However, the rocky start to the season took a turn for the better by March. Howard and Cousins' minutes were staggered, yielding better results, Harden was flourishing as the starting point guard, while Aminu, Granger, Anderson, and Collison played quite well in their roles as supporting pieces. At 38-23, having won 15 of the previous 20 games, and surging towards homecourt advantage in the wild Western Conference, Dwight Howard broke his arm in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies for the remainder of the regular season. Without Howard's imposing presence on both ends of the floor, the Rockets collapsed completely, winning just 6 of their final 19 games, and dropping down to 9th place in the Western Conference in the final week of the season. After a 4-point loss to the Mavericks to close out the season, Houston finished with a 44-38 record, a single game behind the 8th seed Spurs, just on the outside of the playoffs looking in.
Despite this devastating outcome to a highly anticipated season, the players, the coaches, the front office, and the fans hold their heads high and feel excitement towards the future of the organization. BizGilwalker feels good about the team but maintains that he is staying the course and fully expects a championship-caliber team around James Harden as early as next season.
"Before Dwight got hurt, we were rounding into the form we were expected to play at all season," says an exasperated Rockets GM, after yet another reporter asked how long it would be before the Rockets would take to become a contender. "From a talent standpoint, we have everything we need right here. We'll make the drastic change if we need to and the move is one that certainly takes us closer to that goal, but you can rest assured that James Harden is staying put. We've fielded plenty of offers for Cousins and Howard among others, but nothing is imminent and we're perfectly happy rolling into next season with the same core. Any move we make is going to be one that will help us win a title in the next two years."
The Rockets have reportedly received heavy interest in Howard, a top defensive center in the league who averaged over 18/11 when he escaped injury and foul trouble last season, and Cousins, a 23-year-old, up-and-coming center who averaged upwards of 19/9 per 36 minutes last season and flashed serious defensive potential, but also struggled with fouls. BizGilwalker says that he is 50/50 on whether a deal gets done for one of the big men. He also praised James Harden for his admirable transition to the point guard position, and expressed his willingness to continue it into next season.
"Harden is a mismatch for just about every point guard. How many other point guards do you know that are 6'5 218, shoot well from absolutely everywhere, attack the rim at every opportunity, play good defense, set their teammates up, and hit the boards every night? He's a handful, and there's a reason he made the All-Star Team playing that position."
Houston may or may not shake things up this offseason, but the city of Houston isn't lowering their expectations, and neither are the Rockets. It's championship or bust.
2028
..