What needs to happen to consider this season a success?

I'd like to see us beat the blazers handily, then take the spurs to 7 games (if we can't beat them). Get some playoff games under our belt, that's how you gain the resiliency needed to eventually win a championship.

Of course, the playoffs are all about matchups, not regular season records. So I wouldn't be surprised if we beat the spurs. We match up pretty well against them.

I don't think the Rockets would have won the championship in 94 if not for that devastating Game 7 loss to the sonics in 93. I can totally see us losing to the spurs in 7 and using that as motivation to win it all next year.

 

Competitive 2nd round would definitely be a success. Nobody in their right mind thinks we're favorites against the Spurs.

Does the Spurs series need to be 6 or 7 games? It depends on how we lose those games. If the games are competitive down to the wire and the Spurs just out-execute us, then I can live with being swept.

Now if they sweep the Rockets and blow them out for 4 games, then there's going to be trouble in the Toyota Center...

 

The problem is that we have absolutely no bench. And Asik is maybe a top 10 or 12 center.

We are a very good team, but three out of the five teams that are better than us are in our conference, meaning that 2nd round is a realistic expectation.

For me, a competitive 2nd round series would be my expectation. Losing in the first round would be a huge disappointment.

We have some work to do in the offseason to bolster our bench. Then we can talk about WCF or NBA finals.

 

I believe what most folks are expressing were the goals before the start of the season and that should not change. If you achieve your goal that usually means success. At that time, only one thing was clear, we had the best center and our self coronation of Harden and Bev did not happen till mid season.

Morey's expectations were, get HCA in the first round and get to the second. That was his metric and just like others said, anything more than that is bonus.

 

Shock the world!!

 

Winning 10 games more than last season is and should be considered a successful season. To add on to that success would be advancing past the 1st round.

 

The season was stellar. The playoffs may be difficult, but I can see them in the finals.

 

I like to see Memphis in the 7th seed and take out BOTH Clips or Thunder.

 

Get into the second round and give whoever we play then a hell of fight. That'll be considered a successful season.

 

I've never got the mentality it is championship or bust. Does that mean that every year there is only one successful team in the NBA and every other team is an abject failure.

I think the Rockets have the potential to be a championship team but we are not there yet. Getting into the second round will be a success for the Rockets and I am expecting they will do so.

 

NBA Finals WINS!!! - Heavenly success.

 

What are you guys talking about? We are a better team than Blazers and we swept the Spurs this season. Anything below the WCF is a bust.

 

I voted already a success. Rockets built the core they needed (Dwight + Harden + good roleplayers) and generated the reputation they wanted (franchise on its way up, GM who wins, great FA destination to build career). This was really all you could expect in the first year of the rebuilding stage.

The only thing they can do to really screw up the season is to completely flame out or break down in the playoffs and lose the above image. Even a first round exit is fine as long as it's lost competitively. Next season and the ones after are really where expectations start setting in imo.