No body would have believed the Hornets could be that good Last September. With that said, I still think the Rockets will do better.
You can totally tell the elites in the NBA right now. After the Spurs, there the rest of the league is mediocre at best (F the Jazz, Boozer will get injured) The Blazers might be good but isn't a title contender. The Mavs aren't good anymore, the Suns are falling off and the Warriors got really bad.
Chat with Marc Stein http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=22743 Jim (Salt Lake City): You say cautious optimism is wisest for the Rockets, then you go ahead and rank them ahead of proven playoff winners in San Antonio, Detroit and Utah. Way to contradict yourself there. Cleveland and Philly over Utah, Phoenix, and Dallas? Ugh. You do realize that the only Eastern teams Western Conference dwellers even remotely pay attention to are Boston and Detroit, right? I know it's ESPN's mission statement to overrate any team with LeBron on it, but nobody out West is worried about the Mo Williams signing. And while I love Elton Brand, Philly is still not better than Boston, Detroit, or Orlando. Celtics, Lakers, Hornets, Spurs, Pistons, Jazz, Rockets, slight gap, Suns, Mavs, Magic, 76ers, Cavs, large gap, everyone else. Marc Stein: Rockets are up there largely because they're the only West contender to make a major move, although you could make a case that Posey to New Orleans is major. Don't know about contradictions, but I will concede that No. 4 is looking a little less clever after T-Mac announced on media day that he's got shoulder and knee issues.
Boston might be numero uno but we match this team dead on. We are better be number one, but then again you can not dethrone the NBA champ. I'll wait till the first week of the regular season kicks in.
