Looks like the Rockets are getting some love. Ranked 11th right now. The only ones I don't agree with are the the Hawks (No Horford) and the Pacers. I think we are better and more balanced than those teams. We were previously ranked 15th. Of the 10 teams ranked above us, 4 are from the WC, making us their 5th best in the West. The Spurs are above us, but without Duncan and Ginobli they are no where near the top of the West. Let's make it 7 tonight! http://www.nba.com/2012/news/powerrankings/01/23/week4/?ls=iref:nbahpt1
Pacers are a solid team, dont sleep on them. Other than that, we had a hell of an easy schedule after our terrible opening 10. Also Dalembert has been playing all-star level basketball, I dont know if he can sustain such a level, but if he can, we can definitely jump up to break top 10.
Pacers are much better than we are, no joke. But I still like this team's chances at winning the division with Dalembert playing like he is.
I would put 8th or 9th position as the high mark for this team. I'd love to see them get there but we need more wins and more solid play from the starters, and definitely from the bench. I'm starting to like this squad, I hope we don't go on a skid at this point. We've got momentum and hunger at the moment.
Memphis < Houston? I don't know if I agree with that. That team has no deficit of size and their guard situation is great. I think Memphis is poised to break the no playoffs without Battier streak this year. Don't get me wrong, I think Houston is equally undervalued as well, but still. I love how there are basically two teams in the West that are killing it and the rest are just falling in line with one and another. One week you could be 3rd in the west, the next your on the outside looking in onto the playoff picture.
The rockets were 15 - 8 after the trade last year. This is the same team except with an interior presence. The teams obviously better than us are Dallas San Antonio Los Angeles (Lakers and Clippers) Oklahoma City I really believe seeds 6 - 8 is between Rockets, Nuggets, Blazers, Grizzlies, and Jazz. I think overall the Grizzlies are probably slightly better than we are, the rockets after the trade have not played the Nuggets and only played the Jazz once in which we won. We have defeated Portland both times we have faced them since the trade. I don't see any real evidence that those teams are hands down a better team than the Rockets.
To comment on the power rankings, I'm suprised we were ranked higher than Dallas and LA. I think they were quite modest. My above post was just in regards to people who think were nothing more than a .500 team.
The old balls Spurs are not better than we are. Their team will break with the compressed schedule. The Nuggets are definitely better, and the Jazz might be.
Oh, and the Mavs are my least favorite franchise with the Dallas Cowboys in a close second and the Texas Rangers in a close third.
Didn't they lose two big men? Including ZR. I think they have a better team on paper, but I think we play better than them, from the view Griz games I have actually watched. As for the Pacers, I have not seen any more than 10-15 of them this season, I am basing my opinion of them on the players I know they have and their success in the last few years.
You know people have been saying this for the past 3 - 4 years, too old, yet they are always among the top of the conference. Parker is still good and so is Ginobli, Duncan is on the decline but when the 3 are together, they are a better team. We haven't played the nuggets or jazz so it's hard to say they are clearly better than us just because their record says so. We had a brutal schedule to start the season. If you watch them on a regular basis, I'll give you the argument since I don't watch them regularly.
1/30 update Houston (12-8) Pace: 94.6 (14), Off: 102.7 (8), Def: 99.1 (14) Like it did last season, the Rockets' lineup data shows that depth is a strength. Nine of their 10 most-used lineups have a positive plus-minus. With Kyle Lowry shooting 8-for-42 over the last four games and Kevin Martin (sore foot) missing the last two, they've needed to rely on their defense more than usual. The fact that we have won, whether playing bad teams or not, with kyle playing this bad and Martin being out, shows a lot about our team. We are deep, we're just young and so I don't think that depth stands out to many people. I am okay with being the 10th best team in the league, 5th best in the West. Dallas could fall from grace very fast. They are building their way back, but Kidd and Dirk are old, Lamar isn't playing like Lamar, and they don't have Chandler. I was not that impressed with their performance against the spurs last night, Spurs should have won, they played better with their backups. Like I said though, I like where we're at, just enough below the radar that we don't get full of ourselves, but high enough to be proud of our accomplishments and recognitions. Let's make it 3 in a row tonight!
Lowry isn't playing that bad. He's forced into taking some bad shots because of the shot clock winding down and his teammates pass to him instead of taking it. He's been contributing in other ways which is why we are still trotting onwards. I really want to see him get some play for him to get to the basket this game just to get him going early.
Very well put. I would say that their ranking is justified. Rockets are hot right now, let's hope this winning streak extends!
So I have been told. I doubt I'll ever watch one though. I just have no interest in many Eastern teams. I'll watch some NY games to see them lose, some Heat games to see them lose/dunks, and some Hawks games to check on McGrady. I'll try to sit through one, but the truth is I just get bored.
Add one more to the Pacers are better than we are right now column. I'd put them at 3rd in the East right now. They've looked good, real good.
It's close, though. I don't watch a lot of their, but got to assume they win with a slower pace and defense. A further look at the stats and it appears to be that plus 3 point shooting. They only have 1 player on the team shooting above 50% - Hibbert. Their next best player comes in at only 46%. Granger is shooting 38%. West 44%. They're only shooting 42% as a team - 25th in the leauge, but are 7th in 3 point percentage, and but hold their opponents to 41.8% overall. They're 3rd from last in assists per game, and equally bad in assists to turnover ratio.
