I am sorry that I haven't been very active recently. My weekend was hectic, as housecleaning ruled the day, and then Monday, I had to go see my dad in Jackson, MI, so writing that day was out, then I overslept yesterday. So, after some delay, I will resume the My List special, but with a bit of a difference.

Those of you who saw my last list, with Toronto and Memphis, know that was one I could have done without. After seeing the lack of quality, I have decided to show only those teams that actually have an all-time caliber list. We'll go as far as the talent allows us. With that in mind, let's reveal team #5 of the countdown, the Houston Rockets.

Starters:

PG: Calvin Murphy: Many NBA fans remember the smallish Murphy as one of the best FT shooters of all time (a career 89.2% from the line, only one season below 86.8%, and an NBA-record of 95.8.% in 1980-81). But Murphy was also a prolific scorer; he averaged 20 PPG or better five times (a career high of 25.6 in 1977-78) and also made the 1979 All-Star team. His career averages were 17.9 PPG and 4.4 APG.

SG: Clyde Drexler: While Drexler's best years came in Portland, his only NBA title came in Houston after a February 1995 trade. Drexler became the consistent #2 scorer in the offense, and he sparked the club to the title that year as the lowest seed (#6) to ever win it. He played solidly over the final three years in Houston, averaging over 18 PPG each year (1995-98), with 6 RPG and 5 APG.

C: Hakeem Olajuwon: Olajuwon was one of the best centers (and many would say the best) in the NBA in the 1990s. Olajuwon didn't start playing basketball until late in his youth, yet starred as his Houston college teams went to two NCAA finals. Drafted #1 overall in 1984, Olajuwon teamed with Ralph Sampson to lead the young Rockets to the 1986 Finals, but his star really bursted when Sampson was traded two years later. His prime came in the mid-90s, when from 1993 to 1997, he averaged 23+ PPG each year, with over 10 RPG in four of those five years, and won two Defensive POYs, a league MVP in 1994, and Finals MVPs in 1994 and '95.

SF: Rudy Tomjanovich: Before he became a great coach, Rudy T was a very good basketball player. Drafted by the team in 1970 (the last season in San Diego and in the same draft as Murphy), Tomjanovich quickly became a good scoring SF, averaging 24.5 PPG (a career high) in 1973-74. He averaged 20+ PPG in three of four years from 1974-77 (making the All-Star team all four years). Then, in 1977, he suffered a horrific facial injury when Kermit Washington punched him in a fight during a Rockets/Lakers game. He missed the rest of that season, but returned and made the 1979 All-Star team. He also was a part of the team that reached the 1981 Finals.

PF: Elvin Hayes: The "Big E" made his early career mark as a Rocket before gaining more fame later in Washington. Like Olajuwon, Hayes starred at Houston in college, before being drafted #1 overall by the Rockets in 1968. But the Rockets were in San Diego at the time. No problem; Hayes led the Rockets to their first playoffs in his rookie year, and won the scoring title with a 28.4 average (he was the last rookie to win the scoring title). But the team did little to improve over the next three years, even as Hayes averaged 25 PPG and 14 RPG, and even after they moved to Houston, he asked for and got a trade to the Bullets in 1972. He would return to finish his career as a Rocket, playing his final three years (1981-84) with them. His career marks were 21 PPG and 12.5 RPG.

Reserves:

PG: Steve Francis: "Stevie Franchise" didn't make many friends over his career, but he was an all-around performer during some lean years for the Rockets. After forcing a trade from the Grizzlies on draft night 1999, Francis shared ROY honors with Elton Brand in 2000 after averaging 18 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 6.6 APG. That was right about what he would average over the next four years with the team (16 PPG, 6 RPG and 6 APG), which included him actually leading the team in rebounds in 2000-01, before being traded to Orlando in 2004.

SG: Vernon Maxwell: "Mad Max" was always an emotional powder keg, but when his mind was right, his passion inspired the mid-90s Rockets. Acquired in a trade from San Antonio in 1989, Maxwell became a starter the next year, and averaged 17 PPG over the next two years. His average dropped to 13 PPG during the next three years, but he still was a key figure on the 1994 title team; his three late in game 7 clinched the title over the Knicks. After Drexler was acquired the following year, however, Maxwell dispappeared from the team (figuratively speaking) and left for good after the season ended.

C: Moses Malone: Before he was predicting "fo,fo,fo", Malone established himself as a star in Houston. Added in a trade from Buffalo early in the 1976-77 season, Malone (who just three years before had been the first modern basketball player to skip college entirely for the pros by signing with the Utah Stars of the ABA) quickly became a dominant force, averaging 19.4 PPG and 15 RPG in his first full Rocket season. Between 1978-79 and 1981-82, Malone averaged over 24 PPG and 14 RPG each year (with highs of 31.1 PPG in 1981-82 and 17.6 RPG in 1978-79), winning three rebounding titles and two MVPs (1979, the last year the players voted on the award, and 1982) and leading the team to the 1981 Finals.After winning his second MVP, Malone left for Philly in a sign-and-trade, and won his only league title in 1983.

SF: (tie) Tracy McGrady/Robert Horry: In terms of stats and pure talent, McGrady has Horry beat. But Horry has seven rings (two in Houston), while McGrady is 0-7 in the playoffs for his career. So, that's why it's a tie. McGrady has made the All-Star team each year in Houston, and prior to arriving, won two scoring titles in Orlando (2003-04). But that 0-7 really hurts. Horry holds Finals records for most threes hit in a career and most steals in a game (7 vs Orlando in game 2 of the 1995 Finals; no, Rajon Rondo didn't break it), and his averages of 10 PPG and 5 RPG don't show how important he was to both Rockets title teams.

PF: Otis Thorpe: "OT" was the physical enforcer that made Olajuwon more effective in the early 90s (not that Hakeem really needed it!). Acquired from the Kings in 1988, Thorpe averaged 14 PPG in five of his six full seasons in Houston, and averaged a double-double in three of those seasons. He was selected to the 1992 All-Star team, and was a vital cog on the 1994 title team, before being dealt to Portland for Drexler in 1995.

Coaches:

Head Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich: Rudy T had to wait awhile to get his coaching job, but he was dazzingly effective once he was there. Becoming an assistant coach almost immediately after retiring in 1981, Tomjanovich assisted under three coaches until he was named as Don Chaney's replacement during the 1991-92 season. After going 16-14 as an interim coach, Rudy T won 55 games his first full season and guided Houston to a division title. He then won back-to-back titles in 1994-95 (one of six coaches to do so; Kundla, Auerbach, Riley, Daly and Jackson). During his Rockets tenure, he won 503 games.

Assistants: Bill Fitch, Del Harris: Fitch became Rockets coach immediately after leaving Boston in 1983, and after winning just 29 games his first year (in an attempt to snare the #1 pick, many claimed), he had winning records every season after that, including a trip to the 1986 Finals. Harris preceded Fitch as coach, and from 1979-80 to 1982-83, he won 141 games and led the 40-42 Rockets to the 1981 Finals (the last team with a losing record to make the Finals, and only the third such team to do it, joining the 1957 Hawks and the 1959 Lakers).

Honorable Mentions:

PF: Charles Barkley: No offense to Chuckles, but he was on the downside of his career when he arrived in Houston, and didn't add an NBA title while here.

PG: Kenny Smith: A starter on both title teams, but Barkley's fellow TNT commentator was the least valuable (in my opinion) starter on those teams.

SF: Rodney McCray: His best stats years came AFTER he left Houston.

C: Ralph Sampson: If only his body hadn't betrayed him.

PG: John Lucas: Immensely talented, but drugs were his downfall in Houston.

PG: Robert Reid: Not a true PG, and Reid didn't accomplish enough to qualify, anyway.

C: Yao Ming: He hasn't yet accomplished what Olajuwon and Malone have (win MVPs and championships), so I can't put him on the team just yet.

There's the Rockets. Tomorrow, team #6, the Milwaukee Bucks, will be unveiled. See you then!