2011-12 Houston Rockets Overview
In the loaded NBA Southwest Division, the Rockets were at the bottom in spite of managing a winning record of 43-39 last season. The other four squads all made the postseason with a record of 46-36 or better.
While Houston will surely have the same amount of difficulty in reaching the postseason, they could easily sneak in for the 8th spot in the Western Conference. Almost every other franchise in the division has lost something and this division wont be nearly as good as it was last year.
The Rockets must find how to improve their squad first. They have got a few assets but they need to turn that into solid players. They attempted to make a three team trade with the Lakers and Hornets that would have gotten them Gasol, but commissioner David Stern axed the move, and the Rockets have not even been in a position to upgrade their team since that time.
The Rockets have gained some promising young rookies through draft in Marcus Morris, Donatas Motiejunas and Chandler Parsons, while they also got Jonny Flynn from Minnesota in return for Brad Miller. They lost Chuck Hayes to Sacramento through free agency.
Yao Ming’s retirement in the Basketball viewpoint is a massive boost to the team. They don’t have to pay him a ridiculous amount of cash to sit in the bench to try to get healthy. With all the talent and likeability of Yao Ming, he just could not remain healthy and his retirement would help the Rockets to move on and put that failed time behind them.
Houston was a brilliant team last season on the offensive end ranking 3rd in the NBA in scoring with 105.9 points per game. They have also been extremely unselfish leading the league in dimes with 23.8 per game. However their defense left a lot to be desired as they allowed 103.7 points per game good for 22nd in scoring defense.
It looks as if the Rockets will field an identical starting lineup this season. In the backcourt they have PG Kyle Lowry and SG Kevin Martin forming one of the more disparaged backcourts in the league. Their front court is pretty solid as well as Chase Budinger, Luis Scola and Jordan Hill will look to man the front court.
Houston has a bevy of reserve players who are prepared and able to score and play big night in and night out. Goran Dragic, Jonny Flynn will backup Lowry, while Martin will be backed up by solid players in Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams. Their depths up front are also impressive thanks to Marqus Blakely, Chandler Parsons, Patrick Patterson, and Hasheem Thabeet.
Western Conference Prediction: 4th Southwest Division – Houston has nowhere to go but up in the Southwest Division. They should overtake the New Orleans Hornets for fourth place in this division. The Hornets lose Chris Paul and are obviously in reconstructing mode.
While the Rockets are clearly not on the same level as the Mavericks, Spurs and Grizzlies talent-wise, with our NBA season predictions we assume that they could obviously sneak out a No. 8 seed. This is noiselessly one of the dynamic teams in the West, and they are just a few moves away from being a heavy contender. Their depth is very impressive, and it’ll permit them to stay competitive once again this season.
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