Comparing the Rockets roster with other West contenders

Smith played a big part in us getting there but once we got there Smith was not impressive at all. With Motiejunas in place of Smith I believe we have just as good of a chance beating the Clippers because DMO was a even better player playing alongside Dwight. Now adding Beverley and Lawson in place of Prigioni while retaining Terry tells me we are way better.

 

PG:
1. Warriors
2. Thunder
3. Rockets
4. Clippers
5. Spurs
6. Grizzlies

SG:
1. Rockets
2. Warriors
3. Spurs
4. Clippers
5. Grizzlies
6. Thunder

SF:
1. Thunder
2. Spurs
3. Rockets
4. Warriors
5. Grizzlies
6. Clippers

PF:
1. Clippers
2. Spurs
3. Grizzlies
4. Rockets
5. Warriors
6. Thunder

C:
1. Rockets
2. Clippers
3. Spurs
4. Grizzlies
5. Thunder
6. Warriors

Made 2 or 3 minor changes to OPs list for my own.
1. Spurs over Clippers at the SG position. The only person on the clippers roster that is above average at that position is Reddick. Crawford is heavily declining and may not even be there in a few months. Stephenson was terrible last year. Green is a serviceable knockdown shooter and even though Manu is also declining, he's still productive off the bench.
2. Grizzlies over Clippers at the 3. Again, Paul Pierce is declining. Sure he'll be good in the playoffs as always but he's not the same player he was in Boston. Wesley Johnson has had only one good season his whole career. Carter is still a solid spark off the bench and Jeff Green is a quality 3&D player.
3. Grizzlies and Rockets over Warriors at the 4. Almost put the Thunder over the warriors too. Green is a good player don't get me wrong, but if DMo were healthy in the playoffs, he'd be abused in the post. Also Looney is all potential right now and I'm just personally not a fan of Speights. DMo and Jones are a solid young duo that gives you scoring from all points of the court and above average defense.
4. Thunder over warriors and Spurs over Grizzlies at the C. I just love Steven Adams. Dude is a beast. Kanter is okay but Adams is amazing. Bogut is too streaky and Ezeli is still just a prospect. Kanter is the offense to Adams' defense. I think Adams could be a top 10 Center in a few years. Idk if it happens with Kanter starting over him though. For the Spurs, Gasol is great and all but it is unknown how much age will hit Duncan next year and if he stays in last years form, along with Diaw, that duo is much better than Gasol and (insert random bench filler here).

Overall my rankings end up with:
1. Rockets-23
2. Spurs-20
3. Clippers-18
4. Warriors-17
5. Thunder-15
6. Grizzlies-12

 

Missing Beverly really hurt when the rockets had to roll out two 37 year old PGs. Smith and his 38% 3pt shooting in the playoffs and his playmaking ability made up for a lot.

 

You put Andre Iguoadala and Barnes at 4? Why? They're a lot better than Ariza and whoever else...

 

Very scary at the PF position, and love our 2 guard and SF positions. It all depends on how much improvement we see from Clint Eastwood at the 5.

 

This. Way too much emphasis is being put on backups.

 

the only thing i disagree with the the SF and PF rankings. the warriors with barnes and igoudala imo are a little above ariza and brewer. Ibaka/McGary/Collison are better than DMo/Jones/Harrell IMO

 

Number 4 on NBA.com Power Rankings:

http://www.nba.com/2015/news/powerrankings/07/27/summer2015/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt3c

 

I think you can quibble forever on the particulars of how you rank things. But, I think the Achilles heel is the linear point valuation. It's a neat exercise to do, but the superstar talent does so much to drive outcomes that a simple Curry>Lawson ranking just can't do it justice.

 

larsv8 would agree. A proper statistical analysis is in order. These rankings while they may be close to reality, are still purely subjective.

 

Positionless basketball means positions do not matter. That's why the idea of this thread is so flawed

 

You have Ibaka under Jones and DMo?? Serious?

 

Sorry, this is kind of homer-ish.

PG: Put us down one and move CP3 to #1 (or #2).
SF: GSW are better with the finals MVP and H-Barnes. Put us down 1 again. Arguable that Pierce is also good enough to overtake the Rockets SF rotation, but it's close.

All other positions look fine.