LMAO! Houston has a 10 point lead

[rocketeer]

Maybe but there's no shot blocker in there, but PER differential wise, are there more than a handful of bangers that are better than Hayes down there?

hayes is a great man to man post defender and he's also very good at drawing charges and getting into the right spots to close off passing lanes, but it's hard to be a great defensive team without a shot blocking anchor.

 

[DeanMoriarty]

People are forgetting this is a Rockets team that took the Lakers to game 7. From what I've seen, Ariza fits better than Artest and Adelman does an excellent job using the players acquired by stat guru Daryl Morey.

 

[KingSpeed]

Assuming no injuries (because with the right injuries, no team is a lock).

Locks: Lakers, Spurs, Blazers, Nuggets, Mavericks
Extremely Likely: Hornets, Jazz
Significant Chance: Suns, Rockets, Warriors (all these teams won't make it, but each has a non-trivial chance of sneaking in)
Lucky To Make It: Everyone else
Definitely Not Going To Make It Even If Every Other Team In The Conference Lost Their Two Best Players To Injuries: Sacramento

The Blazers are not a lock and I hope our players don't they they're a lock. They fought their asses off to get those 54 wins to make the playoffs and it's not a given that they'll do it again. This is going to be a VERY competitive year. I think the Suns are gonna have a great year and they didn't make the playoffs last season. Houston is looking good early too.

 

[KingSpeed]

People are forgetting this is a Rockets team that took the Lakers to game 7. From what I've seen, Ariza fits better than Artest and Adelman does an excellent job using the players acquired by stat guru Daryl Morey.

Bingo. Houston could easily be a top 4 team in the West this season.

 

[rocketeer]

Bingo. Houston could easily be a top 4 team in the West this season.

i would love it, but i don't see it as a possibility at all. essentially this rockets team went 2-2 against the lakers in the playoffs, but the lakers really didn't show up for those games(the losses) at all.

 

[maxiep]

The Rockets continue to impress me. There isn't a smarter, harder working team in the league. I suspect even Gregg Popovich looks at their effort and finds his Spurs wanting.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

The Rockets will be lucky to make the playoffs

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Bingo. Houston could easily be a top 4 team in the West this season.

No way they finish in the top 4 in the West.

 

[magnifier661]

The Rockets will be lucky to make the playoffs

It's not even if they make the playoffs. I am saying they are a tougher team than many think. They will underestimate many teams and steal wins. They may never be close to making the playoffs, but I suspect they will be beating some high quality teams on effort alone.

 

[hasoos]

Effort is most of the battle. Most NBA players are extremely talented. The question is, is the motor running? Right now the reason they are winning is effort and confidence. I would have to imagine after everybody writing them off with major players hurt, that every player on that team has an axe to grind.

 

[LittleAlex]

The rockets remind me of the old Miami Heat teams that had Alonzo. They pretty much maxed out their talent every single game but when the playoffs came they couldn't take their play any higher.

As the season wears on and teams start to gear up for the playoffs Houston will not look nearly as good as they do now.

They may still make the playoffs though. And no one should mark off a Houston game as an automatic win.


Not like Memphis or New Jersey.