Houston Rockets: Week 14 NBA Power Rankings
By Yoni Pollak
It was a 2-2 week with wins against the Bucks and Mavericks and losses to the Clippers and Pistons. 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: 10.67
Last week’s average power ranking: 12.5 (click here to view)
ESPN (Marc Stein)
Ranked – 8 | Last Week – 10
"As much as the Clippers clearly wanted to exile Josh Smith, you have to wonder if they’ll regret helping the Rockets. Houston is the one place J-Smoove seems to fit (and maybe the only team willing to take him), but it’s not hard to picture the Rockets rising to No. 5 in the West by season’s end and forcing a first-round showdown with none other than Doc Rivers’ Clips."
CBS Sports (Matt Moore)
Ranked – 8 | Last Week – 11
"The Rockets have won six of their last nine and eight of their last 11, and they looked positively alive vs. the Mavericks Sunday. Is Josh Smith really that much of a difference maker, and if so, what planet did I land on?"
NBA.com (John Schuhmann)
Ranked – 13 | Last Week – 14
"Houston (24-22)Pace: 99.1 (8) OffRtg: 104.1 (x7 DefRtg: 105.5 (23) NetRtg: -1.4 (17)The Rockets had quite a week. Another big comeback against the Clippers was thwarted in overtime on Monday. They lost Dwight Howard to an ankle injury and intentionally fouled Andre Drummond five times in nine seconds on Wednesday. They traded for Josh Smith on Friday and put together another big fourth quarter (with Smith providing eight points and two blocks) to pull out an important win over Dallas on Sunday.This week: @ NOP, @ SAS, @ OKC, vs. WAS"
USA Today
Ranked – 11 | Last Week – 15
"Welcome back Josh Smith, how was the trip to California?"
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ProBasketballTalk (Kurt Helin)
Ranked – 11 | Last Week – 13
"Josh Smith is back and added a boost on Sunday — they started their third-quarter comeback against Dallas with a 15-4 run when he entered the game. Who do you think ordered the barrage of fouls on Andre Drummond last week: Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, or was he told to do it by GM Daryl Morey?"
Sports Illustrated (Jeremy Woo)
Ranked – 13 | Last Week – 15
"Josh Smith is back, the players seem happy and the Rockets have returned to respectability after winning eight of 11. They can make their case more convincing with good showings against the Spurs and Thunder this week."
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Next: The Return Of Josh Smith's Rockets