Houston's tough for me to get a read on. Yes they got Dwight, and yes the Howard/Harden pairing is the most buzz-worthy development of the offseason league-wide. But at the same time I think you have to acknowledge that they weren't an 8th seeded first round loser to the Westbrook-less Thunder last season because they had a hole at starting center. Successful as their offseason was, anybody who's betting that they'll make the jump to contender status better have a lot of confidence in the on-court abilities of Lin, Beverley, Garcia, and Parsons, plus Omer Asik's trade value. For my part, I'm not yet sold on them being anything more a team that can compete for a top 4 seed (which, to be sure, wouldn't be a trivial accomplishment in next season's West).
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"He's coming off the bench aggressive right away, looking for his shot. If he has any daylight, we need him to shoot the ball. We know it's going in."
-Dirk Nowitzki on Jason Terry, after JET's 16 point 4th quarter against the Pacers.
Last edited by grndmstr_c; 08-20-2013 at 09:19 PM.
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