Teams that win championships generally aren't 14-12 and (currently) seeded 7th in the west. I'm a big believer in being as good as your record show you are. But there are some signs the team is better than its record. First, 3 of their losses came in OT. Each of these were obviously close games that they had a very good chance to win. Secondly, some of their close losses were vs. Miami and San Antonio. No shame in losing to these teams and playing them close is a good sign. Thirdly, they've throttled New York twice, Memphis once and came back to beat the Lakers. Seven of their losses were in the first 20 days of the season (when they were learning how to play together). Since then 10-5. You can literally see the team growing. They are CURRENTLY the #2 offensive team in the league even as they still struggle to run their half court sets. They made a very talented Memphis defense look like the Wizards. On the other hand, there are concerns. Lin still hasn't performed consistently to his potential. We have a weak spot at the 4 position and no consistent low post scoring option. Our defense hasn't show up often this season and we've been blown out by OKC and San Antonio. The team is young and obviously has very little playoff experience. So my question to you Rockets fans. How good are we really?
13th - 16th pick. Again looking for a big acquisition to be real contenders.. But at least the team is fun to watch compared to last year.
I was just being snarky. Obviously the Rockets are not championship material, but that doesn't preclude their being championship material in the future. I would absolutely agree that their development over just 1/4 of one NBA season has been startling. I've shifted gears from hedging expectations and expecting a 30 win rebuilding season to wondering if they can maintain this impressive clip all the way to a low playoff seed. We won't know for sure until, say, the all-star break.
One thing I always consider when it comes to our position among the West teams is that 3 other teams we're competing with for a playoff spot have been, or are missing key players: Dallas: Dirk New Orleans: Gordon, Davis for a stretch Minnesota: Love, Rubio, Budinger, Roy Considering our team has been relatively healthy, can't help but think we're the 9th or 10th best team at best, but it's a long season, and hopefully they can improve chemistry enough to break into the playoffs.
are we including coaching staff? I've always felt we can make the playoffs. I would be pissed when we lost to Memphis and Portland early in the season. People here would just come up here and just make all sorts of excuses. Like is said early, "I can't blame Asik, Lin, and Harden". Our talent has always been here. Drove me nuts how this x player was played over this x player. How we didn't have a center in crutch situations...... We are not playing this nonsense small ball anymore. Lin took it upon himself to be assertive, instead of looking over his shoulder and wait for Harden to create. I never believed Lin was a fluke but I'm not saying he's a superstar either.
We are an average team with HUGE potential. Unlikely to be fully realized this year or next, but seeing them win a 2-3 rounds between this year and next wouldn't surprise me. If we can get a premier PF, who can gel well with this unit, by year 3, I think this team is a championship contender, as good as anyone.
The thing to consider when answering that question is the age of the team. Young young young. as a result I think we will need the whole season to really figure out who this team is and how good some of the players can be. 1. I don't think anyone beleives that any of the players outside of maybe Delfino or Douglas has reached their potential. 2. They have only been together for a couple of months. 3. None of them have a full season as a starter. So taking those 3 things into consideration it is reasonable to assume that the Rockets will continue to get better as the season progresses. I think the Rockets will play their best basketball in the 2nd half of the season. Having said that I have a hard time imagining the team will not hit a wall at some point. We have already seen it to a degree with Asik and Parsons IMO. Asik looks like he is getching his second wind while Parsons clearly does not look like the same player he did earlier in the year. Consistency and learning how to win on the road are usually two things that haunt young teams. We are about to get a heavy does of the road and the issue of consistency will likely be a battle the team faces all year. Personally I am eager to see what this team does on the road in January and February. James Harden typically gives us the single best player on the court in almost every game. Clearly that is not the case against the Heat, Thunder, LAL etc.. but even against a team like Memphis I don't think they have a player as good as Harden. I beleive that if you have the best player on the floor then you always have a legit chance to win. So I don't really think it's possible to answer your question at this point because we really have no idea how good this team can be and we probably will not know for a couple of years. But I do think the future is very bright and I do think they are serious play-off contenders now, however I will be more confident in that last statement if the Rockets weather January with a winning record.
We're not very good. If we're going the Phoenix Suns route and try to outpace opponents, it may work in the regular season but in the playoffs teams slow you down and you get blown out. So no, I wouldn't even think about championships right now, lol.
Beating a team in the regular season doesn't mean or prove much. The Wizards beat the Heat. We couldn't do anything in the playoffs right now.
This is hilarious. Wait until we lose another game and y'all are gonna be talking about how bad we suck.
