Many will remember the 2014-15 Houston Rockets as the ones who came all the way back from 3-1 to the Clippers and won the series. However, what should be remembered is that they ended up losing in five games in the Western Conference Finals to the Warriors in spite of the fact that their bench was thinned out a ton. Houston is a trendy pick in 2015-16 to win the NBA title for sure, especially if it can stay healthy.
NBA FUTURES ODDS, SEASON WIN TOTAL
Odds To Win the NBA Championship: +1496
Regular Season Win Total: 56.5 Wins
The Rockets have one of the highest regular season win totals this year, and for good reason. They've got a tremendous roster which is clearly improved from a year ago, and they won 56 games last year. The big strike against them is the division in which they play, one which theoretically should be won by the Spurs.
COMING AND GOING
For the most part, Daryl Morey kept his roster intact from last year. Not a single man who scored more than four points per game has left from last season, and that includes Josh Smith, who had a massive postseason for Houston.
Marcus Thornton was a new addition to help backup James Harden, while the big splash came when Morey went out and traded for the beleaguered Ty Lawson. Lawson is still a bit of a question mark, knowing that he has had problems off the court, but if his head is screwed on straight, the Rockets have themselves one of the five or so best point guards in the NBA.
Pablo Prigioni was the only even somewhat notable piece to the puzzle which Denver got in return.
STAR TO WATCH
It's all about Harden each and every year for Houston. The big question involving Harden is whether his body can continue to go through the beating it takes year in and year out. He didn't miss a single game last year, averaging a career-high 27.4 points per game. Still, Morey must've thought it was important enough to bring in Thornton to spell Harden some due to the fact that he played well over 3,000 minutes last year including the playoffs.
You know what you're getting with Harden. He's a cold-blooded shooter who knocked down 208 threes last season, and he got to the line 824 times. No one drives the lane quite like Harden does, and he creates a ton of problems for the defense when he has the ball in his hands.
IN 2015-16, THE HOUSTON ROCKETS WILL WIN…
58 games.
We love Houston this season. Lawson is a tremendous question mark, but Harden can operate with the ball in his hands for sure. We haven't even talked about Dwight Howard yet either.
Yes, D-12 is on the wrong end of his career at this point, and the fact that he averaged just 16.4 points per game in the postseason has to be a concern for Morey. That said, Howard too, has some cover. Donatas Motiejunas isn't just your average big stiff in the middle playing the role of reserve center. He and Howard can co-exist on the court at the same time, knowing that Motiejunas can stretch defenses out to the three-point line or bang on the inside.
Parlay all of that with Trevor Ariza's defensive prowess and Josh Smith's ability to come off the bench and be a spark plug at the small forward or power forward spot, and you've got the makings of a great team.
Houston may or may not win the Southwest Division, but if it doesn't, it's only because the Spurs had one heck of a year as well.
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