As the NBA trade deadline day ended, many players changed their sides. Cleveland Cavaliers cleaned their house and brought in some flashy and fresh players. Sacramento Kings are empowered with small forward Joe Johnson and athletic guard Iman Shumpert. Dwyane Wade is back to Miami Heat, and Derrick Rose is traveling to Utah with his teammate Jae Crowder.
On Monday, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com reported that LA Clippers are still open for the negotiations about six-foot-eleven center DeAndre Jordan. Potential candidates for trade were Portland Trail Blazers and Milwaukee Bucks beside Houston Rockets.
Considering Ryan Anderson’s high salary and mediocre performance, Rockets couldn’t trade him together with big man Clint Capela. So trade deadline ended and Rockets are still the same tough and talented team.
James Harden and Chris Paul better than splash brothers?
Last summer CP3 arrived at Houston from Los Angeles, and on the contrary of haters who said that he wouldn't get along with James Harden's playstyle, this duo is doing a great job. 32 years old point guard Chris Paul is averaging 19.5 points, 8.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game while his colleague ‘The Beard’ averages 31.5 PPG.
Rockets defeated Golden State Warriors on January 20th; the most effective was Chris Paul with 33 points and the bearded one had 22 points.
This season is one of the Rockets’ best as they are continuing to run winning streaks. The best one was the 14 games winning streak ended by Lakers triumph in Houston.
Can Rockets win the championship this year?
Houston Rockets won the title twice in a row, in 1994 and 1995. In 1994. Hakeem Olajuwon had his second NBA All-Star appearance and defeated Patrick Ewing and NY Knicks.
In 1995. Finals Rockets played against Orlando Magic and their young Bigman Shaquille O’Neal and triumphed with four straight games won.
Rockets are second on the west, with the same number of defeats as the first ranked Golden State Warriors, but Houston has two matches less. So there is a big possibility that Houston will beat GSW in conference finals.
If everything goes as the fans expected, Houston will be meeting Boston in the finals.
Last season, MVP title slipped away from Harden's hands and the team lost from San Antonio Spurs in conference semi-finals. This year James Harden is accompanied by another star, so Rockets have a much bigger chance to become NBA champions third time in history.
