As I have mentioned a few times before...at the start of this season, we were expected to be one of the worst teams in the league...Not only did our fortunes change with the addition of Harden, the Rockets are easily one of the most exciting teams in the league...The Rockets have a tremendously bright future and with everyone that clamored for the Rocket to tank at the end of last season are nowhere to be found...For this young Rockets team to even make the playoffs, in itself is a huge accomplishment...young players often lose focus...but the coaching staff has managed to piece moments of inconsistency to an estimated 46 win season...that in itself is truly remarkable...and anything that is done in the postseason is just a bonus...Sure it would be nice to win in the postseason...and these young guns should play as carefree and relaxed, but know that expectations change after the end of this season...so playing fun and relaxed...and who knows...that could be a recipe for upsets...Go Rockets...
Is the season successful? For me already accomplished with the playoff appearance. While I would feel a sweep in the playoffs would leave kind of a bitter taste, it won't temper my excitement for the offseason and next year.
I picked the Rockets to win ~44 games, and fight for the 8th spot after Harden trade. I'm a happy man already. With the games become more of a half court battle in playoff, I don't see the Rockets win the series against of of the 5 top teams. I do expect them to break loose at least once. So I expect them to win one, maybe two games.
To be fair you are either facing the Spurs, Thunder if we are stuck at 7th, or Grizzlies/Nuggets if you are stuck at 6th.
The team has already surpassed my expectations, so any other victory from hereon is bonus! Go rockets!
Oh with this team, it is RING OR BUST! JK 2 games is fine with me, but I think we'll make it to the 2nd round
Obviously, for a lot of fans it would be optimally a ring or nothing. Given the recent history and current composition of this team though making the playoffs is a gem. If you look we have two undrafted stars and several 2nd round picks and the star player used to be a 6th man. The reason I like this team so much is that they are a cinderella team, much as I watched and liked the 2004 Pistons. There are no egos in the way. Hopefully, the front office does not make waves this off season and try to see what the team can accomplish with the current set of players. I know this is impossible. The least I can expect is that they target good quality (attitude wise) players in the off season.
Making the playoffs is already a huge bonus for this young and inexperienced team on their first year together. Remember that this is just year 1 of our rebuilding stage. The bigger picture is to gain playoff experience and acquire another superstar this coming off-season or next. Then we can talk about deep playoff runs and being contenders.
I'd like to note that I don't see success and failure as separated by a thin line. If the team makes the playoffs, I already see it as a season that is, at the very least, not a failure. An OK season. That said, taking the Thunder (or whoever) to 5 I would call an OK season. Taking them to 6 I would probably call success.
Only because this team is young and inexperienced I'll be fine if they win 2 or 3 games in the first round. But once they have experience I will be expecting them to get out of the first round at least.
This season has already been a huge success. Let's recap and be thankful for what we've accomplished. McHale- The coaching move for McHale instead of Adelman turned out better than expected. I thought Mac was going to be a huge flop and I was dissapointed to see Adelman go and down right hated the move. But for as much carp McHale gets on this board he's on the verge of leading a young team in his first year with a new team/organization to the playoffs in a Competitive Western conference. Harden- Morey's collection of assets finally paid off when we were able to snag Harden. Prior to the season there was a long debate if Harden was a Max Player or not I think we can all agree Harden turned out to be better than what we ever expected and he's CLEARLY worth a Max contract if not more. Jeremy Lin- has been a controversial subject on this board to say the least but I think he's played up to his contract on the court. If you factor in the other things off the court as well it's been a great move. Omer Asik- I hated the signing of Asik. I thought we overpaid for an unproven big and what I thought was a career backup that could only play limited minutes. I was dead wrong and I love it. Delfino- Maybe the most underrated off-season signing. Not only are we going to make the playoffs we're still young and improving with Cap space to make other huge moves. We weren't even supposed to be in the Playoffs this year but I know we will at least win a game or two which is more than I could've imagined prior to the season beginning. This season is a major success no matter the outcome.
considering we were completely rebuilding when the year began, have had the youngest team in the league, and were projected to win "around" 30 games at most? yeah, I'm just happy to make the postseason. Don't get me wrong, I'd be disappointed if they were swept, but these guys did what our team hasn't done for the last few years. No team drama, no injuries, etc. Its been a good year, and instead of thinking our players are old and we don't know where to go... we're starting with incredible building blocks that for the most part need to stay together for years. its already been a successful season.
