Neither could the Raptors. They had to play them even more hurt to have their chance. That was a good team. Tip your hat and quit being a D.
1. Clippers (very balanced team, very Raptors-esque, their hole is PF/C. They'll be a fascinating matchup with LAL) 2. Rockets (returning a team with a lot of chemistry that has proven to be a regular season machine) 3. Jazz (IF Donovan matures, they are another extremely balanced team that can play methodical offense to match their elite tier defense) 4. Lakers (You have to think Lebron & AD will dominate regular season teams, especially with front courts being at their weakest around the league) 5. Blazers (adding Bazemore as a defensive wing might be a great move, and Whiteside is a great 2nd C behind Nurkic. I think their defense will continue to let them down.) 6. Warriors (depending on Klay's health, Curry and Russell will be a poor defensive pairing. The loss of Iggy hurts them and Cauley-Stein isn't the usual brand of physical goon they have up front. But they still made good moves and it's hard to count them out.) 7. Nuggets (I think they regress, although they could easily jump to 2/3/4/5 just as easily. They return their core but they are an inconsistent bunch with no clear star leadership when things lock down) 8. Spurs (you can never really count them out, although their roster looks pretty weak. How much scoring can you get from Aldridge, Derozan, Morris, and Gay? How will you defend the Clippers, Rockets, or Lakers?) As far as the east: 1. Sixers (tons of changes to rotation players, but they still net out as a good team) 2. Bucks (they return their core with minimal changes.) 3. Pacers (lots of interesting moves; if Oladipo is healthy they are a deep and interesting team.. for the East) 4. Celtics (Kemba for Rozier was the fleecing of the century, like Harden for Kevin Martin.) 5. Nets (I think Kyrie is overrated, honestly. They're only this high without Durant because the rest of the East sucks.) 6, 7, 8, who cares. Probably some combo of Raptors, Magic and.... Knicks? Wizards? Yuck. The West has 3 cannon fodder teams (Minnesota, Phoenix and Memphis.) The East is poised to have 10! Knicks, Cavs, Bulls, Hawks, Wizards, Heat, Hornets, Pistons, Magic, Raptors.
I think it should be the other way around and ban delusional morons like you who think the Rockets are going to be the best team in the West next year. They couldn't beat a hurt Warriors team. What f**king makes you think the Rockets will be the best team in the West next year? DUMB ASS.
Oh I get it... You can't read. I apologize, if I knew you rode the short bus I wouldn't have even responded....
If the Rockets end up a top 4 team in the West by the end of next I'll be the first to admit I was wrong. But as of now they're not looking good, man.
#1. We were the second best team in the West last year and have not gotten worse. I'll give you that we haven't improved yet, but we'll AT LEAST be as good as we were last year. #2. Yes, other teams have improved, but who has without doubt improved to the point to where they are UNQUESTIONABLY better than us? Clippers? Maybe, but they are not a flawless roster. Lakers? They obviously got much better, but have more depth issues than we do. Utah? They defiantly improved their roster. But our top end talent is far better than there's. Denver? Same team, could improve a little. Portland? I think they got worse by losing some of their depth, plus Nurkic will miss most if not all of the season and Whiteside is not a difference maker. GS? Even if healthy, they have some major holes in that roster. SAS? Basically the same team. To say that we are "no better than a 6 seed" right now (not even mentioning the fact that we will still add SOME depth) would be assuming that 5 of those teams are without a doubt better than us right now. I'd say we are at worst a 4 seed right now. And if we can add some depth (Iggy, JaMychal Green, Tyson Chandler) we will be top 2 with LAC.
Just cause they were the 2 seed doesn't mean they were the second best team. There isn't one person that follows the sport of basketball that would have picked the Nuggets to beat the Rockets in the playoffs last year.
You are underestimating how good the Rockets are at full strength. Once Capela came back immediately after the all-star break and the team was fully healthy, the Rockets went 20-5 to finish the regular season. That’s a 66-win pace, and they return their top seven rotation players from last year.
We can improve easily by staying healthy and our younger players taking another step in their development
Wait... You mean it’s not just other teams’ young players that are capable of improving?? Like, it’s possible that Danuel House can become a legit 3 and D wing? No... not possible! We didn’t pull of a salary cap miracle so we suck now! Fire Morey!
Raptors are still Top 5 team in the East, people didn't see them play without Leonard, still got things done!
