Houston Rockets: Week 5 NBA Power Rankings
By Yoni Pollak
This team is just sooooo annoying. Great on paper but terrible on the court. Easily could have been 0-3 this week. Where do they stand this week among the national media’s NBA power rankings? (Power Rankings done based on action from last Monday through this Sunday’s games.)
This week’s average power ranking: 26.167
Last week’s average power ranking: 21.33 (click here to view)
ESPN (Marc Stein)
Ranked – 27 | Last Week – 22
"This was a top-12 team in offensive and defensive efficiency last season. These Rockets are 27th on O and tied for 26th on D and, to only add to the panic, enjoyed the sort of bounce you’d expect after of a coaching change for all of a quarter (plus OT) against Portland. Kevin McHale’s ouster won’t be the last big move we see here if this keeps up."
CBS Sports (Matt Moore)
Ranked – 27 | Last Week – 19
"Have you seen the 2014-15 Houston Rockets? If you have, please call their parents. They’re worried sick. They were last seen talking about how this year was all about a championship run. Authorities have called off the search for James Hardens’ defense, calling it a “lost cause.”"
NBA.com (John Schuhmann)
Ranked – 28 | Last Week – 26
"Houston (5-9)Pace: 100.3 (8) OffRtg: 98.0 (27) DefRtg: 105.8 (27) NetRtg: -7.8 (27)J.B. Bickerstaff’s Rockets look a lot like Kevin McHale’s Rockets, with onlya lucky home win over a team that had lost six straight games to their name. The defense was terrible again in Saturday’s loss to the Knicks, but they had scored a paltry 92 points per 100 possessions in the five games prior to that, with Dwight Howard attempting only 20 shots in 133 minutes. You might want to make a 58 percent shooter a bigger part of the offense.This week: vs. MEM, vs. PHI, @ NYK"
USA Today
Ranked – 24 | Last Week – 20
"Not sure if firing Kevin McHale was the answer"
More from Houston Rockets
- Houston Rockets and Texans: Two different coaches with one glaring similarity
- Houston Rockets: Dig in, make threes, win series
- Houston Rockets: The time to make a statement is now
- Houston Rockets: Rest Russell Westbrook for remainder of the OKC series
- Houston Rockets: G2: What has put the team in driver’s seat against OKC
ProBasketballTalk (Kurt Helin)
Ranked – 26 | Last Week – 26
"Since J.B. Bickerstaff took over the Rockets they have one overtime win and two losses — but they are losing by less, so that’s improvement, right? We knew the coaching wasn’t the problem, but the change has not part of the solution so far. Could they actually lose to Philly this week? Probably not."
Sports Illustrated (Jeremy Woo)
Ranked – 25 | Last Week – 15
"History. Kevin McHale’s out, so how much of the Rockets’ old identity remains? The Three-and-D philosophy has faded hard: they’re allowing the league’s most points per game and shooting at its worst clip from three. You hesitate to give up completely on a team that won 110 games the past two seasons, but the Rockets have a lot of work to do."
Stick with us here at House of Houston for all your Rockets coverage.
Next: Forgive The Rockets For Their Slow Start