22 (7) Rockets 53-29 The Rockets have been so scrappy without Yao or T-Mac (or both) that you hesitate to dismiss them in the race for No. 8. Dismissing them is not nearly as foolish (on both sides) as the Ariza-Lakers divorce, but risky.
That better than that hoopsworld site putting them @ 25th place, behind 6 consecutive teams that were in the Lottery last year!!! What a joke. Even as they are currently comprised, the Rockets are better than the 22nd or 25th best team in the league.
Teams that SHOULD NOT be ahead of the Rockets on that list: Raptors Wizards Pistons Bobcats Clippers Thunder
I don't know why anybody is surprised over that ranking. This team has constantly been underrated the past two years. I fully expect them to take a playoff spot and certainly contend for one late into the season. This is going to be a fun season to watch. The offense will be a lot more fluid, and we'll be rooting for a scrappy, winning, underdog group of guys. The vast majority of this board has written the Rockets off this year, and it seems a bit hypocritical to get all outraged now that ESPN is echoing that sentiment.
If there were ever a question as to why journalism is in trouble, this kind of crap analysis is a perfect example as to why.
It doesn't matter where they rank the Rockets. This isn't college football. The players hold the keys to their destiny.
Durant, Westbrook, Livingston, and Harden should make teams without size miserable. The Thunder are a post defender and signing JVG as head coach away from being a playoff team and the post defender is optional. They need a coach that will get them to play team defense. Lack of offensive system doesn't matter as Kevin Durant with a contested jumper at the end of the shot clock isn't a bad play relative to what JVG defenses generally force.
I don't know if I agree with that. It seems the prevailing sentiment has been "They're going to suck, so we should tank for a top pick." I certainly feel in a small minority when I say they'll make the playoffs. I agree wholeheartedly. The Thieves have gotten better, but they've been scraping the bottom of the lottery barrel. They're not going to make a leap that high this year. The Rockets have been to the playoffs the past 2 years while having their superstars injured. You could make a case that the Thieves might have more talent on paper, but night in and night out, the Rockets will play smarter and harder and win more games.
Better to start at the bottom and make gradually win them over, then to start at the top and slide down their charts. I like it.
