Houston Rockets: Some of the great seasons in franchise history

The “Oh So Close” Seasons

The Houston Rockets have had three “Oh So Close” Seasons (OSCS) where they either made the NBA finals and lost or had injuries hit at an inopportune time and derail a run before it could begin.

The first OSCS came in 1980-81. That year the Rockets were not great. They went 40-42 in the regular season but once the playoffs started they did their best Cinderella impression. Houston beat a 54-win Lakers team in the first round, then a 52-win Spurs team in the conference semifinals. The Rockets opponent in the conference finals were the Kansas City Kings who also sported a 40-42 record.

Houston beat Kansas City to advance to the NBA Finals where they gave the Boston Celtics all they could handle in the first four games before the Celtics rolled in the final two to win 4-2.

Five years later the Rockets had another OSCS that found them in the NBA Finals. Once again they had to face the Celtics and once again they fell to Boston in six games. Unlike 1981, the Rockets had the look of a team meant to be there as they went 51-31 that year.

The most recent OSCS was the 2008-09 season. I know, I know the Rockets didn’t make the NBA finals that year but bear with me. Houston went 53-29 that year and advanced to the conference semifinals. They took the eventual NBA champion Lakers to seven games and had a chance to win the series but for the injuries to Dikembe Mutumbo in game one and Yao in game three.

Had Houston gotten past the Lakers they would have faced a Denver team that they went 3-1 against that year and then Orlando in a finals rematch (Houston was 2-0 against Orlando in 2008-09).