Rockets are hardly considered "villains". We sort of have to get out of the second round at least before we get full of ourselves and pretend that other teams are scared of us. Harden/Howard don't have the best reputations out there. It's not because people out there fear them. It's moreso because they didn't get out of the first round.
People in LA don't give a crap about the Rockets. I don't live in NY - but I highly doubt that they are consumed by hatred either. Just worry about our own damn team before trying to pretend to be badasses.
I live in New York nobody cares about the Rockets or Dallas/Golden State/Suns etc. The Texans get a a lot more play and even they are barely mentioned. This was the same thread as two weeks ago. The only teams in Texas that move the needle are the Cowboys and recently the Spurs. The Nba world cares about the Cavs and only the Cavs there are really only a handful of teams with a shot at a chip and the Rockets are not one of them. That may change...Houston sports radio barely talks about the Rockets FFS.
Lakersground sure loves the Rockets and Clutchfans. It's cute to see a lottery team harp on the Rockets so much.
There are plenty of reasons to hate the Rockets but really I don't consider a 1st round exit team to be the "villains" of the nba. Not nearly relevant enough.
The media hasn't made the Rockets villains, they are just not a likable team to those other than long-time Rockets' fans. Harden and Howard both have character and maturity issues, and are the epitome of spoiled stars. They represent what a lot of folks dislike about the NBA. Management just got rid of the Rockets' more likable players and did so with no class at all. It is hard to root for a franchise that doesn't treat it's employees well. Rockets' fans also make the Rockets an unlikable team. This board is filled with so much anger and negativity and there seems to be nobody who moderates blatantly racist and hateful posts here. An outsider reading a few threads on this page would immediately be turned off by this fan base.
The NBA is turning into the WWE LeBron just turned face after being a heel and the Rockets have recently had a heel turn for some reason.
This... People only hate on franchises that are successful... Right now people are just pointing and laughing at us.
Not many they are all in one thread and since their mods ban trolls on both sides it stays small. For the most part it's just 20-30 people having an ongoing discussion but basically without trolls on either side there is very little fuel to add to the fire. There were a few who got ip banned for having multiple accounts one that was fanatically praising Lin and another that would argue with the first account it was pretty funny. That is my observation in general but I am sure you will hear a different story from others it's the offseason nobody really cares too much.
