The Golden State Warriors eased their way through much of the playoffs to earn a second NBA title in the last three years, which has subsequently created a bigger gap between them and the rest of the league.
The Warriors' dominance over the competition has brought aboard a more pressing perspective across the NBA that major changes must be made by teams in hopes of competing with the newly constructed powerhouse. According to Zach Lowe of ESPN, one of those teams that may take bigger chances to put themselves in the position to compete with Golden State is the Houston Rockets.
The next tier of teams might have to take more risks to increase their game-to-game variability — and nudge their ceiling up, Morey said. Houston traded a first-round pick for Lou Williams, a streaky scorer who might give an underdog two or three crazy outlier games it needs to pull off an upset. Other rivals will need to hit home runs on those trades, or preserve cap space for long-shot runs at stars in free agency. Miami is loading up now to pursue Gordon Hayward, according to league sources.
“We are used to long odds,” Morey added. “If Golden State makes the odds longer, we might up our risk profile and get even more aggressive. We have something up our sleeve.”
The Rockets were one of the surprising teams this past season garnering one of the best records in the league but were still a notch below the Warriors in the playoffs falling against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.
Houston has in place a strong core led by James Harden, who put together an MVP-caliber campaign this past season that helped make them into a contender. They also received strong play from the likes of Eric Gordon, who is a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year award this season, and other role players such as Trevor Ariza, Patrick Beverley, and Nene.
“They are not unbeatable,” Morey said of Golden State. “There have been bigger upsets in sports history. We are going to keep improving our roster.”
The Rockets may have become an offensive juggernaut, but there are still problems that lie with the team defensively and also a need to find another high-impact player who could help aid them into contending with the Warriors.
All in all, much change across the league could be ahead for the teams like the Rockets in hopes of having a legitimate chance to beat Golden State.
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