The Houston Rockets are coming into the 2013-14 season with the expectations of making a championship run and after Dwight Howard dealt with the spotlight in Los Angeles with the Lakers, he will be under it again as he tries to lead his new team to get that elusive title for him on his resume and it will take a team effort from the core of Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons, James Harden and Omer Asik to do so.
The team's biggest move in the offseason was to sign Howard and after bringing him in, they now have two elite players in Howard and Harden and they have some of the best young talent in the league with Parsons, Lin, Asik as well as Terrence Jones, who could have breakout season this year. Howard had crazy expectations in LA and while the expectations in Houston will be just as high, things won't be as pressure packed as they were in Hollywood and that could mean that Howard has a rebound season after how he played under Mike D'Antoni last year.
Howard still put up very good numbers with the Lakers, averaging a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, but he did not fit all too well there and now he will get the chance to be a primary option in Houston. The addition of Howard should continue to open things up for James Harden, who is developing into a superstar and one of the most reliable players in the league. The Thunder likely made a huge mistake trading him and they are still trying to catch up from that move, while the Rockets have used Harden to build a championship squad and now they may have it. The reserves of Omri Casspi and Patrick Beverley help make up a strong bench and that could help Howard this season as well.
Last season the team was able to sneak into the playoffs with 45 wins and they were the eighth seed, matching Harden up with his old team in the Thunder and while they lost after Jeremy Lin was injured, the team hung tight and now with Howard and healthy Lin, they should be a force in the west along with the Clippers, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies and the Thunder as well, who won the playoff series despite losing Russell Westbrook to a knee injury. The biggest move was obviously signing Howard, but the team also added depth with Casspi and Aaron Brooks as well as Ronnie Brewer. The addition of Marcus Camby may pay off later, but he is currently injured.
The team gave up the talented but young Thomas Robinson to make room to sign Howard and while he was unproven, losing a player of his potential is always a hard move to make. The team has a very capable backup at points guard with Patrick Beverley and after the way he played in the preseason, he could push Lin for starting minutes this season and even his starting job. Kevin McHale likes his roster and the players acquired has given him some flexibility as well when setting up rotations and starting lineups. Omer Asik and Howard may be used on the court at the same time and that could be deadly.
Prediction: Team wins over 50 games and possibly the division and makes a run to the conference finals before losing to the Spurs.