The highlight of the Rockets’ offseason occurred before the new league year and free agent period even began. Chris Paul had been on track all year to be one of the top free agents available this summer, but when he committed to opting into the final year of his current contract, he pushed his free agency back by a year and gave the Rockets the opportunity to trade for him before July 1.
Houston sacrificed a ton of depth in the Paul trade, which saw players like Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, and Montrezl Harrell head to the Clippers, and there may be some growing pains for the Rockets as Paul and James Harden figure out how best to share the ball.
Still, there’s plenty of reason for optimism in Houston — in addition to adding an All-Star point guard, the Rockets also re-signed Nene and brought aboard of pair of strong perimeter defenders in free agency, signing P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute.
The Rockets had a 55-27 record in 2016/17, and oddsmakers expect the team to finish right in that neighborhood again. Offshore betting site Bovada has placed Houston’s over/under for the 2017/18 season at 55.5 wins.
What do you think? Will the addition of CP3 give the Rockets the boost they need to improve upon last year’s record? Or will the loss of some role players and the adjustment period for the new-look roster result in a slight decline during the coming regular season? Vote below and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!
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Previous over/under voting results:
- Golden State Warriors: Over 67.5 (53.57%)
- Boston Celtics: Over 55.5 (63.5%)
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It’ll take some time to work out kinks offensively but I think 60+ is still possible. Dekker and Harrell won’t be missed cus of Tucker and Moute while Lou’s scoring can be replaced by CP3
I think they will win somewhere between 53-57. Hard to pinpoint a exact total I’d say 56 but it’s so hard to say
82-0
At least!
I have to admit, after seeing how much damage they could do putting shooters and great post rollers around Harden as a point guard, I think they could win 63 games this year with the addition of Chris Paul. It’s crazy how he is an upgrade defensively as well as offensively. They will be scary I hate them so much lol
Hated they moved Bev but for CP3, no brainer. Only thing in they trade they will miss is Lou Williams second unit scoring but I think D’Antioni will space out CP and Harden in the middle of the game.
Between 53 and 57….they’ll be a good regular season team but won’t make it out of the 2nd round
I voted over this time… I think the key is that Harden and Paul are both smart guys, and will figure out this mix. For Harden it’s actually the same as with Beverly except with offense equal to defense so that is a jump-start. I think Paul will see what it’s like to be a SG.
59