Myth: The Rockets ceiling this year is the 2nd Round

This team is not that young,

The Rockets have a nice mix of young and veteran players. In addition, even the young players like Harden (24 years old) have had substantial playoff experience.

This team is ready this year for a championship run. I would not consider the Rockets to be the favorite, of course, with the donut hole at the 4, but we will be there all year long.

 

Why are people discussing teams that lost in the finals when the national media said that Houston "ceiling is the 2nd round?"

Assuming the playoffs go more or less chalk, and they generally do when injuries are not involved, it becomes much harder the further you go. For a top 4 team, getting past the 2nd round means winning at most one series against a a top 4 conference team. Winning the finals require likely beating 2 straight top 3~4 teams in your conference, and then top 1~2 teams from the other conference. The gap is very big in terms of difficulty.

 

If that was 100% true the Spurs would be in the Finals every year huh. And back in the day them jokers fell off. You do know Pop wont be coaching forever and the Spurs organization could decide to go in another direction if they don't win the Championship next year or the year afterwards.

 

stay low keyed and be humble.

 

That's a legit predictions folks, but hey time will tell.

 

Last year they were the top 2 seeds and most likely would meet in the conference finals were it not for Westbrook's injury. This year I think it will be the same unless they're affected by injuries. If they meet in the semifinals that means they are affected by injuries in the regular season. That's why I said "barring injuries".

Sure, it can be broken. It is just a prediction afterall. It's actually quite likely that the Spurs would be affected by injuries since they're so old and the Thunder will definitely be since Westbrook will miss games at the beginning of the season.

So yes, it's definitely possible that the Rockets could get pass them. On the other hand, the Rockets have their own problems to sort out. Can Dwight play like Dream/Shaqe/Duncan? Who will play PF and how is it going to play out? Chemistry between Harden and Dwight? Is Lin going to play up to his potential? Can McHale coach a elite team? How are the twin towers going to fare? Can Parsons play elite defense?

It would be a pleasant surprise if they do get to the conference finals.

 

Rox is in win-now mode, but I'm also willing to be patient.

 

I don't care what the media is thinking. Someone said Leonard is whatever doesn't mean everyone thinks the same. If we are talking about the Rockets being underrated in the media, it's pretty much a mixed bag. Some underrate us and some overrate us.

But if we are talking about what WE think the Rockets are, then it's speculative either way. As you said, there weren't many precedents of teams assembling two top players within a year. We just have to wait and see. Historically, the notion "young teams don't win championships" is a fact.

I do agree that Howard is not young and has had some playoffs success. Somehow, I don't trust Howard's leadership. I hope he will mature and prove me wrong.

I know this is somewhat subjective, as in most "intangible" discussions. But young talented teams do find ways to self-destruct in crucial moments.

To me, the Rockets can be looked at using optimistic glasses or pessimistic glasses.

Optimistic:
We have two top-10 players. The role players are talented and energetic. We have a lot of depth. We seem to be an unselfish team.

Pessimistic:
Our stars are either young or immature. The role players are questionable. We don't know how Asik can fit. Parsons is generally overrated. Lin and Beverley are unproven. We have no real starting PF. In short, there is too much unknown to predict how deep we can go in a playoffs run.