Houston Rockets: Tilman Fertitta talks D’Antoni’s future, team expectations

Expectations for 2020 season

The Rockets’ owner also told ESPN’s First Take about his high expectations for the Rockets:

“With  out of the last three MVPs, my expectations are extremely high…but let’s be honest. We’re not chasing one team anymore. I mean look at Utah. Look look at Portland, look at Denver, look at the Clippers, look at the Lakers…this is gonna be a really good time but we better be in the Western Conference Finals….All you can do is set your team up to be one of the top 4 or 5 best teams and then it takes a little luck, let’s be honest. Even the great Golden State lost 2 out of the 5 because there is luck involved.”

There’s quite a bit to unravel here, but Tilman is calling his shot. It’s a given that he’s got high expectations, and he should, as the Rockets are a legitimate title contender this year. After making the splash move to add Westbrook and making the decision to give Eric Gordon an extension, Fertitta has certainly invested in pairing Harden with a bona-fide superstar in Westbrook, in addition to keeping the Rockets’ core intact. He’s totally right in that the Western Conference has gotten much better, but makes it clear that he expects the Rockets to be in the Conference Finals, which he may get criticized for not saying he wants the Rockets to WIN the Western Conference and even the title.

He also hints at something the Rockets didn’t have much of last season: luck. From a health standpoint, this was a bigger issue for the Rockets than it’s been in recent years, as Clint Capela missed 15 games, Eric Gordon missed 14 games and former guard Chris Paul missed 24 games. There’s no way to control the injuries, but it would seem like it can’t be much worse than it was last year for the Rockets on the injury front.