Golden state is first because they are the champions. Boston I understand because they were 1 game from missing the Finals without Kyrie or Hayward We should be 3rd mainly because we lose a bit of our defensive game and we have no idea how Melo will work out. Raptors should be 4th.
Well, my guess is the Rockets might do just that. Be cautious with Paul/Harden/Melo. Houston will slip to the two spot this year, mainly because I don't think they have a damn thing to prove in the regular season. They know they can take one or two in Oracle, so HC isn't as big as it was last season. Health is number one. I think this is a three team race, Houston, GS, and the LAL. Why the LAL? Easy, LeBron changes the chances of any team he plays for. If he and the LAL finish at 6, and avoid Hou/GS in the first round I wouldn't count them out. Utah could play spoiler to any of those 3, but they didn't improve enough this off-season to make me believe that. OKC could as well, but I really don't see it. Also, February trades could easily change the outlook for those three teams. Houston got deceptively better. It's hard to see it because Ennis is hard to quantify and Melo is hard to believe. But, with Houston having a greater eye on the post season I could easily see us netting our 56 and pulling a Spurs in the post season. That dark horse that really was never a dark horse. Boston wins a ring only and only if Houston/GS beat the **** out of each other and get an injury. Otherwise, its one of us two who take it.
http://www.nba.com/powerrankings/2018-19-week-1 3. Houston Rockets Last week: 3 2017-18 record: 65-17 Pace: 98.1 (14) OffRtg: 114.0 (1) DefRtg: 105.6 (7) NetRtg: +8.4 (1) Including postseason, Carmelo Anthony has started all 1,126 games of his career, a streak that will come to an end when he comes off the bench against the Pelicans on Wednesday. Of course, coach Mike D'Antoni has been subbing just four minutes into each half, staggering the minutes of James Harden and Chris Paul again, mixing his lineups quite a bit, and giving Anthony the chance play alongside the stars. Harden, Paul and Anthony combined to shoot 49-for-108 (45.4 percent) from 3-point range in the preseason, so they seem ready to get the real games started. One Team, One Stat: Iso-fest in Houston Week 1: vs. NOP, @ LAL, @ LAC
Right, and if they do that,,,,rest Paul to the point of Tilman getting fined for it....then the ranking should note that Power Ranking are different than standings for a reason. A team winning 56 games while purposefully resting their key Superstar is actually better than that. I can't stop laughing at the ESPN contradiction: Injuries can really hurt them, because what if they have the same amount as last year, when they won 65 games despite them. sigh. We are one of the most resistant teams to injuries, because MDA is running a PG-heavy offense with *two* HOF Point Guards, who each can run the team by himself, hence how we got to 65 wins with so many missed games by Harden and Paul (as noted in the ESPN blurb). That comment about injuries is *only* a weakness to GSW -- but EVERY team in the league has to be injury free to beat them. Again, versus the rest of the league, we are has injury-resistant as anyone.
Oh, I buy the number, the rationale is a completely different story. We are 100% on the same page there. That's also assuming we get ZERO upside from Knight... and that EG being in a year removed from a contract year doesn't step up a bit too. Again, losing Ariza hurts, but when the Lakers lost him (at a younger age closer to his prime) I didn't hear all these gloom and doom reports. It's just funny what perception does. The warriors also got older, and Curry should start his gradual decline soon too...
Also, I read that the first time as @tinman gets fined and chuckled. Just an interesting side note into my semi-functional brain today.
The only difference between me and Tilman is a few billion dollars And we would never move the trophies to Florida
Boston hasn't been great since their last championship. That's a long time ago. Perhaps Kawi can make a difference for the Raptors, but until proven otherwise there are 2 things guaranteed to melt down in Canada during the summer: snow and their professional NBA team. Please....
I just wanna add that Moute was actually really amazing defensively(and had great advanced stats) before he got here.
Let them. The Rockets need to remain humble and hungry. The makeup of the team is like that baring Carmelo, but he wants to do well too.
Basket from beyond the arc: 3 points. Basket from inside the arc: 2 points. Free throw: 1 point. Favorable power ranking: 0 points.
The Rockets should look at the Astros for inspiration Right now, the Astros logo and uniforms > Rockets They went back to the old school and everyone loves it Especially Houstonians I think Les didn't care about Houstonians , he wanted Floridians to buy Rockets jerseys
