Houston Rockets: 3 takeaways from Week 1

3. The Rockets will get every team’s best effort

Last year, the Rockets entered the season surrounded by a lot of uncertainty. The team looked good on paper, but no one really knew if a Harden-Paul back court could actually work, let alone thrive well enough to lead the team deep into the postseason.

Harden and Paul needed up taking the league by storm, leading the team to a franchise record 65 wins and a trip the Western Conference Finals where they took the defending champions to seven games.

The Rockets clearly proved that they were the second best team in the league last year. After adding Carmelo Anthony in the offseason with a goal to “Run It Back” with the Warriors next May, Houston has established itself as a legitimate contender.

As we’ve seen in the first few games, Houston’s recent success has painted a giant red target on their backs. James Harden told USA Today’s Martin Rogers that teams “get up” when they face the Rockets.

“For sure. The success we have been having, obviously we haven’t won a championship yet, but the way we have been playing we have done pretty well. So whenever we are at home and teams come to our home court, or we are on the road, they get up for us so we have got to be ready for that. They play harder, they play a lot more confident. We just got to figure it out.”

Every team in the NBA is gunning for the top spot and the Rockets are next in line after the Warriors for king of the hill. Houston has joined a short list of ‘targeted’ teams in the NBA, but it’s just a small price to pay for being a contender.

Next: No. 2