2012/13 NBA Team Rankings & Previews: #27 Houston Rockets
#27 - Houston Rockets
2011/12 Record: 34-32, no playoffs
2012/13 Projected Record: 31-51, no playoffs
Key Additions:
Terrence Jones - Small Forward/Power Forward
Jeremy Lin - Point Guard
Shaun Livingston - Point Guard
Jeremy Lamb - Shooting Guard
Royce White - Power Forward
Toney Douglas - Point Guard
Omer Asik - Center
Carlos Delfino - Shooting Guard/Small Forward
Donatas Motiejunas - Power Forward/Center
Key Departures:
Kyle Lowry - Point Guard
Goran Dragic - Point Guard
Chase Budinger - Small Forward
Samuel Dalembert - Center
Marcus Camby - Center
Luis Scola - Power Forward
Courtney Lee - Shooting Guard
Depth Chart:
Point Guard: Jeremy Lin, Shaun Livingston
Shooting Guard: Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb
Small Forward: Chandler Parsons, Carlos Delfino
Power Forward: Patrick Patterson, Royce White
Center: Omer Asik, Donatas Motiejunas
The X Factor:
Jeremy Lin
Was last season's Linsanity just a weird, fluke of nature, or is Jeremy Lin for real? Houston has $25 million invested in the later being true.
Summary:
Wholesale changes is an understatement - only three of the top nine players on Houston's roster last season remain. All that change - and all the uncertainty that comes with young players - doesn't bode well for the Rockets putting too many W's in the win column this season.
NBA Preseason Power Rankings
#28 - Detroit Pistons
#29 - Orlando Magic
#30 - Charlotte Bobcats
Well I happen to like the projection. If Toronto sucks as well then we'll be poised for two top 10 picks next draft. Our rookies have ceilings higher than anyone we let go, except maybe Dragic.. It's called tanking and it works, but it's happened about 3 years too late.
@Alituro Like I've written before, if you're going to suck, it is always best to suck and be young, rather than old.
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@Alituro Except I don't think this is tanking or rebuilding by design - I think Houston just screwed up this offseason and now they are stuck rebuilding. It doesn't seem like it was planned.
@Jeff Fox @Alituro Agree with Jeff. Morey has freakin lost his mind. And I thought Kahn was bad! Epic fail offseason for the Rockets...
@Jeff Fox Oh I agree there... We are definitely instituting plan C at this point. With plan A being Howard and Plan B being Bynum. But now that we're stuck with this plan we should embrace the tanking wholeheartedly. Too many wins this season will be disastrous. Unless, of course our rookies, Lin, Asik and Chandler perform at all-star levels and we start the season early at a better than .667 win percentage. But there is slim chance of that. I do look forward to watching this young squad develop over the next couple years while snatching early picks. I was fed up with being mediocre so often.
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@CollegeWolf They had about as bad an offseason as you can. Swing and a miss.
@Jeff Fox It's just mind-blowing, it really is. Giving away all their guys like that?!? And Lowry, who is very good and a great defender on an amazing contract... for a crappy pick? Such epic failure.
@CollegeWolf I guess they really thought (cluelessly) that they had a legitimate shot at Dwight.
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@CollegeWolf "Dwight Howard or Bust" isn't the best policy to build a team with, apparently.
