The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Houston Rockets
The Rockets have always been one of the NBA’s more successful franchises, but this year they’ve looked anything but successful without former franchise stalwart James Harden
For every year that James Harden has been on the roster, the Houston Rockets have made the playoffs.
His presence has always ensured that the Rockets will be kept afloat and are guaranteed at least to make it to the second round, but now that Harden is off with the Brooklyn Nets, the Rockets have struggled to stay afloat without him.
They’ve regressed in almost every major category, and their record has plummeted without Harden. Before Harden was traded, the Rockets sputtered out to a 3–6 record, capitalized by an awful 17-point blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers to end Harden’s tenure in Houston. Houston actually went on a little win streak without Harden right after he left, an 8–4 run that kept them above .500 until early February.
The Rockets had the number one defense in the league during that stretch run, but that streak seems like a distant memory after the losses have continued to pile up. After that 8–4 run, the Rockets managed to catch 20 losses in a row while they slowly…
