Houston Rockets: Comparing 2014-15 To 1994-95
With three starters — Dwight Howard (strained right knee), Terrence Jones (peroneal nerve contusion) and Patrick Beverley (strained left hamstring) — out for a significant stretch early in the season the Houston Rockets’ unproven role-players have done a decent job at keeping the team afloat, however, even with the third best record in the Western Conference, people around the league seem to be rather down on the Houston Rockets.
Their 14-3 record is a nearly-unprecedented start for the Houston Rockets and, in a season with no clear title favorite, it is time for the league to recognise the Rockets as the title contenders they are.
In the 1994-95 season, when Michael Jordan returned late in the season from his baseball debacle, Hakeem Olajuwon‘s Houston Rockets won the second and last title in franchise history. The Rockets came out of the gate with a nine-game winning streak on their way to a 12-5 record 17 games into the season.
With their last title’s 20th anniversary approaching and their hot start to the 2014-15 season, a feeling of déjà-vu comes into play for the Rockets.
Join us as we try and dissect the similarities between Hakeem Olajuwon’s 1994-95 and Dwight Howard’s 2014-15 Rockets.
STARTING LINEUP:
SG: Vernon Maxwell – James Harden
| Rk | Player | Season | Age | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Harden | 2014-15 | 25 | 37.3 | .405 | .339 | .446 | .897 | 6.2 | 6.8 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 25.2 |
| 2 | Vernon Maxwell | 1994-95 | 29 | 31.8 | .394 | .324 | .485 | .688 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 13.3 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/1/2014.
Although similar players, the gap that resides between both players is pretty significant. At 25 years old, Harden has proved he can be the leader of one of the leaders among the Western Conference. Averaging 25.2 points per game might be the result of him taking over the Rockets’ offense almost by himself.
On the other hand, Maxwell had Kenny Smith and Sam Cassell as the team’s creative leaders.
Also, James Harden leads the league in free throws attempted per game with 9.7 — 8.7 out of his 25.2 points per game come from the free throw line.
Advantage: 2014-15
C: Hakeem Olajuwon – Dwight Howard
| Rk | Player | Season | Age | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dwight Howard | 2014-15 | 29 | 33.5 | .575 | .000 | .579 | .462 | 3.0 | 8.3 | 11.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 18.8 |
| 2 | Hakeem Olajuwon* | 1994-95 | 32 | 39.6 | .517 | .188 | .520 | .756 | 2.4 | 8.4 | 10.8 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 27.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/1/2014
We’ve previously talked about how Howard has, when healthy, emulated a pretty solid part of Hakeem’s skills, nevertheless, the differences in both centers’ seasons compared before us are astonishing. The Dream outplays Howard in almost every single of the aforementioned categories including blocks, points per game, and assists.
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Also, Dwight Howard is second in the league in free throw attempts per game, 9.1, unfortunately he only makes 4.2 out of his 9.1 tries from the line.
With “Hack-a-Dwight” becoming a thing around the league, Dwight’s improvement from the free throw line might bring him closer to Olajuwon’s numbers when he led the Rockets to their second title.
This is, by no means, an effort to put Dwight Howard on the same level of accomplishment, leadership nor skill as The Dream, however, both players’ uncanny similarities are what turns Dwight Howard into a dangerous player and the key for the Rockets’ contention.
Just when we thought Howard was ready to lead the Rockets into their first title run in almost two decades, a rather troubling beginning to the season (injury-wise) has jeopardized Howard’s impact on the team’s success.
His ability to stay on the court for longer stretches throughout the playoffs, or the ongoing regular season will eventually determine whether the Rockets are worthy of a title.
Advantage: 1994-95
OFFENSE
- Offensive Rating 1994-95: 109.7
- Points Per Game 1994-95: 103.5
- Offensive Rating 2014-15: 104.7
- Points Per Game 2014-15: 97.5
The Rockets offense, currently going through somewhat of a dip, had some pretty solid numbers against solid teams around the league. Even with the league’s 19th-best offensive rating, the Rockets have already gone through three of the top-10 defenses in the league — the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
They have also faced the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies, but failed to overcome them.
Nevertheless, they’ve barely scored a mere 97.5 points per game for the season against the 24th-toughest schedule in the league.*
The Rockets trail, with their 104.7 offensive rating, inferior teams around the league such as the Utah Jazz (105.6), Boston Celtics (106.1), Los Angeles Lakers (108.5), Denver Nuggets (108.7), and Atlanta Hawks (109.8), and are also below the league average of 106.
On the other hand, the 1995 NBA champion Houston Rockets had the NBA’s seventh-best offensive rating, 109.7.
Advantage: 1994-95
DEFENSE
- Defensive Rating 1994-95: 107.4
- Opponents Points Per Game 1994-95: 101.4
- Defensive Rating 2014-15: 99.6
- Opponents Points Per Game 2014-15: 92.8
Even though the Rockets offense is not performing at the same level as Olajuwon’s Rockets were, their defense is performing nearly at a never-before-seen level for the Rockets.
Six out of the Rockets’ first 17 games of the season have been against top-10 offenses by points per game — Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers (2) — and the overwhelming Rockets’ defense has held them to an average of 92.2 points per game.
Their defense has helped the Rockets outscore their opponents by nearly 5 points per game. The 1994-95 champs outscored opponents by a mere 2.1 points per game.
Advantage: 2014-15
Although somewhat of an improvement on defense, against the 1994-95 back-to-back Rockets, the team still has to take care of their steadily-decilining offense if they want to eventually overcome the nightmarish Western Conference throughout what could be one of the toughest title runs in NBA history.
Even though today’s Rockets strike somehwat of a similarity (or two) to those who hoisted the last Larry O’Brien Trophy in franchise history, the team’s still surrounded by a bunch of unproven players that will have to show up, as they have done so far in the regular season, in the Western Conference Playoffs against the NBA’s elite.
* Per ESPN.com