Obviously this series with Portland isn't officially over, although odds are the Rockets will lose. Assuming they do, I just wanted to point out how utterly pathetic this organization has been in the postseason in recent history. The last time the Rockets had any real playoff success was 1997 when they reached Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. No need to replay the final moments of that series. We all remember what happened. Since that defeat, 17 seasons have passed including this one. In that timeframe, the Rockets(again, assuming they fall to Portland) have won only one playoff series. ONE! Only one other NBA franchise has had a worse record of playoff success than the Rockets since 1997. The Charlotte Bobcats. And they've only been in existence since 2004, so they should be excluded from the discussion. The only teams to match the Rockets' lack of success since 1997 are the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards. The Raptors won a single playoff series back in 2001 over the Knicks and took the Sixers to 7 games in the Semifinals before losing(when Vince Carter went to his college graduation the morning of the game). The Washington Wizards beat Chicago in 2005 in the first round before getting swept by the Heat in the Semifinals. But of course, the Wizards are on the verge of knocking off the Bulls this postseason. And the Raptors' series with the Nets is tied 1-1. So Washington has a very high probability of being removed from this list and the Raptors at least have a coinflip's chance. It has not been a very good run for this organization over the last 17 years.
I think Houston is too good of a city to Basketball players... they move here, and get distracted with its "amenities" instead of practicing and honing their game.
les has never been willing to go into lux tax territory (except once and only barely). i wonder if there's any other nba franchise that also hasn't over the past 17yrs