Houston Rockets 2014-2015 Season Preview: Does Houston Have Enough Talent?

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The Houston Rockets are the prime example of how not to win in an offseason. After heavily pursuing Chris Bosh by trading away Jeremy Lin and letting the very underrated Chandler Parsons walk, the Rockets ended up with practically no one but Trevor Ariza. Ariza is a good player in his own right, but to think this team will be better than last year’s 54-28 one, is borderline foolish.

• KEY ADDITIONS: Trevor Ariza (SF), Jason Terry (SG)
• KEY LOSSES: Omer Asik (C), Chandler Parsons (SF), Jeremy Lin (PG)

My Starting Five

Patrick Beverley (PG),  James Harden (SG), Trevor Ariza (SF),  Terrence Jones (PF), Dwight Howard (C)

• Projected Win-Loss Record: 52-30
• Western Conference Rank: #8

The Good

This Houston Rockets team still features two of the very best players in the league in James Harden and Dwight Howard. Patrick Beverley won’t have to split time with Jeremy Lin anymore and is one of the best defensive guards in the league. Trevor Ariza will bring championship experience to this team and the edition of Jason Terry will really help a Rockets bench that is full of young players. Terry has long been recognized as one of the best sixth men in the league.

The Bad

The bad heavily outweighs the good in the Houston organization as they lost three of their key starters. Beverly does not have the same scoring ability Jeremy Lin brings to the team, and the same goes for Ariza. Ariza is not as good as Chandler Parsons and Parsons will be sorely missed by Houston coaches and fans. Terrence Jones will likely start at power forward for the Rockets this year when he plays much more like a small forward. If Dwight Howard wasn’t arguably the best defensive center in the league, this team would be in serious trouble. Despite all this, Houston will still be good enough to slip into the playoffs.

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