John Hollinger, stats aficionado who writes for ESPN, has forecasted the West for next year. His prediction? The Rockets are the best team in the West. Says Hollinger: "And it's not as if Houston was chopped liver a season ago. The Rockets won 52 games, and actually were much better than their record... ...So what happens if you take that team and add Wells (essentially), Francis, James, Brooks, Scola, and Butler, and give it a coach who wants to be there? It's scary to think, but a gang that had 57-win talent a season ago may also be the league's most improved team. And for that reason, even considering T-Mac's and Adelman's postseason histories, one can make a fairly convincing case that the Rockets are the team most likely to be holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy in June." He's saying that we're going to go 61-21 and win the whole Conference. I'm pretty stoked about that. You can read his whole preview <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/trainingcamp07/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=RocketsPreview0708#">here</a>, provided you're an ESPN insider.
And I agree. We improved a lot this summer. Now with Yao and Tracy healthly and with a deep bench we really can be the no. 1 in the West. I also think we can beat teams like Suns, Mavs, Spurs, more times that we did last season. Last season: vs. Mavs : 1-3 vs. Suns : 1-3 vs. Spurs : 2-2 In my opinion with that roster of course with health we can go 3-1 against Suns and Mavs.
