The Yao+TMac teams were way better than this team. Although the Yao+Tmac teams were star-heavy and lacked depth (Which this team has...) the pairing of Yao+Tmac is superior to Harden+Howard by far and makes up for the lack of depth. I couldn't see this Rockets team going 7 with the Mid 2000 Utah Jazz/Dallas Mavericks. They'd lose in 5 or 6.
It's not a bad record. The West is tougher this year because Portland elevated itself from a lottery team to a top 4 seed in half a season. Golden St. is a little off the pace but they are a top 4 caliber team. The Clippers are much improved, and in my view, have the most impressive offense in the league...the only true inside-out offense in the league. Dallas is back. Phoenix had a nice start but they're just keeping the seat warm for Memphis. When matched up against that competition, the Rockets are doing ok. If they want to be a top 4 capable team, they need to re-integrate Asik into the lineup and make Lin the starter and move to more of a dribble penetration pick and roll offense. Lin has the talent to make Houston an efficient offensive team while providing a solid defensive effort. The other option is a significant trade that would package Parsons, Asik and Lin for Kevin Love and involve a 3rd/4th team, role players and draft picks.
I'm okay with where we are mid-way through the season. There's clearly some glaring problems: perimeter D, Dwight backup minutes, poor 3-pt shooting; but it was going to take at least the first half of the year to gel. Morey needs to do a bit of roster tweeking; that'll get done too. And hopefully we'll get Bev and Asik back soon. Being 5th seed in the West and 11 games over 500 half way through is about what I expected, but I also expect us to improve in the 2nd half of the season.
We're on pace to be a 50 win team. Problem is, the West is so loaded that 50 wins might only get you into 8th spot again
It happened a few years ago(either '09 or '10). The 8th seed in the West had 50 wins. And I think we're all familiar with the number of times the Rockets have had win totals in the low-to-mid 40's, but settled for the 13th pick in the lottery.
The Pacers were in the Eastern Conference last year.... far easier than the Western Conference. The point was that the Pacers have been together as a group for years now, and they have progressively improved every year. It is something the Rockets hope to happen, once their core pieces get a chance to gel.
