The memory hurts and it’s still fresh. It is game six in the 2014 first-round playoff series between the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets. Portland leads the series 3-2 and has the ball down by two points with .9 seconds remaining.
If you’re a Rockets fan, you regrettably know what happens next. The Trail Blazers run a sideline out-of-bounds play that creates enough space for Damian Lillard to sink a 3-point buzzer-beater that sadly ends the Rockets playoff run.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mejFtEY5faU]
Fortunately for Rockets fans, the NBA season begins Oct. 28 and, after enduring that heartbreaking loss, it can’t come fast enough.
Following the early exit from the playoffs, the summer produced a disappointing off-season for the Rockets as the franchise’s plan to acquire a third superstar backfired, leaving the team without a big name free agent signing and a drastically overhauled roster.
The ambitious general manager for the Rockets, Daryl Morey, had back-to-back productive offseasons by signing superstars James Harden in 2012 and Dwight Howard in 2013. However, the blueprint of three stars doesn’t guarantee success and financially makes it difficult to fill out the rest of the roster with adequate talent capable of enduring an 82-game season.
The Rockets hoped to sign Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh, offering each player close to $90 million for a four-year max contract, only to have them both decline.
In an effort to create the needed cap space to sign a max contract player, Morey completed two trades that sent valuable bench players to competing Western Conference teams. Omer Asik was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans and Jeremy Lin was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers without receiving any notable players in return.
Making matters worse, the Rockets lost their talented small forward Chandler Parsons to the Dallas Mavericks while awaiting an answer form Chris Bosh, who in the end rejected them.
Eventually, the Rockets signed veteran forward Trevor Ariza to a reasonable offer of $32 million for a four-year contract. Ariza is a slight downgrade from Parsons but at a much better price and value.
In all, the Rockets have eight new players on the team including Ariza, Jeff Adrien, Clint Capela, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Ish Smith and Jason Terry.
The chemistry between Harden and Howard should improve as the All-Star duo will be playing their second season together. The pair form one of the best two-man combos in the NBA and are arguably the best at their own positions.
Ultimately, the Rockets’ success or failure will depend on its superstars’ ability to shoulder the load and lead a group of unproven players.
While I don’t expect the Rockets to reach last year’s 54 wins, I do believe by the end of the season the team will have improved considerably as the result of a mid-season trade made by the always-aggressive Morey. I see the Rockets winning 51 games and making the playoffs as the sixth seed in West.
Unfortunately, I have the Rockets losing in the first-round of the playoffs again, which will no doubt be a letdown for Rockets fans. However, the season is going to be interesting as this collection of two superstars and cluster of role-players should have something to prove.
