What needs to happen to consider this season a success?

Rockets have a legit chance to make it to the CF, and there's no excuse for not getting to the 2nd round. I'd say that success falls somewhere in the 2nd round depending on how well they play.

 

Getting into and being competitive in the second round. Anything past that is a bonus.

 

Must get out of the first round. Less than that would be very disappointing. That and a very competitive second round would do it for me. Of course all of us would like to see more.

 

This season is already a success in terms of :
goals set.
overall record.
Home court advantage.
Player Development.
Player evaluation.
and
Team Chemistry.

The icing on the cake would be to make it to the WCF, but to truly consider any season a success, you have to be successful. No one will remember in 20 years who made it to the WCF & got bounced (except my Bro Tinman!)...true success in the NBA is measured by the number of banners hanging in the rafters and how many rings you win.

So to truly have this go from being a good to great season, to calling it a success is to win the Championship, which I think is achievable...very achievable.

 

This. As long as we beat the Blazers and don't get annihilated by (presumably) the Spurs, I'll be OK with the season. I think WCF is a real possibility though and there's an outside chance at making the finals.

 

championship, says so on my 2k14

 

Re: IzakDavid13

I understand what you are saying and mostly agree with you; championship or bust.

With that said, it is entirely too unrealistic to expect 07-08 Celtics level success. I firmly believe that we won't win it all without at least making it to the WCF, the year prior. This squad has solid chemistry but have yet to (consistently) demonstrate professionalism and a killer instinct. Besides that, our two star players have to absolutely haul a** to compensate for our glaring weaknesses (perimeter defense and bench production).

If we are able to take a promising step like reaching the WCF (and play competitively), this season is a success.

 

The minimal is a competitive second round. No shame in losing to the Spurs in the playoffs, if we do meet in the second round. I could see us in the WCF, but I don't think our bench is strong enough for us to make the Finals.

 

Agreed. The Rockets must win a playoff series and at least give the Spurs a scare in Round 2(i.e. take them to 6 or 7 games). Obviously I want more, but at least you can build off of that. A first round loss to the Blazers would be a wasted season.

 

Everyone plays for the championship. If you dont win the championship, you failed. Anything less than a championship can be used as a "learning experience" to come back better and stronger the following year.

 

According to most fans here, this team has the best center, best SG, best defensive PG, top 5 center as backup. How come this team is targeting for the 2nd round only? What is the problem? Figure it out and face the truth honestly.

 

Agree. Rockets as a team and fans always have low expectations. Can't blame the fans though as we've made it out of the first round once in the last 18 years is it?

Pretty sure Daryly Morey himself said any championship contender truly has a three year window only. So this is our first year. Aim for the finals. We have the best center and the best shooting guard in the league. If both are healthy then there are no excuses to lose to anyone.

 

Team chemistry is not 100% yet. defence (perimeter and rotations) and the bench needs a ton of work, but part of it is having a horrible bench lol. the chance to win it all this year is small - very small - we don't have what it takes just yet as evidenced by facing okc and clips. hope they prove me wrong though.

2nd round is what i expect - going beyond is bonus.

 

Regular season goal is secure HCA for first round of the playoffs. Rockets achieved regular season goal. Postseason goal is to win one series. Still need 4 postseason wins for this season to be a success unless you are only talking regular season.

The goals were said by Morey early or before the season,

 

Teams have to advance and eventually fail in the postseason before they can win a championship. For whatever reason you need a runup season before you can win a title.

This is our runup year, so a first round exit is a catastrophe, but a tough second round exit is certainly acceptable.

 

This. Actually there is a pretty decent chance Houston will get past the Spurs. Spurs just have a hard time matching up against Rockets, just like Rockets have a hard time matching up against Clippers and Thunders.

 

I'd already consider the season a success. Getting to at least the 2nd round is the goal, but the playoffs are tough. The playoff teams this year are very evenly matched.

 

First round early exit - epic fail

First round late exit - significant fail

Second round early exit - fail

Second round late exit - expectation

Conference finals early exit - success

Conference finals late exit - significant success

NBA finals (regardless of result) - epic success

 

Stars are aligned for a significant run. Blazers series should be a win and the Rockets match up very well with the Spurs. If they can make it to the WCF it'll take an absolute war to get past Thunder/Clips.

But after that I LOVE our chances against anyone from the East.

In summation this is about as reasonably good as it gets. Good match ups, home court, and no major injuries.

Get excited folks we could see something special this year!