on a career-low 41.1% shooting from the field.
Then, in the first-round series against the Charlotte Hornets, the five-time MVP didn’t take much time to remind fans about his potential. He averaged a series-high 32.3 points per game on nearly 50% shooting from the field to lead Chicago past its opponents in four games.
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However, the second round against the Orlando Magic proved to be more challenging. Despite the 14-time All-Star averaging a series-high 31 points per game, the Bulls were eliminated in six games.
So, when doubts lingered if the Rockets would have been able to defend their title had they faced the mighty MJ in the finals, “The Jet” reminded everyone how the latter had shown signs of being at his best in his brief stint.
Moreover, he asserted that even if Chicago had overcome Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway that year, their roster lacked the necessary depth to counter the Rockets’ backcourt tandem or Hakeem Olajuwon’s dominant big-man presence.
“He was actually in the league; people forget that. They were just too small. No Horace Grant, he was in Orlando, Dennis Rodman was still in San Antonio. That’s why they’ve lost it to Orlando Magic, and we would have done the same thing,” Smith said on First Take. “The team they have lost 4-2 we swept. I just don’t think that that team, it wasn’t Jordan, wasn’t the best player – that wasn’t the best team.”
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Related: “It wasn’t like that and it doesn’t have to be” – Larry Bird opens up about not being close with Celtics teammates
Rockets were a tough matchup
When Stephen A. Smith refuted Kenny’s claim, the 6’3″ point guard highlighted a compelling stat: during the three seasons when the Bulls secured their championships, his Rockets emerged victorious in five of the six regular-season encounters against the “Zen Master’s” team.
“One of the things Phil Jackson did not want to do — he doesn’t like them double-teaming,” Smith added. “Hakeem would go crazy, and everybody, and the third quarter, they would be like: ‘Aight, let’s go double them.’ And then: ‘Splash! Splash! Splash!”
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Kenny’s claim holds weight when you look at the numbers. During the three-peat years, the Rockets went 5-1 against the Bulls in the regular season, winning those five games by an average margin of 10 points.
Their only loss came by just four points. Jordan still led the scoring in most of those matchups, averaging 29.1 points, while Scottie Pippen added 15.8. But it was Hakeem Olajuwon’s all-around impact that stood out — he averaged 20 points and 13 rebounds across those six games, anchoring both ends of the floor.
Therefore, it seems reasonable to think that while Houston never progressed past the second round during the three years when the Bulls lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy, had they faced each other in the championship round, stats do indicate how the “Wind City” team would have struggled to win games even with his best player on the court.
