Rockets 2015-16 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions
The Houston Rockets finished second in the Western Conference last season and proceeded to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Yet, as the offseason wore on, they faded into the background as other teams stole the spotlight.
Perhaps that's a positive development, though. Less outside pressure that typically comes with high expectations is a good thing. The Rockets return a vast majority of their top contributors and added Ty Lawson, giving them a roster certainly capable of contending for the West title again.
Let's check out all of the important information for Houston's upcoming campaign following the NBA's schedule release. It's followed by a breakdown of the top matchups and a prediction for how the Rockets' regular season will play out.
2015-16 Details
Season Opener: Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. ET vs. Denver Nuggets
Championship Odds: 16-1 (via Odds Shark)
Full Schedule: NBA.com
Top Matchups
Golden State Warriors
First Home Matchup: Friday, Oct. 30, at 8:30 p.m. ET
Even though the top of the West became even stronger during the offseason, which is pretty remarkable, the path to the Finals still goes through Golden State. The Warriors posted an eye-popping 67-15 record before going on to raise the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Their journey to the title included a pretty routine five-game triumph over the Rockets in the conference finals. That served as the biggest sign for the Houston front office that work remained if it wanted to reach the mountaintop.
The Warriors bring back the core that led them to the championship, led by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Until proven otherwise, they're on top of a crowded heap of talented teams, and David Vertsberger of Hardwood Paroxysm noted the reality of the West:
So not only will the Rockets be looking to get a small measure of revenge when the sides face off in the regular season, but they also could be crucial games in terms of home-court advantage. And that's likely to carry a lot of weight next spring.
Houston fell a little bit short last season. Strong performances against the Warriors would go a long way in showing this year can be different.
San Antonio Spurs
First Home Matchup: Friday, Dec. 25, at 7 p.m. ET
The Spurs were one of the teams that took center stage during the offseason. They were able to land LaMarcus Aldridge and David West while also handing out new deals to key assets Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green.
Those moves should ensure San Antonio's championship window, which has seemingly been in danger of closing for a decade, remains open for at least a few more years. They should also add some fuel to what's been a pretty dormant Texas rivalry.
As Bleacher Report's Sean Highkin mentioned, they are two teams that appear to have improved on paper. Now the question is by how much given the stiff competition.
All signs point to a hotly contested race atop the West standings. How the Rockets perform in head-to-head meetings against teams like the Warriors and Spurs is going to go a long way in determining where they are seeded.
The last thing the Rockets will want is to slide outside of the top four and then risk having to face one of those top foes in Round 1 without the home-court edge.
Record Prediction
The Rockets posted a 56-26 record last season and improved during the summer, mostly because of the arrival of Ty Lawson. Add in what the team hopes is a healthier campaign from Dwight Howard (41 games played in 2014-15), and a push toward 60 wins or beyond seems reasonable.
Only it's not that easy in the West. While Houston is a better team, so are most of the opponents it's going to battle in the conference. That makes the process of trying to determine how each team will rise or fall more difficult.
The competitive nature of the West, along with a select group of title hopefuls from the East, forces teams to take chances to build the best roster possible. It's something Rockets general manager Daryl Morey discussed after trading for Lawson, per Calvin Watkins of ESPN.
"I think when you're trying to get the best team out of 30, you got to take risk all over the place," Morey said. "Again, it's a playing risk, injury risk, character risk. We feel Ty is someone we wanted to add to our team."
If Lawson can put his off-court issues behind him, it's a major pickup for Houston. He can provide the team game-changing play at the point that it simply didn't have last season.
That said, it all comes back to the same basic concept discussed in the top matchup sections. Yes, the Rockets are a more potent squad because of the upgrade at point guard, but a lot of the teams they will be fighting for position are better too.
At the very least, it should create more drama than usual during the regular season and no shortage of entertainment, as Mark Schanowski of CSN Chicago noted:
All told, in terms of their record the Rockets could end up right around the same place they finished last year. The arrival of Lawson and a more impactful Howard will get mostly offset by, to borrow a term more often associated with football, strength of schedule.
The good news for the Rockets is, even if their record doesn't markedly improve, they are still better built for the playoffs. And that's what matters in the end.
Prediction: 57-25
