Utah is one injury away from being out of the playoff race. They aren't deep enough to handle Gobert or Mitchell going down. These things will happen in a long season. The Rockets have massive depth. They are a better fit for a 1/2 seed. Anyways.
For the record, listening to the latest Zach Lowe podcast, Kevin Arnovitz has Utah #2 in the West. Basing it on Rockets injury potential and loss of players. So he joins David Griffin in that group.
Rockets injury potential? sigh. Who? We did fine without Paul in regular season last year. I mean, the Rockets are probably next to GSW if not the Top Team in the league for being designed around injuries to their system. We are an MDA, PG system with two HOF PGs. We really only need one to get 50+ wins. Along with the Warriors, no other West team can sustain an injury to their primary-usage position like the Rockets can. Utah...lulz. Favors and Rubio are as injury prone as anyone, and Gobert missed 25 games last year, not to mention Exum. They have very little big man depth. They are a losing team without Gobert - going 11-15, last year
@heypartner, even for smart guys....just goes to show how media narratives can weigh down the discussion.
wrt that injury narrative, it’s like they took our worst weakness against the Warriors, and said that makes injuries a common and debilitating fact for our West seeding. No it doesn’t; it just means we have to be in perfect health to beat the Warriors. Every other team needs that too, and still can’t approach our ability to win. And it certainly does not mean Utah is suddenly going to go injury free.
Zach Lowe's NBA tiers: Title contenders, playoff hopefuls and bad teams Tier 1: Golden State Warriors Yeah, these dudes, again. Warriors have to try their hardest Boston Celtics Houston Rockets Searching for the proper paperwork to move up one tier Toronto Raptors [...] As for Houston, what I wrote after free agency applies now: Beware burying this team, and lamenting the closure of its championship window. If that window is closed, it is mostly because Golden State is among the greatest dynasties in league history -- perhaps literally the greatest basketball team ever built -- and not because Trevor Ariza and a gimpy Luc Mbah a Moute play for new teams. Those guys mattered in building the switch-everything defense that confused the Warriors in the conference finals. (The Warriors were complicit, but the Rockets never got enough credit for having the talent, fight and strategy to stagger them. The Rockets lost, but a really good team needs to stagger a great rival -- even a dynasty -- for only a half-dozen or so quarters to give itself a chance in a seven-game series. Houston did it.) James Harden and Chris Paul will turn James Ennis into Ariza on offense. Ariza's defense has slipped a bit over the past two seasons; Ennis might be able to replicate enough of it. Even a small downgrade would hamper them against the Warriors. After Ennis, it gets shakier. Carmelo Anthony can soak up those minutes against most opponents, but not the one with which Houston is obsessed. A wave of anxiety rose from my chest at the thought of typing the names Brandon Knight, Gerald Green and Michael Carter-Williams (looking spry in preseason!). Marquese Chriss conjures something more pernicious than anxiety. But to upend the Warriors, the Rockets were always going to have to overextend their highest-ceiling lineups. That means more of Eric Gordon with Paul and Harden, and as much of Clint Capela as his stamina allows. If Daryl Morey thinks they have even a 5 percent shot, they are a lock to pick up one meaningful contributor via trade or the buyout market. This is still the second-best team in the Western Conference, and maybe in the league. Rock solid playoff teams, tier 1 Utah Jazz Milwaukee Bucks Oklahoma City Thunder Philadelphia 76ers Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves in an alternate reality where everything isn't always ruined there Rock solid playoff teams, tier II Los Angeles Lakers Indiana Pacers Washington Wizards Miami Heat with Jimmy Butler* *Team does not currently exist Right on the borderline San Antonio Spurs New Orleans Pelicans Portland Trail Blazers Miami Heat without Jimmy Butler Detroit Pistons Charlotte Hornets Brooklyn Nets Door is cracking open, but West is still too good Dallas Mavericks Memphis Grizzlies LA Clippers Minnesota without Jimmy Butler Bad Cleveland Cavaliers Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings New York Knicks Chicago Bulls Orlando Magic Atlanta Hawks
Something interesting to think about with current narratives in the media is how much they are harping on Carmelo Anthony. He's on a veteran minimum deal and can be cut and join another team if he isn't happy with his role here. It's one of the easiest contracts to waive. The media is treating him like we are paying him a max deal and if it doesn't work, we have to just ride it out. Morey is about to become EoY for the second year in a row. Bobby Marks knows.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...ockets-opportunity-for-Bart-Enis-13300920.php Analysts see same story for Rockets These are my words, not theirs, but my impression after listening to Turner Sports NBA analysts Reggie Miller and Chris Webber this week is that the Rockets' offseason changes, including the acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, represent little more than rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic as the Golden State Warriors loom dead ahead. Miller and Webber said in a conference call this week that they continue to expect good things from James Harden, Chris Paul, Clint Capela and Anthony but that the loss of Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute will dilute the Rockets' defense as they sink slowly, slowly in the west. "I love the pick-up of Carmelo, but I would have loved the pick-up of Carmelo from two or three years ago," Miller said. "I think the Rockets will take a step back (on defense). Defense is why they were the No. 1 (seed) last year, because they locked you up at the other end." Miller's prediction: 50 wins, another trip to the Western Conference finals, another loss to Golden State. Webber also expects a rejuvenated Anthony but also fears he arrived a year too late to provide the push that the Rockets need to beat Golden State. "Harden will have an amazing, MVP-type season, we will be amazed at what Chris Paul does, Capela is going to be one of the best shot-blockers inside, and if (Paul) hadn't gotten hurt last year, I think the Rockets would have won in seven (against Golden State) last year," Webber said. But ... "I don't see it happening with Golden State, their chemistry, their confidence and ridiculously adding DeMarcus Cousins," Webber said. "I don't see it."
WaPo's Tim Bontemps using the same reasoning as David Griffin -- "continuity" -- as the basis of picking Utah over Rockets as the #2 seed in the West regular season. 4. The Utah Jazz will finish with the second-best record in the Western Conference Utah was the surprise team in the Western Conference a year ago, recovering from losing Gordon Hayward to free agency by gaining a new superstar to build around in Donovan Mitchell and advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Unlike last season, Utah enters this year with virtually its entire roster returning and an understanding of exactly what Coach Quin Snyder wants. That kind of continuity can go a long way over the course of an 82-game season — and over the second half of last season Utah was a dominant team when healthy. If the Jazz can rediscover that form this season, perhaps it will be hosting a the Western Conference semifinal series — or even advancing to the West finals. https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...edictions-this-season/?utm_term=.ca445f64a785 Bomtemps does pick Rockets to reach the WCF however. Losing to the Warriors in 5 games.
WaPo's Top 100 players. @J.R. you can add these rankings to your compiled lists of ESPN/SI/CBS etc. 4) James Harden 12) Chris Paul 21) Clint Capela 47) Eric Gordon 65) PJ Tucker (Ariza is 85. Moute unranked. Melo unranked)