Has Kobe surpassed Hakeem?

[bastillon]

Sorry, the 95 Rockets are arguably the worst NBA champion of the last 40 years. The 1995 Rockets, were one of, if not the worst rebounding team to ever win a championship. Their defense was totally mediocre in both the regular season and post-season. They were a 47 win caliber team that caught fire at the right time while getting very lucky.

that's ridiculous. your own list:

Code: Select all

               winning pct
                                                     
94/95 Rockets     0.726
79/80 Lakers      0.691           
96/97 Bulls       0.689           
01/02 Lakers      0.671           
00/01 Lakers      0.668           
92/93 Bulls       0.668           
04/05 Spurs       0.662
05/06 Heat        0.653           
75th PERCENTILE   0.65275
97/98 Bulls       0.652           
95/96 Bulls       0.649           
93/94 Rockets     0.649
99/00 Lakers      0.647           
06/07 Spurs       0.631
03/04 Pistons     0.625
82/83 Sixers      0.622
MEDIAN            0.6205
91/92 Bulls       0.619
02/03 Spurs       0.619
81/82 Lakers      0.618
78/79 Sonics      0.614
89/90 Pistons     0.613
07/08 Celtics     0.604
80/81 Celtics     0.598
25th PERCENTILE   0.59575
88/89 Pistons     0.595
98/99 Spurs       0.59
84/85 Lakers      0.588
90/91 Bulls       0.583
85/86 Celtics     0.573
83/84 Celtics     0.567
87/88 Lakers      0.564
86/87 Lakers      0.54

as for the defense, they severely limited their opponents in the playoffs. look up offensive rating numbers of their opponents in the RS and compare that to Rockets' playoff DRtg.

Code: Select all

year opp  ORtg   g
95   Jaz  114.3  5
95   Sun  114.5  7
95   Spu  111.7  6
95   Mag  115.1  4

good luck with maintaining low DRtg against Stock/Hornacek/Malone, KJ/Barkley, DRob/Elliot/Avery and Penny/Shaq. I mean good luck.

[sp6r=underrated]

Sorry, the 95 Rockets are arguably the worst NBA champion of the last 40 years. The 1995 Rockets, were one of, if not the worst rebounding team to ever win a championship. Their defense was totally mediocre in both the regular season and post-season. They were a 47 win caliber team that caught fire at the right time while getting very lucky.

that's ridiculous. your own list:

Code: Select all

               winning pct
                                                     
94/95 Rockets     0.726
79/80 Lakers      0.691           
96/97 Bulls       0.689           
01/02 Lakers      0.671           
00/01 Lakers      0.668           
92/93 Bulls       0.668           
04/05 Spurs       0.662
05/06 Heat        0.653           
75th PERCENTILE   0.65275
97/98 Bulls       0.652           
95/96 Bulls       0.649           
93/94 Rockets     0.649
99/00 Lakers      0.647           
06/07 Spurs       0.631
03/04 Pistons     0.625
82/83 Sixers      0.622
MEDIAN            0.6205
91/92 Bulls       0.619
02/03 Spurs       0.619
81/82 Lakers      0.618
78/79 Sonics      0.614
89/90 Pistons     0.613
07/08 Celtics     0.604
80/81 Celtics     0.598
25th PERCENTILE   0.59575
88/89 Pistons     0.595
98/99 Spurs       0.59
84/85 Lakers      0.588
90/91 Bulls       0.583
85/86 Celtics     0.573
83/84 Celtics     0.567
87/88 Lakers      0.564
86/87 Lakers      0.54

How does this dispute my opinion about the 95 Rockets?

The 1995 Rockets, were one of, if not the worst rebounding team to ever win a championship. Their defense was totally mediocre in both the regular season and post-season. They were a 47 win caliber team that caught fire at the right time while getting very lucky

It isn't like they were killing their competition like the 01 lakers in the post-season. They struggled to win their first two series. They played 5 elimination games. They got killed on the boards in the post-season. Everything statistical measurement screams out they were a weak championship team.

[bastillon]

It isn't like they were killing their competition like the 01 lakers in the post-season. They struggled to win their first two series. They played 5 elimination games. They got killed on the boards in the post-season. Everything statistical measurement screams out they were a weak championship team.

but at the same time they've proven they could beat a competition that most champions never faced. how many championship teams could win in that season when you have Sonics, Jazz, Magic, Knicks, Bulls, Spurs and Suns as 55-60W teams contending for a title ?

when you're looking at playoff SRS or efficiency differential you HAVE TO take into account competition, because it's not like RS when you have relatively the same competition year in year out. in 95 playoffs Rockets may have dominated weak teams but they never had the luxury of going up against them because the league was so stacked.

you had MJ coming back from his retirement, playing easily better than in 2nd 3peat, before he bulked up and lost much of his athleticism, and that's alongside prime Pippen and Kukoc too. there was peak Robinson/Rodman Spurs dominating every single team on the boards and playing as well as almost any championship team. Jazz with basically the same crew that got to the finals, except they were younger. KJ and Barkley weren't the same as in the early 90s but still a great offensive team and a strong contender in any year. Payton and Kemp upset twice in the first round but still a legit 60W team with one of the best 1-2 punches in the league, that would be a top-notch contender in any year as well.

you're taking their opposition for granted but considering their competition it's still amazing they played as well as they did. for instance, how could you say they were one of the worst champions when in fact they beat STRONGER teams than most of the title teams ?

put any Spurs title team in 95... do you really think they are favorites to win it all ? would they even advance to the second round when your worst opponent is most likely a 60W team ? BadBoys ? I'd LOVE to see them dominate against MJ/Pippen/Kukoc Bulls, those ridiculously physical Knicks teams or Penny/Grant/Shaq Magic. there were TONS of championship caliber teams that year and the fact that Rockets were the last team standing (i.e. beating every team) truly speaks about their greatness. if anything, Rockets were one of the best championship teams and 95 was probably the most stacked year ever.