How did 1996 Supersonics sweep the Rockets?

mdonnelly1989 · Post #1 » by **mdonnelly1989** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 4:10 am

What happened to the Rockets that they went onto to win the championship and then the following year get swept by the Supersonics?

colts18 · Post #2 » by **colts18** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 4:14 am

Same thing that happened to the 2007 Heat. They weren't all that good of a team.

JulesWinnfield · Post #3 » by **JulesWinnfield** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 4:23 am

The Sonics just straight up owned the Rockets in that 92-96 window (24-7 in 31 meetings including playoffs, they knocked Houson out in both 93 and 96). Houston was very fortunate that they didn't have to face Seattle in their back to back title run due to the sonics being ousted earlier than expected in those postseasons (the sonics would have had home court vs Houston in both 94 and 95). Seattle just matched up great with Houston in that time frame. Really had their number

homecourtloss · Post #4 » by **homecourtloss** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 4:53 am

JulesWinnfield wrote:The Sonics just straight up owned the Rockets in that 92-96 window (24-7 in 31 meetings including playoffs, they knocked Houson out in both 93 and 96). Houston was very fortunate that they didn't have to face Seattle in their back to back title run due to the sonics being ousted earlier than expected in those postseasons (the sonics would have had home court vs Houston in both 94 and 95). Seattle just matched up great with Houston in that time frame. Really had their number

This. The Sonics gave them trouble on the boards (in the 22 games from the '91-'92 season to the '95-'96 season, the Sonics out rebounded them in EVERY SINGLE GAME), defended by rotating well, and scored in transition all throughout games against the Rockets. The Rockets had to make lots of threes to hold them at bay every game.

oldschooled · Post #5 » by **oldschooled** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 5:06 am

Athleticism and defense. Kemp/Payton were too much for an aging Hakeem.

Post #6 » by **tsherkin** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 1:02 pm

oldschooled wrote:Athleticism and defense. Kemp/Payton were too much for an aging Hakeem.

And that defense was gross, too. The Rockets didn't exactly have a dynamite perimeter attack. They were pretty banged up in the regular season. Against Seattle in particular, Olajuwon was solid but not spectacular. Kenny and Alien were crap and Drexler was pretty good, but not enough to stand up to that squad.

Blame Rasho · Post #7 » by **Blame Rasho** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 1:04 pm

JulesWinnfield wrote:The Sonics just straight up owned the Rockets in that 92-96 window (24-7 in 31 meetings including playoffs, they knocked Houson out in both 93 and 96). Houston was very fortunate that they didn't have to face Seattle in their back to back title run due to the sonics being ousted earlier than expected in those postseasons (the sonics would have had home court vs Houston in both 94 and 95). Seattle just matched up great with Houston in that time frame. Really had their number

This is the correct answer.

There are sometimes that great teams just can't beat other teams... this is the case.

There is a saying that styles makes fights in boxing, to a lesser extent... it could be applied to some basketball teams facing other basketball teams.

Blame Rasho · Post #8 » by **Blame Rasho** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 1:06 pm

tsherkin wrote:
oldschooled wrote:Athleticism and defense. Kemp/Payton were too much for an aging Hakeem.

And that defense was gross, too. The Rockets didn't exactly have a dynamite perimeter attack. They were pretty banged up in the regular season. Against Seattle in particular, Olajuwon was solid but not spectacular. Kenny and Alien were crap and Drexler was pretty good, but not enough to stand up to that squad.

Olajuwon wasn't playing at a flat out unholy level like seasons prior vs everyone else.

Post #9 » by **tsherkin** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 1:14 pm

Blame Rasho wrote:
Olajuwon wasn't playing at a flat out unholy level like seasons prior vs everyone else.

Oh, not even close. He was passing well and did a decent job of rebounding, but he wasn't scoring very well. IIRC, he was under 20 ppg and wasn't really killing it drawing fouls, shooting under 50% from the floor, etc, etc. Very mortal. He had a better series against the Lakers and then a year later in 97.

Post #10 » by **Cactus Jack** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 4:56 pm

That 96 team finally got their act together. It was a beautiful thing.

Post #11 » by **ken6199** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 7:16 pm

Blame Rasho wrote:
tsherkin wrote:
oldschooled wrote:Athleticism and defense. Kemp/Payton were too much for an aging Hakeem.

And that defense was gross, too. The Rockets didn't exactly have a dynamite perimeter attack. They were pretty banged up in the regular season. Against Seattle in particular, Olajuwon was solid but not spectacular. Kenny and Alien were crap and Drexler was pretty good, but not enough to stand up to that squad.

Olajuwon wasn't playing at a flat out unholy level like seasons prior vs everyone else.

In that series, Kemp, Detlef, Perkins all had above or close to 60% TS, while you look at Hakeem, 52% TS. Hakeem was also fading that year, averaging less than 10 RPG in the series which was not good according to his standard also as our absolute leading rebounder. He struggled massively against Seattle's zone defense, which George Karl recklessly employed to a maximum extent. It kind or reminds me of how difficult it was for us to get Yao Ming the ball, against certain teams. One of those things you just know the problem, but can't find the solution to it.

Oh and shawn Kemp. Kemp in particular, was the '13-14 LMA' for us in that series. Unstoppable. God like. He was too big for Robert Horry. He led the Sonics to sweep us that year (RS and PS), and that I think pulled the trigger of trading for Charles Barkley, after which we finally beat the Sonics in 1997.

Can't let it go without noting that, the 96 series although it's a sweep, Sonics only had one blowout game in game 1, the rest 3 were either 1 possession games or OT (game 4, the original 'LAC 4th quarter'). It could have been different. Yes that Snocis team did own us, and sadly I have to admit we did dodge a bullet that they got eliminated by Nuggets and Lakers before meeting us, although one can argue in those two post season runs the Rockets as a team hit the magic sweet spot and I am not so sure that Sonics team could beat us had we met. They were worse, we were better. We would have a stronger case beating the imaginary Chicago Bulls than Seattle beating us in those two title runs.

wablty · Post #12 » by **wablty** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 7:38 pm

Payton and McMillan is one of the best defensive guard duos the league has ever seen. If you didn't have the guardplay to at least make it a match, you were screwed.

Prokorov · Post #13 » by **Prokorov** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 8:44 pm

sonics were a much better team

Ferulci · Post #14 » by **Ferulci** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 8:48 pm

They had their numbers during the whole decade.
On that specific series :
- Their defense was suffocating. They were able to double team Hakeem and quickly recover to the shooters as soon as The Dream did a pass. The way they moved was overwhelming for the Rockets.
- Kemp/Payton were at their absolute best.
- Poor defense from Rockets. IIRC, Drexler was the only one able to defend Payton.

Veggamattic · Post #15 » by **Veggamattic** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 8:59 pm

The Rockets got super hot the year before. It was strange to watch...they just started playing much better after the All Star break for no reason that I can think of. They got in the zone just before the playoffs and couldn't be stopped. They played way above their level of talent. So it wasn't surprising that they weren't as good the next year.

Yadadimean · Post #16 » by **Yadadimean** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 9:04 pm

ken6199 wrote:
Blame Rasho wrote:
tsherkin wrote:
And that defense was gross, too. The Rockets didn't exactly have a dynamite perimeter attack. They were pretty banged up in the regular season. Against Seattle in particular, Olajuwon was solid but not spectacular. Kenny and Alien were crap and Drexler was pretty good, but not enough to stand up to that squad.

Olajuwon wasn't playing at a flat out unholy level like seasons prior vs everyone else.

In that series, Kemp, Detlef, Perkins all had above or close to 60% TS, while you look at Hakeem, 52% TS. Hakeem was also fading that year, averaging less than 10 RPG in the series which was not good according to his standard also as our absolute leading rebounder. He struggled massively against Seattle's zone defense, which George Karl recklessly employed to a maximum extent. It kind or reminds me of how difficult it was for us to get Yao Ming the ball, against certain teams. One of those things you just know the problem, but can't find the solution to it.

Wasn't zone defense illegal back then?

Post #17 » by **ken6199** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 9:06 pm

Yadadimean wrote:Wasn't zone defense illegal back then?

Moving screens are also illegal now.

DK-All Day · Post #18 » by **DK-All Day** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 9:08 pm

Cactus Jack wrote:That 96 team finally got their act together. It was a beautiful thing.

Then Jordan crushed their souls.

franktony · Post #19 » by **franktony** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 9:27 pm

Hakeem had trouble to deal with Payton/Kemp. They were an amazing duo. The Sonics owned Houston in the 90s.

Post #20 » by **tsherkin** » Wed Jul 20, 2016 9:28 pm

Yadadimean wrote:
Wasn't zone defense illegal back then?

Technically, yes. Didn't stop the title Pistons or the Sonics from doing it, though. Refs can call it only so many times, and teams with a defensive rep have always gotten away with more on average than the rest of the league. And as ken says, moving screens and handchecking are illegal now, but they both happen every game.