Houston Rockets - Hoopsvibe

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Saturday , Jun , 15 , 2013 Mike Brouillet

Who’s Better Olajuwon or Dwight Howard?

Who is the better center Hakeem Olajuwon or Dwight Howard?

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Both are dominant centers in their own time, but who would win this battle royale?

Friday , Jun , 14 , 2013 Mike Brouillet

Magic Johnson Encourages Howard To Leave Los Angeles.

Magic Johnson is candid in his remarks encouraging Dwight Howard to leave LA for Houston.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Everyone always talks about how great Howard is, but he manages to make every team he's on lose.

Wednesday , May , 22 , 2013 Paul Eide

Today In NBA History 1995: Elie’s “Kiss Of Death” Three Pointer

18 years ago today, Mario Elie and the Houston Rockets capped off a ridiculous comeback.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: Phoenix dominated the regular season for two years, only to be eliminated in the playoffs by the streaking Rockets both times.

From NBA.com:

Houston’s Mario Elie sank a three-pointer from the corner with 7.1 seconds left in the game, lifting the visiting Rockets to a 115-114 win over Phoenix in Game 7 of their Western Conference Semifinal Round series at America West Arena. With the win, the Rockets became the first NBA team in 13 years (since the ‘82 Sixers against Boston) to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 playoff series. Houston’s victory also broke a string of 20 consecutive wins by the home team in the deciding Game 7 of a playoff series. Just 24 hours later, Indiana repeated that feat by the road team after downing host New York 97-95 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Round series.

Check out the video here:

For Elie, it was the beginning of what would be a pivotal role during the Rockets run to the 1995 NBA title. After being a bench player all season, Elie was inserted into the starting lineup for the Finals and played the best basketball of his career. Elie averaged 16.3 points per game, almost double his regular season average, while shooting a 64% from the field. He was also 8 for 14 (.571) from the three-point line, hitting 7 of 10 three-pointers in Games 3 and 4.

The Rockets were already a ridiculously deep squad, so when Elie stepped up and started producing, the Orlando Magic had no answer as the Rockets romped to a 4-0 series sweep.

The shot Elie hit to seal the series victory over the Suns was particularly deflating to Suns fans. Not only because it ended their '95 season, but the previous year in the playoffs the Rockets also defeated the Suns in a seven game series after the Suns opened up a 3-1 series lead.

Ouch.

Saturday , Apr , 27 , 2013 Matt Formica

Breaking News! Russell Westbrook out with injury

A report from the Daily Thunder confirmed Friday that Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook will undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.

Hoopsvibe's quick call: This is an extremely tough break for the Thunder who are poised to make a championship run.

Friday , Mar , 29 , 2013 Mike Brouillet

What NBA Baller Gives His Video Vixen GF $50k A Month In Spending Money?

It pays to be this NBA baller girlfriend. No literally, it pays 50k a month.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Good thing he's got the money to burn, but seriously, does anyone doubt bankruptcy is in his eventual future.

Monday , Mar , 11 , 2013 Mike Brouillet

WAG Of The Day: James Harden Snags Another Urban Model.

WAG of the day: James Harden snuggles up with urban model Claudia Nelson (pics inside).

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: To say Harden loves urban models is like saying he loves facial hair and Miss Nelson certainly doesn't disappoint.

Saturday , Mar , 09 , 2013 Paul Eide

Top 5 Longest Winning Streaks In NBA History

LeBron and the Heat have won 17 in a row, but they've got their work cut out if they want to break this record.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: The Heat are currently tied for the 12th longest winning streak in NBA history.

The current 17 game streak is tied with the Clippers for longest winning streak this season. But, both are just slightly more than half as long as the all-time best.

33, LA Lakers 1971-'72

The Lakers didn't lose a game for over two months, going a combined 30-0 in November and December. Led by Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich, Pat Riley and Jim McMillian (and including former Phil Jackson assistant coach Jim Cleamons), the 1971-72 Lakers are arguably the greatest team of all time.

22, Houston Rockets 2007-'08

You may be surprised to know that the second longest winning streak is 22 held by the Houston Rockets in 2007-08. Nobody expected anything out of the Rockets that year and they somehow went off before showing "they are who we thought they were" and losing in the first round of the playoffs. Sadly for T-Mac and Yao, this was the height of their time together.

20, Washington Capitols 1947-'48 thru 1948-'49

The Capitols were part of the Basketball Association of America before being absorbed into the NBA in 1949. Not coincidentally, the team was led by NBA Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach, who led the squad from 1946-'49. The team won 20 games through two seasons.

20, Milwaukee Bucks 1970-'71

Already boasting Lew Alcindor at center, the Bucks acquired Oscar Robertson in a trade and found immediate success. The Bucks set a franchise record for wins that season (66) that still stands and won the NBA title in their third year of existence, the fastest for an expansion team in NBA history. The 20 game win streak was exceeded a year later by the same Lakers team that leads this list. Interestingly, this Bucks squad beat that Lakers team and snapped their NBA record 33 game win streak.

19, LA Lakers 1999-'00

In Phil Jackson's first year as coach, the Lakers started the season by winning 31 of their first 36 games, which included a 16 game winning streak. Later in the season, from February 4th to March 16th, LA won 19 in a row. After that loss, the Shaq and Kobe led squadron won another 11 in a row and earlier in the year also had a seven game streak. One of the best teams in NBA history, LA won the title by beating the Pacers 4-2.

19, Boston Celtics 2008-'09

The Celtics started out 27-2, including the 19 game win streak, and also had a 10 game streak to their credit. Boston won 62 games but lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs after Kevin Garnett was injured and missed most of the second half of the season. The first round seven game series versus the Bulls is arguably the greatest playoff series in NBA history.

Just two more wins would put the Heat into the top five. Four more wins would make their streak the second longest in NBA history. 16 more (man, that's a ton of games!) Would tie them with the Lakers for longest streak ever- think they can do it?

Tuesday , Feb , 19 , 2013 Paul Eide

Today In NBA History 1995-96: Barkley, Olajuwon Pull Down 10,000th Rebounds

17 and 18 years ago today, Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon joined the exclusive 10,000 rebound club.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: Weren't those Rockets uniforms terrible at that time?

The only thing worse was the huge rocket they had at half court, that covered literally, about half of the court.

Barkley's 10,000th rebound came during his last season in Phoenix in the first quarter of a victory over the Grizzlies on February 19th, 1996. Having already scored 20,000 points in his career, he became just the 10th NBA player to accumulate 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds. Barkley finished his career with the 18th most rebounds in NBA history, with 12,546. Amazingly for his career, Barkley never averaged less than double digit rebounds per season, ever. He truly was "The Round Mound Of Rebound." Throw in his assist totals and Barkley is one of just four players with 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists, with Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone being the other three.

Olajuwon finished 11th all-time with a total of 13,748. He accomplished the feat a year earlier, during a nine rebound performance over the Knicks on February 19th, 1995 and it made him the ninth player in NBA history to crack the 20,000 point/10,000 rebound plateau.

In all the years of NBA action, only 16 players have collected 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds (active players in bold):

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 38,387 points & 17,440 rebounds
Karl Malone - 36,928 points & 14,698 rebounds
Wilt Chamberlain - 31,419 points & 23,924 rebounds
Shaquille O'Neal - 28,255 points & 12,921 rebounds
Moses Malone - 27,409 points & 16,212 rebounds
Elvin Hayes - 27,313 points & 16,279 rebounds
Hakeem Olajuwon - 26,946 points & 13,748 rebounds
Patrick Ewing - 24,815 points & 11,607 rebounds
Charles Barkley - 23,757 points & 12,546 rebounds
Robert Parish - 23,334 points & 14,715 rebounds
Elgin Baylor - 23,149 points & 11,463 rebounds
Kevin Garnett - 22,267 points & 12,188 rebounds
Walt Bellamy - 20,941 points & 14,241 rebounds
Bob Pettit - 20,880 points & 12,849 rebounds
David Robinson - 20,790 points & 10,497 rebounds
Tim Duncan - 20,641 points & 11,335 rebounds

Chuck and Hakeem joined some esteemed company 17 and 18 years ago today.

Monday , Jan , 21 , 2013 Mike Brouillet

Trade Rumor: Grizzlies To Trade Zach Randolph To Houston

The Grizzlies appear desperate to avoid the luxury tax. Trading Randolph may be their only way out.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick call: This could definitely help the Rockets, but do they really think it's enough?

Thursday , Jan , 17 , 2013 Matt Formica

Magic Johnson thinks the Lakers should trade Dwight Howard

Magic Johnson just made it clear (on National TV) that if he was Lakers CEO Jim Buss, he would trade Dwight Howard.

Hoopsvibe's quick call: It's very obvious that Magic isn't the biggest fan of this Lakers team. And rightfully so.

Wednesday , Jan , 16 , 2013 Paul Eide

Robert Horry’s Mansion On Market For $2.2 Million; Best Clutch Shooter Ever?

"Big Shot Bob" wants YOU to buy his house.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: For just over a cool two million, you can pretend to be a 6-10, 16 year NBA vet.

Tuesday , Dec , 18 , 2012 Matt Formica

Jeremy Lin not happy with play, “I’m doing terrible”

For the first time since the Knicks traded him to the Rockets this past summer, Jeremy Lin will be stepping on the court in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

Hoopsvibe's quick call: Tonight's game could possibly be one of the most significant games of Jeremy Lin's career.

Tuesday , Dec , 04 , 2012 Paul Eide

HoopsVibe Interviews NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo

HoopsVibe was fortunate enough to speak with former NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: Mutombo is the latest pitch-man for Old Spice's "Champion Scent" line of products.

During his 18 year playing career, "Mt. Mutombo" was one of the most intimidating shot blockers and rebounders of all time, leading the league in blocked shots five times and rebounds four times. Mutombo was an eight time All-Star and appeared in the NBA FInals with the Philadelphia 76ers.

HoopsVibe: Tell us about the game (which can be found at oldspicesavestheworld.com). According to the site you have 4 ½ weeks to save the world before the end of the Mayan calendar, correct?

Dikembe Mutombo: Yes, Iteam up with Old Spice to promote the computer game and we have to save the world in 4 ½ weeks. Also to promote Champion Scent from Old Spice. It’s a wonderful game for everybody to play.

HV: Let’s talk about Georgetown. You played there with Alonzo Mourning and a lot of other great players; Why couldn’t you and Zo win a national title?

DM: Man, that is a major question that will haunt us for the rest of our lives. We had a chance and ultimately went to NBA to become dominant centers and we had opportunities to win in college. The opportunity was there, and we just didn’t do it.

HV: How did the finger wave come to become your signature move?

DM: It happened after my third year just before we beat the Seattle Supersonics in 1994 NBA playoffs. I was having such a great year and blocking shots and moving up in the league. I used to block the shot and then I would shake my hand and no one said nothing. One day I decided shaking the hand doesn't really mean nothing- maybe the best way to not come into the House of Mutombo it's best to wave my finger, so it worked out very cool. But it ended up getting me a lot of technicals.

HV: How did the NBA come to ban that? Does David Stern call you personally?

DM: It came from the players. You would hear from someone like Phil Jackson or something, that maybe you better stop what you're doing it's costing you a lot of money. It was good for me to do in the players face, but if I could face the fans and wave my finger away from the players face, it would be great. That's why you see in the last five years I started doing it away from the players face. So I don't have to lose a couple of thousand dollars (laughing).

HV: Who was your favorite NBA player to block?

DM: That's a good question. To me, not just one in particular. But I think playing against Shawn Kemp. He was such a high jumping, athletic player.

HV: How gratifying was it to be the first eight seed to beat a one seed when your Nuggets beat Kemp's Sonics?

DM: One of my proudest successes of my career. But I’m happy to promote the Old Spice game now. I want everyone to go to the website on your computer and play the game to save the world we only have four and a half weeks so we better do it!

To play "Dikembe Mutombo's 4 1/2 Weeks to Save the World", click here.

Monday , Dec , 03 , 2012 Paul Eide

Today In NBA History 1993: Houston Rockets Equal Fastest Start In NBA History

19 years ago today, The Houston Rockets lost their first game of the year.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: The 15-0 start to the season tied the all-time record set by the Washington Capitols in 1948-49.

Just as it did for the 1995 Chicago Bulls, a hot start to the season ultimately culminated in a championship for the Houston Rockets. With a chance to set the NBA record for longest unbeaten streak to start a season, the Rockets couldn't overcome a game Atlanta Hawks team during an entertaining 133-111 Hawks victory in Atlanta. After the loss, the Rockets would win the next seven games in a row, running their record to an impressive 22-1.

On pace for a video game like four loss season, the Rockets came back to earth from then on and finished a subdued 36-23 over the final 59 games. The up and down nature of the season continued in the playoffs as well. After easily dispatching the Portland Trailblazers 3-1 in round one, The Rockets nearly had an early postseason exit when they lost the first two games of the conference semifinals to Phoenix at The Summit in Houston. The Rockets won three in a row, lost game six in Phoenix and then returned to Houston for the decisive game seven victory.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets over powered the Utah Jazz 4-1, setting up a Finals matchup with the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks.

The Rockets versus Knicks Finals was one of the most physical in NBA history, even to this day, thanks to each team's emphasis on tough defense and a grind it out approach on offense, working the ball through Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, respectively. For the first time since the introduction of the shot clock in 1954-55, neither team reached 100 points in any game of a seven-game playoff series. Not since 1975 had there been a Finals series in which the margin of victory in every game was less than 10 points, until this one.

The Rockets won the series 4-3, securing their first title in NBA history. Hakeem Olajuwon's "Dream" season was one for the ages. Olajuwon was named league MVP, NBA Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA First Team.

Though a win in Atlanta on 12/3/1993 would have set a new record, it's safe to say the Rockets were satisfied with how the season ended.

Wednesday , Nov , 21 , 2012 Mike Brouillet

James Harden Drops 20k On One Stripper In A Single Night And We Got Some Pics.

James Harden drops $20,000 on a stripper in a single night and we got some pics.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: James Harden loves strippers like kids love peanut butter.

Tuesday , Nov , 20 , 2012 Mike Brouillet

Metta World Peace Clobbers Jeremy Lin With Elbow To Neck.

Metta World Peace clobbers Jeremy Lin with elbow.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: It is tough to call World Peace's wild elbows that keep landing on opponent's necks and heads accidental. He gets called for a flagrant on this one and leaves Lin trying to figure out what just happened.