Lakers were swept in 83 and 89 but they had some injured players. Now this 86 series everyone was playing but still Olajuwon put Magic and Kareen to sleep. Amazing. 4 x 1 and trip to NBA Finals. Olajuwon was incredible. How come people still think Shaq could beat him. No he couldnt.
+Mr. Entringer bro, I had to school this youngster today but with RUclips , it wasn'nt hard to find more than a few games where Olajuwon completely dominated each and every big man since 1984. There's several of Olajuwon dominating Shaq from his rookie season until he retired but not 1 of Shaq getting the upper hand. It sounds like I'm exaggerating but I'm not.
Olajuwon schooled them all! 89 Lakers were swept cause Scott was out of the Finals before game 1 with an injury and game 2 Magic was out for the rest of the series after an injury in game 2 with the score tied at 75. With the best back court in the history of the game on injured reserved!? Of course you're gonna get swept!
Ugh 😫 hello 🤗... Olajuwon and Sampson... Stop being a 90's baby 🐥🍼... Olajuwon and Sampson were 48-34, 51-31, 3-2 in playoffs series'not just Olajuwon... And Olajuwon and Sampson were 1-0 vs Magic and Kareem... Olajuwon was 1-2 vs Magic, 1-0 vs Kareem.... Divac put the hands on Olajuwon badly ... A dirty American secret that is.
This is still maybe my all-time favorite NBA playoff series. It's unfortunate that the Celtics beat the Rockets in the Finals and even more unfortunate what happened the following years, but this series--holy shit. The Lakers were not going down without a fight, but the upstart Rockets were playing a brand of basketball that had never been seen before--or since. They called them the twin towers, but Sampson and Olajuwon's up and down the court athleticism and explosiveness in the paint was breathtaking to behold. Lord. What an astonishing thing to watch, and so many what-ifs....
@@edkiely2712 the Lakers shot better than 50% fg for this series and still got blown away. Magic averaged 22ppg & 16apg!! Only a handful of teams in history have ever lost a playoff series shooting better than 50%.
@@FuShengAlex You must have me confused with someone who said that the Lakers should have won the series- I didn't! Rockets played well, and deserved it! But, the idea that the Lakers got "blown away" shows how little you know about the series. I use to have every Laker playoff game recorded on tape, and I watched that series numerous times! The only game you could even possibly come close to making the argument that the Lakers got blown out is Gm. #2 where they were down 10 going into the 4th quarter, but that still doesn't carry weight, because the Lakers closed that gap and it was still a game. Gm.#3 is considered by many to be one of the greatest NBA playoff games in history! Over 15 lead changes and 15 ties the whole game! It was tied with about a minute to go. The 8pt margin was from the Lakers fouling the Rockets in the end. Gm. 4 was another close battle with the Lakers having a 1pt lead going into the 4th quarter. And LA won Gm. #1 and Gm. #5 was won on Ralph's last second shot. So, like I indicated- it was a close, well-played series, with Akeem being the MVP. The Rockets played Boston pretty well also! If there's another series you want me to educate you on, let me know?
@@edkiely2712 oh I wasn't trying to be critical of you at all!!. I was just pointing out how well some of the Lakers played. Often when a team gets upset in a 4-1 manner, their star tends to play poorly I agree it was a exciting series. Most 4-1 series aren't that memorable.
@@FuShengAlex OK! Fair enough! That stat you brought up was one I was completely unaware of. If you ever get a chance, watch Gm. #3 again- simply one of the greatest basketball games ever played! Had everything: 3pt shots, fast breaks, blocks, lobs, momentum swings, raucous crowd, etc. I've never witnessed a game with so many swings in momentum, plus, the game was played at such a high-level! The greatest non-overtime game I ever watched!
The suspensions of Houston's backcourt the following season, plus Sampson's injuries destroyed that team. Too bad, they should have been the next dynasty.
@Bidaddy Yup Yup And it was David Stern who did this (knowing how dangerous they were, with the drug suspension), cause he didn't want to stop the Magic/Bird Train Theme. SMH
Wow, they weren't called the TwinTowers for nothing! Bill Russell must've enjoyed doing the commentary for that game. Post play was so prevalent back then, it's such a different game now.
Twin towers from houston at that time dominated against any other team in the nba. It was a well start and sad ending for them, becouse Ralph injuries slow dawn him a lot.
It was so great being a Rockets fans during Olajuwon's time. If they could have gotten passed the Sonics, they would have won a couple more championships.
@Man E Mr. J Sampson blocked it guarding Kareem straight up. I don't think Hakeem was tall enough to do it guarding Kareem straight up. Great block though
@@marckellough529 Ain't it funny how LA was heavily favored to win this series and lost in resounding fashion to the underdogs they'd won 17 of the 20 previous meetings?
Sampson's injury prevented what should have been the rivalry of the ages--Detroit vs Houston. Throw in a legit point guard and Houston might have become a 70-win per season franchise. Sad.
Yes, a combination of injury, drug suspensions, and poor draft picks, and poor trades wasted too many of Hakeem's early years. For instance, they should have drafted Terry Porter instead of Steve Harris in the 1985 NBA Draft. The could have drafted Mark Price, Dennis Rodman, or Nate McMillan instead of Buck Johnson in the 1986 NBA Draft. Drafting Steve Harris and Buck Johnson is two big misses in a row. When you miss like that in the draft, then you don't have replacements ready to fill in for career ending injuries or suspensions. Then, out of desperation you trade away your 1st Round pick in the 1987 Draft for a washed up Cedric Maxwell. Losing Sampson, Lucas, Lloyd, and Wiggins was bad, but if they had made better decisions with their draft picks, then it wouldn't have been so devastating.
@@markkeneson6806 ohhh maaan Porter or Price with Olajuwon wouldve been fantastic for Houston those years. Houston never really had a elite perimeter player during Dreams years until Clyde came.
@@FuShengAlex Wasn't Terry Porter another one of those guards, that Rocket fans said they could have drafted (besides Drexler, instead of McCray a lil earlier)?
@@msl5253 Yes. He was one. It's interesting that Portland gets a lot of deserved flak for selecting Bowie over MJ. But on the flipside if you look at the backbone of their late 80s and the 90s squads that went to 2 Finals.....most of these guys including Clyde were mid teens to late 1st rd and even 2nd round draft picks. (Cliff, Kevin Duckworth, Kersey...all RIP) and Porter weren't really expected to set the league on fire and ended up being overachievers. All the other elite teams in that era then were led by superstar can't miss picks. I think Porter would've been a good upgrade to Smith, maybe not superstar, but a decent upgrade....I remember he absolutely obliterated john Stockton h2h in the 92 playoffs.
@FuShebgAlex Yeah. Mark Price keeping defenses honest with his exquisite shooting, and/or Terry Porters play making and driving to the hole (along with his shot) would have been two upgrades at the point. Yeah. The Rockets, really squandered 86-92 boy. Price was better of course: But I think the difference between Price and Kenny Smith, was less than Smith and Porter, considering they were both competent play makers with excellent shooting ability. Obviously, Smith learned to be a better shooter during his career, whereas Price came into the league that way. What are your comments on Price; Porter, and Smith (or any other "lost" Rocket draft pics)?
Everyone talks about Hakeem...but it was Sampson who dominated 2 out of 3 games in the Forum...and it was Sampson who got them to the finals...on his back.
Dream was flat out dominant in that game 5 victory before he got thrown out. Credit to Sampson for holding it down in his absence though. The synergy the twin towers had in guarding the rim here is unprecedented....I don't think any other time in playoff history has a team had TWO guys block at least 5 shots in the same game like here. Maybe not even in the regular season either.
@Mike I can understand you liking Ralph Sampson, and I know he gets underappreciated by many Rocket fans as his game declined rapidly with expectations so high. But to insinuate (unless you actually didn't watch) that Ralph Carried the Rockets in the games you did, and on his back overall is just nuts. So, Sampson hitting a lucky shot at the end of the game that Dream actually carried the Rockets on his back, is worth the Lucky Ending, which was appreciated! PS: Make no mistake. Ralph was bad ass in those early years, and he and Hakeem made perfect partners. What we saw in 85, 86 was only a taste. It's just too bad the Rockets had their assortment of Drug suspensions; Injuries with Ralph, then the bad trades to make up for them. Some people will talk about their bad high picks. But to me, that's par for the course and pretty normal for professional teams. They had enough abnormal problems afflicting them to crash their burgeoning non dynasty.
@@msl5253not saying he carried the team for the game,...but when Dream went out, yeah...Ralph did put the team on his back and scored 8 of the final 10....including some clutch free throws. And yeah...I have watched the game... multiple times thank you.
@@Mike-ky9jz I'm not even going to check the box score or look at the game to see if what you're saying is true. So, I'll take your word for it on general principle. However/From what I remember: Ralph didn't do much (or would be described as "carry the team" or score 8 of the final 10 pts). Nonetheless/as I said: I'll take your word for it. And yes, I gave your that thumbs up/like, so you don't have to comment, unless you want to or wanna tell me, those were the only 2 points Ralph scored after Dream left!
Drexler really outpaced McCray career wise in later years. The missing piece for the '86 Rockets was a point guard, and even though they made it all the way to the finals, once they got there they really missed the steady hand of John Lucas, who unfortunately had a relapse during the regular season.
BryanX 64 I believe if they had traded Ralph for drexlar and number two pick to Portland they could have Jordan, drexlar and Olajuwon on same team. That would be any team today
Some sports writers would say that today's NBA should have running centers who can run the floor but Kareem, hakeem and ralph can do it if they played today their plays can be utilize whether in the transition and the half-court.. They would dominate Dwight, Hibbert, Marc Gasol perhaps by scoring 40ppg, 25 rpg and 10bpg if they would play on this era.
James Worthy must have been stunned - with his unrivaled first step, it may have been the first time his lefty spin into the middle was blocked like that.
ya good block from hakeem but still its unblockable if kareem knows where that guy is ! he wasnt shooting it on hakeem so ya hakeem was ready to block it kareem didnt see him
Lakers were swept in 83 and 89 but they had some injured players. Now this 86 series everyone was playing but still Olajuwon put Magic and Kareen to sleep. Amazing. 4 x 1 and trip to NBA Finals. Olajuwon was incredible. How come people still think Shaq could beat him. No he couldnt.
+Mr. Entringer bro, I had to school this youngster today but with RUclips , it wasn'nt hard to find more than a few games where Olajuwon completely dominated each and every big man since 1984. There's several of Olajuwon dominating Shaq from his rookie season until he retired but not 1 of Shaq getting the upper hand. It sounds like I'm exaggerating but I'm not.
Olajuwon schooled them all! 89 Lakers were swept cause Scott was out of the Finals before game 1 with an injury and game 2 Magic was out for the rest of the series after an injury in game 2 with the score tied at 75. With the best back court in the history of the game on injured reserved!? Of course you're gonna get swept!
The Celtics were completely decimated in 87 but they were still able to make the series go six games
Ugh 😫 hello 🤗... Olajuwon and Sampson... Stop being a 90's baby 🐥🍼... Olajuwon and Sampson were 48-34, 51-31, 3-2 in playoffs series'not just Olajuwon... And Olajuwon and Sampson were 1-0 vs Magic and Kareem... Olajuwon was 1-2 vs Magic, 1-0 vs Kareem.... Divac put the hands on Olajuwon badly ... A dirty American secret that is.
Olajuwon was Robinson to Elden Campbell, Vlade Divac and Sam Perkins the 3 headed Lakers Centers family of the early 90's...
Greatest Decade for the NBA. The Golden 80s!
Love showtime nba basketball 🏀, 1980s celtics ,detroit pistons, rockets bulls nba basketball
@@lloydkline6946 Utah Jazz
yes
This is still maybe my all-time favorite NBA playoff series. It's unfortunate that the Celtics beat the Rockets in the Finals and even more unfortunate what happened the following years, but this series--holy shit. The Lakers were not going down without a fight, but the upstart Rockets were playing a brand of basketball that had never been seen before--or since. They called them the twin towers, but Sampson and Olajuwon's up and down the court athleticism and explosiveness in the paint was breathtaking to behold. Lord. What an astonishing thing to watch, and so many what-ifs....
Even though the Rockets won in 5 games, this was a solid series! Game #3 was one of the greatest playoff games in NBA history!
@@edkiely2712 the Lakers shot better than 50% fg for this series and still got blown away.
Magic averaged 22ppg & 16apg!!
Only a handful of teams in history have ever lost a playoff series shooting better than 50%.
@@FuShengAlex You must have me confused with someone who said that the Lakers should have won the series- I didn't! Rockets played well, and deserved it! But, the idea that the Lakers got "blown away" shows how little you know about the series. I use to have every Laker playoff game recorded on tape, and I watched that series numerous times!
The only game you could even possibly come close to making the argument that the Lakers got blown out is Gm. #2 where they were down 10 going into the 4th quarter, but that still doesn't carry weight, because the Lakers closed that gap and it was still a game. Gm.#3 is considered by many to be one of the greatest NBA playoff games in history! Over 15 lead changes and 15 ties the whole game! It was tied with about a minute to go. The 8pt margin was from the Lakers fouling the Rockets in the end. Gm. 4 was another close battle with the Lakers having a 1pt lead going into the 4th quarter. And LA won Gm. #1 and Gm. #5 was won on Ralph's last second shot.
So, like I indicated- it was a close, well-played series, with Akeem being the MVP. The Rockets played Boston pretty well also! If there's another series you want me to educate you on, let me know?
@@edkiely2712 oh I wasn't trying to be critical of you at all!!. I was just pointing out how well some of the Lakers played.
Often when a team gets upset in a 4-1 manner, their star tends to play poorly
I agree it was a exciting series.
Most 4-1 series aren't that memorable.
@@FuShengAlex OK! Fair enough! That stat you brought up was one I was completely unaware of. If you ever get a chance, watch Gm. #3 again- simply one of the greatest basketball games ever played! Had everything: 3pt shots, fast breaks, blocks, lobs, momentum swings, raucous crowd, etc. I've never witnessed a game with so many swings in momentum, plus, the game was played at such a high-level! The greatest non-overtime game I ever watched!
The Twin Towers had at least 20 blocked shots in this game!!
The suspensions of Houston's backcourt the following season, plus Sampson's injuries destroyed that team. Too bad, they should have been the next dynasty.
bigdaddywbl , as a life long H-Towner, I’ve been saying exactly what u said for the past 32 years...Thanks...😎🏀
@Bidaddy
Yup Yup
And it was David Stern who did this (knowing how dangerous they were, with the drug suspension), cause he didn't want to stop the Magic/Bird Train Theme. SMH
Wow, they weren't called the TwinTowers for nothing! Bill Russell must've enjoyed doing the commentary for that game. Post play was so prevalent back then, it's such a different game now.
Twin towers from houston at that time dominated against any other team in the nba. It was a well start and sad ending for them, becouse Ralph injuries slow dawn him a lot.
And the drug suspensions. Don't forget those (then the crazy trades). SMH/What could have been.
It was so great being a Rockets fans during Olajuwon's time. If they could have gotten passed the Sonics, they would have won a couple more championships.
00:28....is that Hakeem blocking Kareem`s skyhook.........
That was more like a lay up, not a skyhook.
@Man E Mr. J Sampson blocked it guarding Kareem straight up. I don't think Hakeem was tall enough to do it guarding Kareem straight up. Great block though
@Man E Mr. J wilt block few times, when he was old wih knee surgery knees
@@FuShengAlexAin't it funny how Hakeem and Ralph had to double team a 39 year old Kareem??
@@marckellough529 Ain't it funny how LA was heavily favored to win this series and lost in resounding fashion to the underdogs they'd won 17 of the 20 previous meetings?
I've never seen anyone owning Kareem like Sampson did in this particular game. He totally made him his bitch. Probably the best game of his career!
Sampson's injury prevented what should have been the rivalry of the ages--Detroit vs Houston. Throw in a legit point guard and Houston might have become a 70-win per season franchise. Sad.
Yes, a combination of injury, drug suspensions, and poor draft picks, and poor trades wasted too many of Hakeem's early years.
For instance, they should have drafted Terry Porter instead of Steve Harris in the 1985 NBA Draft. The could have drafted Mark Price, Dennis Rodman, or Nate McMillan instead of Buck Johnson in the 1986 NBA Draft. Drafting Steve Harris and Buck Johnson is two big misses in a row. When you miss like that in the draft, then you don't have replacements ready to fill in for career ending injuries or suspensions. Then, out of desperation you trade away your 1st Round pick in the 1987 Draft for a washed up Cedric Maxwell.
Losing Sampson, Lucas, Lloyd, and Wiggins was bad, but if they had made better decisions with their draft picks, then it wouldn't have been so devastating.
@@markkeneson6806 ohhh maaan Porter or Price with Olajuwon wouldve been fantastic for Houston those years. Houston never really had a elite perimeter player during Dreams years until Clyde came.
@@FuShengAlex
Wasn't Terry Porter another one of those guards, that Rocket fans said they could have drafted (besides Drexler, instead of McCray a lil earlier)?
@@msl5253
Yes. He was one. It's interesting that Portland gets a lot of deserved flak for selecting Bowie over MJ.
But on the flipside if you look at the backbone of their late 80s and the 90s squads that went to 2 Finals.....most of these guys including Clyde were mid teens to late 1st rd and even 2nd round draft picks. (Cliff, Kevin Duckworth, Kersey...all RIP) and Porter weren't really expected to set the league on fire and ended up being overachievers.
All the other elite teams in that era then were led by superstar can't miss picks.
I think Porter would've been a good upgrade to Smith, maybe not superstar, but a decent upgrade....I remember he absolutely obliterated john Stockton h2h in the 92 playoffs.
@FuShebgAlex
Yeah. Mark Price keeping defenses honest with his exquisite shooting, and/or Terry Porters play making and driving to the hole (along with his shot) would have been two upgrades at the point. Yeah. The Rockets, really squandered 86-92 boy.
Price was better of course: But I think the difference between Price and Kenny Smith, was less than Smith and Porter, considering they were both competent play makers with excellent shooting ability. Obviously, Smith learned to be a better shooter during his career, whereas Price came into the league that way.
What are your comments on Price; Porter, and Smith (or any other "lost" Rocket draft pics)?
Everyone talks about Hakeem...but it was Sampson who dominated 2 out of 3 games in the Forum...and it was Sampson who got them to the finals...on his back.
Dream was flat out dominant in that game 5 victory before he got thrown out.
Credit to Sampson for holding it down in his absence though.
The synergy the twin towers had in guarding the rim here is unprecedented....I don't think any other time in playoff history has a team had TWO guys block at least 5 shots in the same game like here.
Maybe not even in the regular season either.
@Mike
I can understand you liking Ralph Sampson, and I know he gets underappreciated by many Rocket fans as his game declined rapidly with expectations so high. But to insinuate (unless you actually didn't watch) that Ralph Carried the Rockets in the games you did, and on his back overall is just nuts.
So, Sampson hitting a lucky shot at the end of the game that Dream actually carried the Rockets on his back, is worth the Lucky Ending, which was appreciated!
PS: Make no mistake. Ralph was bad ass in those early years, and he and Hakeem made perfect partners. What we saw in 85, 86 was only a taste. It's just too bad the Rockets had their assortment of Drug suspensions; Injuries with Ralph, then the bad trades to make up for them. Some people will talk about their bad high picks. But to me, that's par for the course and pretty normal for professional teams. They had enough abnormal problems afflicting them to crash their burgeoning non dynasty.
@@msl5253not saying he carried the team for the game,...but when Dream went out, yeah...Ralph did put the team on his back and scored 8 of the final 10....including some clutch free throws. And yeah...I have watched the game... multiple times thank you.
@@Mike-ky9jz
I'm not even going to check the box score or look at the game to see if what you're saying is true. So, I'll take your word for it on general principle. However/From what I remember: Ralph didn't do much (or would be described as "carry the team" or score 8 of the final 10 pts). Nonetheless/as I said: I'll take your word for it.
And yes, I gave your that thumbs up/like, so you don't have to comment, unless you want to or wanna tell me, those were the only 2 points Ralph scored after Dream left!
thx for this great classic
Hakeem was on another level athletically for a big man.
Why does everyone look 7 feet tall and 150 pounds. Looks like 10 KDs on the court
Sampson and Cooper skewering your perspective.
Sampson guarded Kareem dream roamed the paint
And throw in the fact they drafted McCray 3rd in '83 over Drexler, they might have beaten Larry Bird's Celtics that year, or at least pushed to Game 7
Drexler really outpaced McCray career wise in later years. The missing piece for the '86 Rockets was a point guard, and even though they made it all the way to the finals, once they got there they really missed the steady hand of John Lucas, who unfortunately had a relapse during the regular season.
BryanX 64 I believe if they had traded Ralph for drexlar and number two pick to Portland they could have Jordan, drexlar and Olajuwon on same team. That would be any team today
BryanX 64, u have a point but McCray was considered more NBA ready & a better all around player at that time leading up to the ‘83 draft...🏀
The Rockets would’ve been a much bigger foe for the Lakers have they gotten Drexler earlier on
Some sports writers would say that today's NBA should have running centers who can run the floor but Kareem, hakeem and ralph can do it if they played today their plays can be utilize whether in the transition and the half-court.. They would dominate Dwight, Hibbert, Marc Gasol perhaps by scoring 40ppg, 25 rpg and 10bpg if they would play on this era.
Ross Gomez no the fuck they wouldnt
Blocked by Olajuwon!
1:23 are you kidding me sampson?
James Worthy must have been stunned - with his unrivaled first step, it may have been the first time his lefty spin into the middle was blocked like that.
What "Coulda Been", wow/SMH!
RIP Twin Towers On The Court!
ya good block from hakeem but still its unblockable if kareem knows where that guy is ! he wasnt shooting it on hakeem so ya hakeem was ready to block it kareem didnt see him
2:35 🤦♂️. Barry doesn’t know Nigerians speak English
Even worse was his watermelon comment when doing commentary alongside Bill Russell smh. Fantastic player though!!
He learned his lesson Fu Sheng, us in society we as a race are free to joke about other races like whites, asian.
Sampson was a bust. Teams play above their ability sometimes. The Lakers were easily the better team.
If they were better they wouldnt have lost in such lopsided fashion. They couldn't match the Twin Towers. For once somebody out West stood up to them!
@@FuShengAlex . They were a flash in the pan. After that series they were never heard from again.
@@Kaharris.96 Can't say that about Hakeem.....he'd eventually go on to lead Houston to 2 titles.
@@FuShengAlex . Yes, 8 years later. Sampson was a joke.
@@FuShengAlex . Hakeem is one of the greatest ever.
lakers not called for fouls on home court
Houston won 112-102.