Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets. 3rd place in the very tough western conference (37-18). 21-13 against teams in their conference.5-5 against teams in their division/the toughest division in the league. 7.5 games back of the 1st place Golden State Warriors (43-9), who are 27-7 against the western conference. The big question for the Rockets is "can they win a championship?" If they play the Warriors, Grizzlies, or Clippers in the playoffs then no. If they play the Trail Blazers, Mavericks or Spurs then the answer is yes. If they play normal Rocket defense and turn the ball over every other possession then no. If they play defense like they did against the Raptors on Saturday night and learn to take care of the ball then the answer is yes. The acquisitions of Josh Smith, Corey Brewer and K.J Mcdaniels helps their defensive woes tremendously. Harden doing it all on offense, D-Mo in the post, Trevor Ariza on the perimeter, and Dwight Howard/ T-Jones in the paint is a blueprint for success. They just have to figure out how to put the puzzle pieces together first. If they play like they did against the Raptors Saturday night, forcing turnovers, running the fast break, hitting 3s when needed, and sending shots away with emphasis, then they are a championship team. The one thing they are missing? A star point guard that can play offense. Beverley is a terrific defender, now all they need is an offensive point guard. In my mind they are a championship team. It may take luck like the Trail Blazers got against the Rockets in last year's playoffs, or just the extra effort, but they ARE a championship team.