1997 NBA Playoffs Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz

[ngv80]

Olajuwon

Barkley

Horry

Drexler

Cassel

[pupungcute]

The HOUSTON ROCKETS and the UTAH JAZZ: Two of the Three BEST NBA TEAMS in the 1990s. The other one was the CHICAGO BULLS. Truly, the 1990s was the GOLDEN AGE IN NBA HISTORY. I miss those days where there were great games that were played by GREAT PLAYERS.

[JasonFromHouston]

omg i have gooose bumps lol, the buzzer shot at end @4:45

[bigcxc007]

mofo maloney shit I ncould of done a better job on stocton

[klove20w]

Olajuwon, Barkley, Drexler the old school big three their careers were pretty much done for at this time though

[kdoggjr]

I remember how bad Maloney was. I think the next year, he ended up in the D-League.

[TheRatedIX7]

the only one who really benefited from that Rockets/Suns trade was Robert Horry. He won 5 more championships after that. Barkley thought he could win one with this rocket team. When that didn't work. He thought he could stay a few more years when Pippen came but they didn't get along which eventually led him to retiring losing his last game ever to the Vancouver (Now Memphis) Grizzlies with no championships.

[bernard8504]

i miss dem days of basketball. there wont be teams like those of the 90's anymore.

[sailinyogi]

Glad to see the jazz lose to MJ in back to back finals!!!!! Bet the jazz wish they were never there!LOL

[Sierra688]

Karl Malone, like Patrick Ewing, got whipped in the biggest moments of his career by Hakeem and Jordan. '84 draft > '85 draft

[guleri2008]

brings memories

[nyakstar]

This was nothing compared to John Stockton's game winning 3 in game 6 of this same series.

[cuneo77]

rockets could of beat bulls but this team had a narrow window. with the team of 96 we could not beat the sonics,which is why we pulled that trade

[quacmayer]

en el minuto 1:34 ¡que jugada de olajuwon!

[ssyssou]

waw!great game

[vcatequista]

If they had Barkley, Hakeem and clyde a couple year earlier this series would have been a clean sweep.

[timhoward5]

do you think they would of beat mj and the bulls

[vcatequista]

If Barkley, Hakeem and Clyde two years younger maybe they had a chance. If the Rockets had beaten the Jazz in 97 I think the Bulls would have had an easier time with them in the finals. Barkley, Hakeem and Clyde had lost a lot of athletic ability from 1995.

[Brian77TX]

I agree with you to an extent. Lets not forget though, the dumbass move the Rockets made was trading away Horry and Cassell for Barkley. If we had not done that, we could have won atleast 2 more rings. But...woulda shoulda coulda!!!

[showstoppa01]

@vcatequista

Ya if Malone Stockton was 2 yrs Younger u still think that coulda happen? Come on Now Stockton was older than all of them at this time

[liweiwu007]

rockets should never have traded cassell and horry. cassell went on to win one more ring with boston, and horry went on to win 5 more with LA and San Antonio. and mr. barkley still with no ring.

[TORLBC]

Where Amazing Happens.

[TheRatedIX7]

Back then the slogan was, "I love this game".

[donjuan456]

in some 90 finals i would like to see chicago vs houston

[donjuan456]

lakers 2004 y houston en 96 97 mucho ego en juego sin titulo a pesar de que llegaron a final y final de conferencia

[quacmayer]

no lograron detener a olajuwon en todo el juego

[joaquinnn]

just crying what a game we ll always remember eddie

[Deadshot089]

We would've won that series. Really, the Rockets would've won that series if we had Sam Cassell. But no, The Houston Stupids had to trade him and almost our whole Roster for Barkley in 1996 Blockbuster trade.Wich was the dumbest move. Well past is the past I have to move on and just hope the Rockets win a title this year.

PG.Sam Cassell

SG.Clyde Drexler

SF.Maloney

PF.Charles Barkley

C.Hakeem Olajowan

Now that would've won this series and possibly a championship. But no...

[Road2Wrestlemania]

I have to agree, trading away Cassell hurt a lot because they had nobody to play well at PG. Barkley was definitely out of his prime and not worth what was given up.

[2008sALINAs]

Maloney @ SF?

[Deadshot089]

No not really. I made a mistake. But you know im right this line up would've won the series.

[2008sALINAs]

Olajuwon

Barkley

Elie

Drexler

Cassell

Yeah i agree. Could have won a couple championships.

[liweiwu007]

sometimes too much talent screws up the chemistry

[TheRatedIX7]

Thats what happend to the Lakers in 2004. Too much talent. Too much egos.

[liweiwu007]

the rockets had great talent and great chemistry that year. barkley was determine to win a ring, but olajuwon and drexler were declining.

[mattz1122]

All 3 players were past their primes. That was the problem.

[emmanuelb]

especially if all 3 stars are over the hill/washed up

[nyakstar]

Indeed it caught my eyes too. WTF would u have Maloney ( a PG) at SF. Its not like he's Magic that could play every position. Weird basketball logic there.

[k7dog]

this should have been the line up all the way through the mid 90's and alittle into the late 90'.

pg- kenny smith

sg- clyde drexler

sf- robert horry

pf- otis throupe.

c- hakeem olajuwon

with barkley, cassell, elie, willis, and maxwell coming off the bunch and u know for get about barkley we could have won 3 more with frkin malony on there also.

[theflyingsource]

SF Clyde Drexler 6'7

SG Maloney 6'2

[Deadshot089]

I know.... But Maloney is 6'3 close to 6'4.

[smackdatpat]

The Rockets traded Cassell for Barkley, Yet you have both Cassell and Barkley in your hypothetical lineup. Would you have been able to get Barkley if you didn't trade Cassell? Not sure this lineup is possible.

[Deadshot089]

Rockets Traded point guard Sam Cassell and forwards Robert Horry, Mark Bryant and Chucky Brown to Phoenix. They recieved Kevin Willis,Barkley,Maloney and some other player. They actually Traded Sam Cassell for Maloney, dumb trade

[2008sALINAs]

it was actually just for Barkley. Willis and Maloney were not part of the deal.

[liweiwu007]

maloney wasn't on the suns

[AceroySangre]

Prime Barkley = Greatest PF Ever

Top 10 EFF Player of All Time

Top 9 Season PER of All Time

Top 7 Play-Off PER of All Time

Man I Miss Those Early 90s and 80s Games :(

[Road2Wrestlemania]

LOL, he can still dunk!

[jdp242]

you dont hear emotion like this anymore i think we got a glimpse of it this past finals.

[tdvu]

you might hear it again if the rockets go far in the playoffs...

[mrl17]

the jazz never should of gotten to the finals they got lucky i mean come on barkely hakeem and drexler jesus

[donlova85]

from 93-98 the four power house west teams were houston, utah , seattle, and phoenix they always played each other in order to represent the west in the finals

[Kito343]

uhhh.... what?? wtf dude, the Lakers didnt make the finals until the 99-2000 season, and Eaton sucked.... plain and simple, and without a doubt, Barkleys prime was in 1993 the year Phoenix reached the finals and the year he won MVP, ever since then he kept on declining... get ur facts right boy

[THEGREATMIAH777]

can sum1 please post this whole game. clutch city f0 life

[AceroySangre]

Its just amazing how Charles could play so clutch in that condition with hardly a back left, dead knees and overweight

[sunshinebutmorerain]

Yes, it's so amazing to be washed up at 34, rather than being one of the two best players in the game at that age (Malone).

Malone trashed Barkley in this series.

I love the washed up line of thinking: on one hand you praise whatever Barkley does under the rubric, while on the other you'll immediately launch into a defense of how "old" he was if anybody points to his failings.

Basically, Barkley might as well have been a special olympian by your measurement. You sure you're not his mother?

[AceroySangre]

Barkly nearly retired in 1994 and by 1996 he was done. But you will never forget how Barkley destroyed everyone, everyone when he could leap and run between 1995 and 1995. That is both Malone`s and Barkley`s PRIME 22 to 32!. Malone was had Stockton al his life and Eaton and could not go to the finals untill 1997? The Lakers no longer had kareem by 1989 and they still could not get to the fianls til 1997? Give Me A Break! That is What I call Limited! Barkley Best Powerforard Ever in his Prime!

[sunshinebutmorerain]

You excel at replying without content or logical thought -- incoherent tripe is the order of the day.

No wonder you think (relative term) Barkley>Malone. You're a mental ward escapee on your best day.

Even the creator of a statistical formula like PER- which you were touting so loudly -- said Malone>>>>Barkley.

[lakerfiend]

**Barkly nearly retired in 1994 and by 1996 he was done. But you will never forget how Barkley destroyed everyone, everyone when he could leap and run between 1995 and 1995.**

huh?

**Malone was had Stockton al his life and Eaton and could not go to the finals untill 1997?**

dude, outside stockton and malone, the jazz sucked for most of mailman's career.

but if team success matters so much to define a career, why did barkley only make one final while "destroying the league"?

you're a retard.

[lakerfiend]

karl was definitely better than charles. he was the better volume scorer (25 v. 22 for career, and woulda led the league in scoring 7 times if not for air) and was a great defender...chuck's scoring dominance was matched only by his defensive inability.

prime versus prime, karl was better because of his defense. and for a career, it's no contest. karl was better at 40 than chuck was at 35.

[AceroySangre]

Wrong!. Malone played for all his life with Stockton assisting him in easy fast breaks, pick & rolls in a Weaker Western Conference of the 80s and early 90s. Barkley shot 54.1% FG for his Career Atempting 3.3 Shots Lesser than Malone (that is 6 to 9 More Missed Points by Malone) and in the Clutch Play-Offs shot at an incredible 51.3% FG attempting 3.5 Shots Leser than malone (that is close to 6-8 to 9-12 Points Missed More than Barkley!) while Malone`s unclutch 46% FG for a 6`9 PF is = pathetic!

[AceroySangre]

You are forgeting Malone and Stockton also had Mark Eaton. A Real center not like what Charles had in the Suns and after Moses left Philiy in 86. 7`4 Eaton was a man capable of grabing 8-10 RPG in his prime and is the ALL TIME SHOT BLOCK LEADER!. He aveared nearly 6 BPG for a season. He was with the Stockton & Malone for 8 straight seasons. Give me a break Eaton, Malone & Stockton could not even go by an aging Lakers without Kareem (after 1989) in a weaker Western Conference til 1997? Fuck that!

[tdvu]

i think you mean all time leader in blocked shots per game. the all time leader in total blocked shots belongs to Hakeem Olajuwon.

[nemexe]

wasnt there a commercial featuring the final shot from the verve bittersweet symphony?

[haydenisalegend]

that was a sweet game winner

[Luka2095]

WOW, this is exciting. That Rockets team was stacked, it's too bad they lost.

[2008sALINAs]

They had a stacked starting lineup but their bench was weak imo. If they had put more emphasis on a bench I think that Rocket team could have won it all that year.

[realrocky8591]

Untrue, they had a great bench that year as well. Their big 3 all averaging from 18-24 ppg, 6 players averaging double figures, 2 bench players averaging double figures Kevin Willis, Eddie Johnson.

[chamilitary07]

omg i remember this game. I was 8 years when this occured. Screw the Utah Jazz, they're always cheating.

[lazaro713]

wow what a great game, i was 9 years old when i saw this game, i probably got more excited than eddie johnson when he scored that shot, but then john stockton brought a tear to my eye the next game. fucking malone with his moving screen.

[jimtex10]

i remember that game. great game!

[abecedary]

What about game seven?

... oh, yeah, I forgot. The Houstonians seemed to always forget about that game. ^_^

[amantino4]

4:27

malone on drug o.O

[quickninsane]

the dream is abusing ostertag badly...

[radio187]

Dream used to just abuse that mistake of nature Ostertag.

[Mozman85]

Eddie Johnson, what a shot!!

[shawndavis2006]

Those were the good 'ol days!

[HuskerFanatic]

Uh, can you put the NBA on NBC intro with this please? Pretty please?

GO ROCKETS!