Are we a contender?

I spent much of the 2017-18 season worrying that we wouldn't win the championship. I loved that we were so good, but every loss stung.

This year, every win feels fantastic.

 

Well there's also this confounding variable called strength of schedule. I'm scooping what you're putting down but everyone here is trying to get excited before we get a real road test.

 

I agree though, we should wait to see how we look against better teams.

Our next game against a true contender is on the 17th, Philly, until then though it's all against teams we're capable of beating.

 

Contender? For what the playoffs? Sure

To actually win it all - no way.

This team has yet to show the consistency needed and while I do believe they will fare better than most may believe our stars are flawed or inexperienced. I am not worried about the Rockets not being able to win it all. The growth from the young guys is very satisfying to see and the defense being played after years of being more reliant on offense is also refreshing.

This year especially (but most years) the league is built on stars and they will push for the star players to advance to get the TV ratings in a world where ticket revenue is nonexistent .

 

Yeah, the logic that you either contend for a championship or tank is weird. Only a few teams has a realistic chance to win it all. Moreover, there are probably less than 10 teams that can be projected to become good enough to contend in the next few years. So by that logic, the vast majority of the teams should just intentionally lose. What kind of a league is that ? What kind of fans wish their teams to lose most of the years?

 

The reason a team would not want us in the playoffs is we are a true dark horse with all star talented players like Wall, Oladipo, even Cousins, that have something to prove and nothing to lose. You add in gritty defenders that people hardly knew, Nwaba and Tate, that can feed off a veteran leader in Tucker. They become difficult to score against, a nagging thorn to the opposing offense. We have sharp shooters like Mclemore, House, and Brown all shooting over 40%. A bowling ball guard that has found new legs and his signature shot in Gordon, and a rising star center in Wood. A perimeter threat that is incredibly efficient in the paint. League take notice. Add to it a new coach and a new system, and you might find yourself going into a series without much of a game plan for anything and an early exit a harsh reality.

 

100% agree. Tilman is so cheap that I think he trades out of the first with any pick 15 to 30 of the 1st round.
Avoids paying 1st round money. Lol.

From 15 trades back to the 20’s then trades back again out of the first. Lol. Cheap *******

 

"watever this is."

Don't worry about it. Just enjoy the ride

 

That'd be nice but I think of LBJ and Anthony Davis, then I think of Leonard and Paul George, then I think of Harden, Durant, Irving and I'm like nah, but if we just play the thunder, helllllllllllllllllllllll yea brother hell yea we're contenders

 

Hell no

 

if we kept up this defense all season i dont see why not

 

How did I miss this thread? The delusion is so high

people really get gassed up over beating a bunch of scrub teams or squads missing multiple starters...wow

 

Jesus christ.

That's all I can say.

Jesus christ.

 

cant even beat scrub teams missing starters at that

 

Check back after tomorrow’s game...

 

Nope! We knew this! We're not even close. Like I said main goal right now is either tank or build assets to trade for a superstar.

 

I don't think any of the top seeded teams "wouldn't want us" in the playoffs. They would probably prefer us to the Blazers or Mavs who have more star power to be frank.

 

Yeah, I think we're contenders, you guys need to remember how bad we started thanks to harden and injuries, I would say we should be favored against any team not in LA and maybe denver in the west... Utah will come back to earth so that one should be a toss up...

We should really root for the LA teams to match up in the second round and that we end up in the other side of the bracket. If that happens I can definitely see a path to the finals with a little luck

 

Lmao. Everytime yall make one of these dumbass threads rockets get smacked back to reality.

 

Ha. Every single team would love to face us in the playoffs.

Wall - go under every screen and dare him to hit outside shots enough to win 4 games
Wood - won't need to worry about because coach won't get him enough ball to make it matter
Tucker - will be left open in the corner every single game and will be hot for 2/3 of them. And by hot i mean he'll score 12 points
Cousins - will be ejected when the game matters
McLemore - he's all of a sudden going to be a pivotal playoff asset when he can't see the court because he's a negative in the regular season?
House - just f*cking lol

My god the delusion is so high with some members here.

People call me delusional when I put money on the Artest-season Rockets to win the championship before the season started. They'd be physically ill if they read some of these posts.