I want what's best for them in the long term. To me that means getting another top 3 pick and going from there. Just because your ideal way of rebuilding is different than mine doesn't mean you can question my love for the team.
some off-season power rankings from nba.com. First the Eastern Conference. https://www.nba.com/news/offseason-power-rankings-east-2021 here's where James Harden's Brooklyn Nets land: 1 Last Week: 0 ↓ Brooklyn Nets 2020-21 record: 48-24 Pace: 100.3 (11), OffRtg: 117.3 (1), DefRtg: 113.1 (22), NetRtg: +4.2 (7) Key addition(s): Patty Mills, James Johnson, Four more years on Kevin Durant’s contract Key departure(s): Spencer Dinwiddie, Jeff Green Three numbers to know… • The Nets’ offense had the most efficient regular season in NBA history, scoring 117.3 points per 100 possessions. The 128.0 points per 100 possessions they scored in the first round vs. Boston was the most efficient series for any team in the 25 years for which we have play-by-play data. After scoring 120.6 per 100 through the first two games of the conference semifinals, they were held to just 101.9 per 100 over the last five. • The Nets played only 20 possessions of zone, second fewest in the league, according to Synergy tracking. But they were still the league’s slowest moving team on defense, averaging 3.69 miles per hour. According to Second Spectrum tracking, they ranked second, both in the regular season (38%) and the playoffs (45%), in the percentage of ball screens that they switched. The only team with a higher rate in the playoffs (55%) was their first round opponent (Boston). • Mills is one of four players — JJ Redick, Paul George and Stephen Curry are the others — who has shot 40% or better on at least 200 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in five of the last seasons. Joe Harris is one of four players — George, Davis Bertans and Karl-Anthony Towns are the others — who have done it in each of the last four seasons. Key question: Will they defend better in Year 2? The Nets’ offense is so ridiculous that they can win a championship without improving much on the other end of the floor. They did see the second biggest drop in points allowed per 100 possessions from the regular season (113.1, 22nd) to the playoffs (109.3, fourth). But more focus and consistency on that end of the floor can lead to more comfortable wins, which can keep the Brooklyn stars fresher for the postseason. Only two teams had more games that were within five points in the last five minutes than the Nets (40) last season, and 17 of those 40 came against the 14 teams that finished the season with losing records. Reducing the minutes-per-game averages of Harden (36.6), Irving (34.9) and Durant (33.1) would be nice. Swapping Green for Johnson and keeping DeAndre Jordan at the bottom of the big-man depth chart should help the defense. A full season of Nicolas Claxton (first in blocks per 36 minutes and fifth in fouls per 36 in the playoffs) would ease the load on Blake Griffin. The stars will carry them in May and June. But the supporting cast and the defense are critical to getting the stars there will a full tank of gas. Apparantley the Western Conference rankings are still being worked on
https://www.nba.com/news/offseason-power-rankings-west-2021 14. Houston Rockets Last Week: 0 ↓ Houston Rockets 2020-21 record: 17-55 Pace: 101.7 (6) OffRtg: 107.0 (27) DefRtg: 114.4 (27) NetRtg: -7.4 (27) Key addition(s): Jalen Green and three more first-round draftees Key departure(s): Kelly Olynyk Three numbers to know… • The Rockets saw the eighth biggest year-to-year drop in winning percentage in NBA history, from 0.611 in 2019-20 to 0.236 last season. • For the second straight season, the Rockets allowed a league-high 23.8 transition points per game, according to Synergy tracking. • Last season was the first time in eight years that the Rockets didn’t lead the league in the percentage of their shots that came from 3-point range. After three straight seasons over 50%, they saw the league’s second biggest drop and ranked second at 45.9%. Key question: How quickly do the rookies take over? The Rockets went all-in on the 2021 Draft, adding a first-rounder to the three they already had by trading a pair of future (protected) picks to Oklahoma City. Houston’s four first-rounders are all just 19 years old, so there’s no rush to push them into heavy minutes, and the G League is a practical tool for their development. But if this team isn’t going to compete for a playoff or Play-In spot, maybe it’s best to throw them all into the fire. If the youth movement takes precedence, it might be tougher for John Wall (the least effective high-volume pull-up shooter in the league last season) and Eric Gordon (who played a total of 25 minutes after the All-Star break) to reestablish themselves as vets who can help a competitive team somewhere. At least Stephen Silas can go into his second season with a better idea of what kind of team he’s coaching.
https://marcstein.substack.com/p/nba-power-rankings 26. Houston Rockets The Rockets have to be feeling as good as you can after a 17-55 season that brought a halt to the league's previous longest run of consecutive playoff appearances (eight) … which is also why we have them higher in this first rankings batch than a few teams bound to finish with better records. Houston appears to have been proven right for choosing to pass on Ben Simmons as the primary trade haul for James Harden and then scored a massive amount of lottery fortune by hanging onto its top pick and ultimately selecting Jalen Green at No. 2 overall. Green heads an array of promising youngsters (Alperen Şengün, Josh Christopher, Usman Garuba, Kevin Porter Jr. and Kenyon Martin Jr.) who, if nothing else, make the rebuilding Rockets rather watchable.
This upcoming regular season, do ya'll think Rockets will end up with a better record than the following teams? Pistons (Cade, Jeremi Grant ... ) Cavs (Garland, Sexton, Rubio ... ) Thunder (SGA and crew)
My prediction is we finish the season with the 4th-7th worst record in the league. Somewhere towards the top of that group of bottom feeders.
The Rockets aren’t making the playoffs and really don’t need to be worrying about wins. Very few teenagers make a difference in wins even if they put up nice stats. The Rockets have added 4 teenagers to their team and at least two of them will be rotation pieces… and in the short term that isn’t good for wins.
The ranking is about right. I’d put us anywhere from 28-30. The commentary, like most have already said is wonky. But what do you expect from an article written at this point in the off season.
https://theathletic.com/2848842/202...redictions-for-2021-22-and-introducing-tiers/ 28. Houston Rockets (Previously 28th) Why are they here?: I think the Houston Rockets are headed to a very fun season, but this team is going to struggle to win games. And that’s fine. They have four 19-year olds on the roster, and they’ve committed to the rebuild, which they should. Stephen Silas has to approach this youth by sticking to the basics for schemes, and the basics are easy for opponents to solve. We’ll probably see a much more competitive Rockets team in the second half of the season, or at least that’s the hope. The Rockets won’t be good this year, but they are actually building something that could be special in a few years. They just can’t skip steps in the development process. Thing I’m looking forward to the most: The Jalen Green experience. He is probably the player I’m most excited to watch this year. Either him or Anthony Edwards in terms of the young guys in the NBA. Green is a scoring machine. He’s going to have bumps and bruises, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see him clear 20 points per game as a rookie and do it somewhat efficiently. The Rockets will be bad, but he could make them a fun League Pass mistress from your favorite team. Thing I’m most concerned about: Just the losses piling up and bringing apathy. There is so much exuberance and young energy with this team. These guys haven’t lost before the way they’re going to lose this season. For now, guys like John Wall and Eric Gordon will be there to try to help them learn, but the Rockets will have to find ways to keep morale high while the win percentage is low. I just hope the lack of success in the win column doesn’t kill the spirit of the young core. Random prediction: Armoni Brooks makes over 100 3-pointers this season. I was in Houston this past week to interview players, Stephen Silas and Rafael Stone for SiriusXM NBA Radio. When asked about who the best shooter on the team was, nobody hesitated to say Brooks. The players fawned over his shooting ability. The team rewarded him with a four-year deal. He’ll find his way into the rotation, and he’s going to knock down 3-pointers.
https://theathletic.com/2893066/202...iors-creep-up-with-a-strong-first-impression/ 27. Houston Rockets (Previously 28th), 1-2, +1.6 net rating Weekly Slate: Loss at Wolves, Win over Thunder, Loss to Celtics First-impression from Week 1: The Kevin Porter Jr. point guard movement has some real potential. With John Wall not playing in games for the Rockets anymore, the point guard position has been outright given to Kevin Porter Jr., who is traditionally a wing. With a young team like Houston, I actually love this experimentation. We’ve seen players go down a traditional playing position in the past to unlock a different understanding of how to operate on the court. It’s worked for guys like Kevin Durant, Zach LaVine, and Victor Oladipo. KPJ didn’t show much for playmaking in the loss to Minnesota, but he bounced back tremendously against OKC. There will be ups and downs with KPJ at the point, but he shows a good natural understanding of the responsibility there. He’s still able to pick the brain of Wall as often as he needs, but a big wing who can initiate the offense full time isn’t just something they could play around with last year. It’s a movement they’re going with as they try to round out this attack for the future. NEAR POSTER ON THE BEAT:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...eek-2-where-do-lakers-stand-slow-start-season 26. Houston Rockets 2021-22 record: 1-2 Previous ranking: 28 No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green was held to nine points in each of the Rockets' first two games, but his explosive scoring ability was on display during his 30-point performance in Sunday's loss to the Celtics. Green was 8-of-10 from 3 in that game, finishing one made 3 shy of tying the NBA rookie record. -- MacMahon
