https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...ankings-post-offseason-edition-changed-summer 24. Houston Rockets 2022-23 record: 22-60 Result: Missed postseason 2024 title odds: +35000 "Phase 2" of the Rockets' rebuilding plan, as dubbed by owner Tilman Fertitta, started with the hiring of head coach Ime Udoka and continued by drastically outbidding the competition for veteran free agents Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. For the Rockets to achieve their goal of being competitive for the first time since James Harden's departure, young lottery picks Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. need to make leaps. -- MacMahon
We should be higher than the Magic - I can see us typically jousting for position with the Utah Jazz.
I'll take that risk (Jabari and Jalen making a leap). If Jalen and Sengun just show up slightly stronger and with improved 3pt shots, we'll have good offensive firepower. I'd bet Sengun and Green will semi-carry the team as far as points creation goes. Jabari, Brooks and FVV as floor spacers is the key: can all 3 surprise us? Feels like FVV and Jabari could really surprise us with their off ball 3pt shooting this coming season. Sengun has stated he's working one on one with a coach who specializes in shooting. Jabari has looked good shooting the ball since the last 20 or so games of the season. Jalen we'll see. All we know right now is he's posting more workout sessions than anyone else in the NBA. Hopefully that means he's genuinely working out a lot. He shot 34.3% his first season, it's not outrageous that with this summer's work and the team's vastly improved playmaking he could hit 36%.
We will probably be better than the Magic this year and more in line with the Thunder. I'm not sure wtf the Jazz are doing. Becoming the Raptors West I guess. Cavs are another team that are going to be in for sobering year when they realize Evan Mobley is in fact not Chris Bosh or Tim Duncan. The twin tower lineup doesn't work when your twin towers have the collective offensive acumen of a newborn rhino.
I think we are being undervalued but I think that’s reasonable considering how we’ve been the last couple years and how young we are. But I do think we will be better than people are giving us credit for — maybe not immediately, but by December/January I expect us to be clicking and looking like a “good” team.
Seems weird that you rate your team highly and other teams who have equal talent or more talent, you rate them as not seriously in contention for a much better spot. We have no clue what is going to happen record wise.
"Missed postseason" for last year is like saying Arnold Schwarzenegger missed winning an Oscar. While true, it doesn't quite capture the magnitude of that chasm.
One obvious way to look at it is, which teams will we be better than? Probably: San Antonio, Detroit, Washington 50/50: Charlotte, Orlando, Portland (depends how long it takes them to trade Dame) Below 50% chance, but very possible: Brooklyn, Indiana, Utah, Toronto So that would put our median outcome, yes, somewhere around 25th-26th in the NBA, our best-case around 20th, maybe just barely squeaking into the play-in.
Jamahl Mosely is pretty underrated coach ....... I for one think Orlando will be better than Toronto, not by a margin. They will have to make a deal though, too many guards.....
In previous years few of the vegas sites were more optimistic. And the low 20 wins projections from this BBS ended up being true. This year so far the low 30 wins seems to align. Fan Duel
You can not make that bet in Texas can you on fan duel? How can I legally do that? Not a big gambler so I’m pretty ignorant on the ins and outs.
I don't sports gamble. I checkout their odds sometimes as comparison for sports opinions / projections, since with money on the line; there's lot of time/resources those people put into their calculations.
Yeah I am the same. For whatever reason I feel like a season bet would be fun this year. I know someone on here had a casino in vegas with 28.5 as well a few weeks ago right after the fvv and brooks FA signing. Regardless I don't have a clue how to get a bet in on that other than going to vegas or macau (ive been to that crazy a** place) in person.
There's also a non-zero chance that some of the walking retirement homes in LA (both), GSW, or PHX get hit hard with injuries and lose a whole season.
Feigen has the Rockets 13th in the West https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...-24-power-rankings-lottery-teams-18269612.php A look at the Western Conference teams projected for the lottery (from the bottom up): 15. Trail Blazers 14. Spurs 13. Rockets 12. Jazz If nothing else, the Rockets have transitioned from a dull waiting period to an intriguing experiment. As much as has changed, with nearly the entire roster (with two open spots) vying for rotation spots, one thing that has not is that most of the team has a good deal to prove. Even the marquee free-agent additions, VanVleet and Brooks, need to show that they are better than last season’s sub 40 percent shooting. Landale has just one season guaranteed on his rich new contract. Rookies Whitmore and Thompson need to show that they deserve playing time on a roster with few openings waiting at their positions. That is even more true of the holdovers with Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun going into their third seasons and Kevin Porter Jr. certain to change positions. The Rockets undoubtedly improved their floor — and their defense — with the free-agent additions, but the ceiling remains with the core players of the rebuild. After compiling the worst three-year record in the NBA, the Rockets would like to be in the play-in mix. That does not seem to much too far out of reach. But the Rockets would have to improve by 18 wins in one season to reach the worst Western Conference play-in record last season, and that team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, could also expect to improve. Getting into any form of postseason play in Udoka’s first season would be considered a successful start. Being in the race late into the season would be a considerable improvement. As many significant, and expensive, decisions the Rockets made this summer, there will be more after next season when Green and Sengun are extension eligible. A run at the play-in would represent improvement that will help determine what comes next to climb from the lottery to the playoffs.
