2014-15 NBA Season Preview: Houston Rockets

Welcome to theScore's preview of the 2014-15 Houston Rockets. Visit our preseason hub for previews of all 30 NBA teams.

Houston Rockets

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2013-14

The Rockets entered the 2013-14 season with championship aspirations after signing Dwight Howard to partner with James Harden, so their first round exit at the hands of Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers was seen as a disappointment.

But the unforgiving Western Conference has a way of skewing reality, and the reality is that the Rockets came out of last season a 54-win team perhaps a tweak or so away from legitimate contention.

James Harden, for all of the running jokes, GIFs and memes about his non-existent defense, continued where he left off in 2012-13, as one of the NBA's premier offensive weapons. Harden averaged 25.4 points on a ridiculous (considering his high usage) .618 True Shooting percentage, earning his second straight All-Star berth and First Team All-NBA honors.

Howard, meanwhile, anchored a 12th-ranked defense, despite the fact that the Rockets had defensive holes at most other positions, all while averaging 18.3 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 blocks.

With those two All-NBA talents surrounded by talented young role players like Chandler Parsons, Terrence Jones, Patrick Beverley and Jeremy Lin, among others, the Rockets were one of the NBAs most formidable teams last season.

Unfortunately, they ran into another 54-win team - LaMarcus Aldridge, Lillard and the Trail Blazers - in the first round of the playoffs.

Offseason Roundup

Just one year removed from landing Dwight Howard and looking to add another star, the Rockets' 2014 offseason has to be considered a failure.

The team struck out on Chris Bosh after the Heat offered him the five-year max deal, they never really seemed like a factor in free agent reports featuring other big names, they traded Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik to clear cap space without getting much of anything in return, and they lost Chandler Parsons to the division rival Mavericks.

Sure, they would have had to overpay Parsons to keep him from Mark Cuban's Mavs, and settling for a solid two-way forward like Trevor Ariza at a better price was a fine backup plan, but the Rockets either regressed or just barely stayed afloat this summer. That's not a good place for a team with title hopes to be.

Additions

SF/PF Jeff Adrien (1/$915K)
SF Trevor Ariza (trade)
*SG Troy Daniels (2/$1.8M)
C Joey Dorsey (2/$2M)
*SG/SF Francisco Garcia (undisclosed)
PG Ish Smith (1/$915K)
SG Jason Terry (trade)

*Re-signed

Departures

C Omer Asik (trade)
SF Omri Casspi (trade)
SG Jordan Hamilton (free agency)
PG Jeremy Lin (trade)
SF Chandler Parsons (free agency)

2014 Draft

PF/C Clint Capela (1st round, 25th overall)
SG Nick Johnson (2nd round, 42nd overall)
SG Alessandro Gentile (2nd round, 53rd overall)

Capela, a 20-year-old Swiss big man - who already has pro experience in France - could be at steal at No. 25 if he realizes his potential, which some believe is Ibaka-esque.

Johnson is an undersized shooting guard, but the promise of his athleticism and defensive intensity is enough to justify a mid-second round pick on him, while Italian swingman Gentile is a classic draft-and-stash guy for now.

All in all, considering where Houston's picks were slotted, general manager Daryl Morey and company picked up some very intriguing young talent on draft night, which is encouraging for a team that may still be looking to turn young assets into a third star.

Starting 5

• PG Patrick Beverley
• SG James Harden
• SF Trevor Ariza
• PF Terrence Jones
• C Dwight Howard

Breakout Player: Terrence Jones

Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas are both breakout candidates themselves in 2014-15, but the 22-year-old Jones could be a major swing factor in how the Rockets' fortunes turn out this season.

Jones started 71 of his 76 games in 2013-14 after appearing in only 19 games during his rookie season, and his comfort level with the NBA game seemed to grow by leaps and bounds.

The 6-foot-9 power forward upped his 3-point percentage to 30.7 last season, and if he can continue to creep towards league-average efficiency from behind the arc, while upping his long range attempts, Jones can thrive as a modern NBA four, especially beside Howard in the Rockets' frontcourt.

Jones is also a solid defender who won't give up much on the glass, and any young power forward who can boast that while also starting to show some signs of life as a shooter is a young player worth keeping an eye on.

Season Expectations

Given the noise the Rockets have made over the last couple of years, the team themselves - from ownership down to the 15th man - will likely tell you that a championship is a realistic goal, and it very well may be if Harden and Howard play up to their usual standards, and some of Houston's young talent breaks out.

However, the Rockets play in a brutally tough division in a historically tough conference, and on paper, they don't look like a much improved team from the one that was sent packing in the first round last season. Despite what members of the organization will tell you, another 50-55 win season followed by a second round appearance would be a solid year for this team.

Keep an eye on Kevin McHale this season, too. The Rockets head coach has been overmatched at times in his coaching career, and if the team doesn't look ready to make the jump to the West's upper echelon, management may not have as much patience with him in his fourth season on the job and second with the Harden-Howard combination.

1 to Follow on Social Media

Now that he's doing funny commercials for Foot Locker and NBA 2K15, James Harden's social media timelines are worth monitoring for the possible release of a new sponsored video alone.

And that doesn't even include the Carlton Dance: