Houston Rockets: It’s Time To Respect Them As True NBA Title Contenders

Contrary to popular belief the Houston Rockets are true NBA title contenders, and it’s time we begin to realize that

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For some reason the Houston Rockets, the Western Conference’s third best team (record-wise), isn’t garnering the respect that they deserve. As a team that is on pace to win at least 55 games this season, it’s quite head-scratching to see the Rockets not even mentioned in the same breath as some of its Western Conference high-end peers.

The Rockets have the probable NBA MVP in James Harden and the best center in basketball, when healthy, in Dwight Howard. They have one of, if not the, deepest team’s in basketball, with a bench mob of Josh Smith, Corey Brewer and Jason Terry.

Perhaps it’s their less than stellar 10-12 record vs Western Conference playoff teams, or the fact that they’re 0-4 this season vs the Golden State Warriors, but no one seems to be buying the Houston Rockets as NBA title contenders. Although, it should be noted, that Howard was not in the lineup for eight of the games in which Houston lost to West playoff teams this season. If that matters.

Here is what the other NBA title “contenders” in the Western Conference have done against the probable Western Conference playoff teams.

The Numbers

The Rockets are 12th in the NBA in offensive efficiency (103.6) and are 4th in defensive efficiency (100.2), which should come a bit as a surprise since the narrative has been that the Rockets don’t play any defense. And in the NBA Playoffs, offense without defense usually gets you a first round exit. Ironically, it’s exactly what did in the Rockets last season against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Along with the cold-blooded shooting of Damian Lillard.

With Dwight Howard in the lineup this season, the Rockets are 25-10 and carry a better offensive (104.5) and defensive (97.1) efficiency when he’s on the court. It’s pretty clear that they are better when he’s in the lineup and healthy, which happens to be the case now.

And even though it’s an extremely smaller sample size, in which he’s only averaging 18 minutes per game since his return from injury, the Rockets are 3-0 and carry a 108.5 offensive efficiency and 91.7 defensive efficiency when he’s on the court in the month of March — a net rating of 16.8.

That’s…good.

Most importantly, though, Howard looks right since returning from injury. He even says that he’s more explosive than before. You be the judge.

Perhaps it’s not about the numbers, though. Because, as we all know, most of the time in the NBA it never is.

The Narrative

We love the narrative in the NBA. Whether it’s LeBron James returning home to team up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, or if it’s the San Antonio Spurs making one last stand.

The NBA loves the feel good story. Fans will root for the Cleveland Cavaliers, even after four years of hating on LeBron James during his tenure in Miami, they’ll root for the Atlanta Hawks and the Golden State Warriors, too.

One person they won’t, though, is Dwight Howard.

For some reason, Howard remains to be one of the most hated persons in the NBA. Probably because of how he handled his exit from the Orlando Magic, his fallout from grace there and the way he left — or ran away from — the Lakers to sign with the Rockets.

On that same note, James Harden isn’t the most popular player in the league, either. Even though he’s beginning to change that narrative, mostly because he’s playing two sides of the basketball now and is an MVP candidate, he still has to win in the playoffs in order to win over the majority of fans.

His stans proclaiming that he’s having a better season than prime Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade ever had isn’t helping any, either. But even though there’s nothing he can do about that, it’s the easy move for fans to take it out on him.

Despite being the second or third best duo in the NBA, Harden and Howard simply aren’t liked enough around the league to warrant respect. Of course, it’s not only that. The fact that these two went down, fairly easy, in last year’s first round to the Portland Trail Blazers doesn’t give anyone any incentive to believe in this team.

The franchise, who have only gotten out of the first round once since the 1998 season, doesn’t do any favors for Harden and Howard, either.

While we can’t 100 percent prove that the Houston Rockets will definitely be NBA title contenders at the moment, one thing is for sure right now. They should be getting more respect for what they’ve managed to do, while injured for much of the year, than they’re receiving now.

Nearly single-handily, Harden has carried the Rockets to an impressive mark this season. Add in a healthy Howard and how how much this team has improved defensively this season, how can you not even give the Houston Rockets even a shot at upsetting a few folks on their way to the NBA Finals?

Next: The Rockets lost Patrick Beverley for the season, but they're still dangerous