Still too early to tell. I don’t think this year but if they keep doing what they’re doing with this young core, it could come sooner rather than later
You don't go from missing the playoffs to title contender. And in the rare times it does, it only happens when a team adds a superstar that completely changes the dynamic of the team which we didn't do. If you are building with a core you have to fail in the playoffs before you succeed, pretty much without exception. From a practical standpoint, I still see no alpha scorer which is usually a must have to compete for a chip.
I don’t know about contender but I do think that a team that plays this hard is a nightmare over a long series.
I don't think they are a championship contender yet. They are clearly a tier below OKC, Boston, and Cleveland this year. I think they can play with anyone else in a 7 game series. I am rooting for a top 4 finish in the West and a victory in the first round of the playoffs - which would be a great outcome for this team. Although the geriatric 4 (LAL, LAC, PHO, and GS) are all off to decent starts - as we see with Phoenix with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal out for a few games, all the geriatric 4 are too dependent on old, injury prone players (except maybe GS - all depends on Curry's health). I see the Rockets as a tier 2 team in the regular season - their youth and depth should allow the Rockets to have a better regular season record and reach 50+ victories. From next year on, I think they will be contenders just looking for a little luck - the rise of Tari and Amen has put them on the verge of being elite.
Great thread casual. @Clutch needs to severely restrict the rights of who can start new threads. I’d be fine if it just the 99ers and those of us with more than 2 decades of membership would only hold that right. You’re not supposed to start a new thread for every half-assed thought might like to add to the board. Stick with posting it in one of the cumulative threads but no that won’t give you the “LOOK AT ME” satisfaction am I right casual?
I think, at the moment, there are only four real contenders, and we’re towards the top of the next tier.
With enough injury luck we are, you don’t have to be the best or 2nd best or even 5th best to get lucky and win. If everyone is healthy we have zero chance obviously so just depends on your definition
