I really doubt NBA history would suggest that a 1st round ass kicking really matters in the grand scheme of things for a young team. I also expect huge roster turnover before we can contend, assuming Dwight Howard doesn't sign here in the offseason. I think a playoff appearnace matter much more to fans and Les' pockets more than long term development.
if you can average close to 120 points a game, you have talent, and lots of it. young talent, but talent nonetheless. and no, lin is not outclassed by most starting PG at this point in time. 16 and 6 is not being outclassed and that's what he's averaging recently. parsons, doing the things that he does at 6'10" is not just a fan favorite. he's a match-up nightmare. asik is exceeding all expectations that rockets have for him and hasn't been a great defensive player this year? are you serious? there's list of 20 candidates for defensive player of the year, compiled by nba.com. the rockets have two players on the list; asik and lin. and we have harden - 'nough said. i'm not saying we have miami, okc, spurs talent. but imo, we have enough talent to be better than half of the teams in the west and that's what it takes to make the playoffs. i'm not talking about making through first round - just making the playoffs. and it would be a big disappointment if that doesn't happen.
this is as ok as i've ever been with getting the 14th pick and finishing 9th in the west. to change the roster and coaching staff so dramatically over the past 4 years and still finish in the same spot... would feel like Groundhog Day. But for the first time i feel like, were that to happen, we've got the youth and talent going forward to actually BUILD on this season. maybe i'm drinking the kool-aid, but we've finally got our superstar/foundation/cornerstone player and that is a huge box to check off. Our window is wide. but i won't pretend that a late-season collapse wouldn't be a tough pill to swallow. the time is now to get into the playoffs, roll the dice against the top seeds in the first round, and get some postseason experience for this young team (including getting harden some post season xp as being "the man").
I see where you're coming from, but there are a multitude of reasons why making the playoffs is much, much better than missing them. - Experience. There is always talk about how a team needs to take their playoff lumps before making a legitimate run, and that tends to be true. Better to start that process sooner than later. - Exposure. Playoff teams get more national attention, which is always a positive. Should the Rockets push a top seed to a tough series, or even upset them, that will only serve to raise their value in the eyes of free agents. - Interest. As a sports city, Houston is pretty damn apathetic, if not completely jaded. But as we've seen, the fans here will get behind a team making a playoff push. Being 9th for the fourth consecutive year isn't doing jack for fan support.
I don't know why everyone's so freaked out. Have you SEEN Utah's performance lately? They've dropped 9 out of 12.
In the grand scheme of things, whether or not we make the playoff will have a significant impact on our chance to attract free agents this summer.
FAs aren't stupid. They know we're a young team on the uprise. It wouldn't change the fact if they would sign with us or not. People want to play with superstars, and I believe James Harden is that. Us making the 7th seed or missing the playoffs and finish 9th will not make a FA change his mind if he was already considering it.
