The Houston Rockets are currently in a fight at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff standings. With just 12 games left in the regular season, the Rockets are tied for seventh place with the Dallas Mavericks and are just one game ahead of the Utah Jazz.
This is not the type of season anyone was expecting from the Rockets after making a surprise run to the Western Conference Finals last season and returning basically the whole team. Houston has had, basically, everything go wrong for them since the beginning of this season and, because of that, it is a very real possibility that they will miss the playoffs.
Don't tell that to star center Dwight Howard though, as he believes the Rockets still have a chance to win the championship this season. Howard has come under a lot of scrutiny recently because of the whole Stickum situation, which he was not suspended or fined for, but that scrutiny was nothing new for him. All season there has been talk about Howard being traded because of his relationship with James Harden but he has remained in Houston and apparently his confidence in the team has not wavered.
"Regardless of how our season is going so far, regardless of the fact that we haven't played up to our expectations, I really believe that we have a championship caliber team," Howard said. "Nobody else has to believe it, and that's fine. The whole world can be against us."
The whole "us against the world" mentality has worked in the past for underdogs but it is very hard to see that working for the Rockets this season. Forget the fact that they haven't clicked all season and don't play a lick of defense. Just know that if they are fortunate enough to get into the playoffs they will have to face either the Warriors, the Spurs or the Thunder in the first round. Saying that the Rockets have no chance of getting past the first round of the playoffs is far from bold yet Howard still sees it as a possibility.
It is hard to blame Howard here because the Rockets proved so many people wrong last year and of course you want him to have confidence in his team but this just sounds outlandish. There were reports earlier this year that Howard wanted out of Houston and has previously asked for Harden to be traded. While Howard has denied these reports it is not far-fetched to think they are true considering his past which makes these comments seem fake. Howard is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent this offseason so maybe these comments were made to save face and show he is still as competitive as ever. Whatever the motivation was and whether he believes it or not, the Rockets are far from a title contender this season.
