NBA Power Rankings: The Los Angeles Clippers’ curse is lame
Houston Rockets 34-15
Last week: 3-6
Last rank: 3rd
Things are going swimmingly for the Houston Rockets. First off, not too many people expected them to be as good as they are. Secondly, James Harden and Mike D’Antoni are like the basketball Laverne and Shirley. Then, they are getting career –and healthy– years out of Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon. This season has almost seemed scripted for the Rockets. The out-of-favor coach finds redemption. The isolated superstar matures and learns to play with lesser teammates. The oft-injured player finally is able to remain healthy. Golden Globe-worthy plot or not aside, Houston is going to be a formidable foe in the West this year.
Harden has a realistic chance to capture the MVP award he feels like Steph Curry stole from him a few seasons ago — Harden and Westbrook are 1A and 1B atop the MVP leaderboard right now — and keeping Houston on this win pace will go a long way in helping him bring the hardware home. The uptempo style and the massive amount of threes, they are on pace to shatter the record for most 3-pointers attempted in a single season, has made them must-see TV this year. If they can take that fun and entertaining style deep into the playoffs then this season will have been a huge success for D’Antoni and Harden.