Hakeem Olajuwon 2013-14 Panini Crusade Orange Die-Cut # 33 / 99

I was able to watch the Houston Rockets' Game 7 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers yesterday, and that was pretty good to see. The game was pretty low on drama, which is a good thing when your team is the one on top. The Rockets led for the entire game, although the Clippers made it within a couple shots of things getting interesting near the end. Houston was able to close the thing out, though, and advance to face the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Houston overcame a 3-1 deficit and won three in a row to close out the series.

Including this year's team, only 9 teams in NBA playoff history have recovered from a 3-1 hole and gone on to win a series. The one that everyone is making comparisons to is the 1995 Houston Rockets, who fell behind the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals, came back, and went on to win the NBA Championship. That team was led by the subject of today's card, the great Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon. This is a Orange Die-Cut parallel from 2013-14 Panini Crusade Basketball. It's numbered # 33 / 99, which means I missed his jersey number by one. I like the Crusade cards a lot. They have a nice design and all of the different colors are fun to collect. I don't have any aspirations for chasing the full rainbow on these, but I will pick them up when I can.

I hope the Rockets can put up a good showing in the Conference Finals, and maybe even win the thing. The Warriors are a pretty tough draw this year, so I am keeping my expectations low.