Kendrick Perkins believes Houston Rockets will claim third seed in West

While he’s been down on the Houston Rockets before, Kendrick Perkins has been high on their chances when the season returns, continuing his praise Monday.

During a season in which he’s called for the firing of Mike D’Antoni and blamed James Harden for ditching Oklahoma City, Kendrick Perkins has been changing his tune about the Houston Rockets as of late. Being from Beaumont, Texas, Perkins tends to pay close attention to Space City, frequently commenting on them on Twitter and on national TV.

On Get Up with Mike Greenberg on Monday, Kendrick continued sharing why he thinks the Rockets will be dangerous when the season comes back at the end of July. “They’re currently sitting at the sixth seed in the Western Conference,” began Perkins. “I think they’re gonna get that third spot. James Harden was working out, he dropped 20 pounds so he sent a message.”

The Beard’s weight loss has been a hot topic throughout the season’s hiatus, with several players and members of the media giving their opinions on how that will affect the team. James is hardly the only reason the Rockets should be feared though, as Perkins continued:

“I’m looking at Russell Westbrook — he’s doing sand workouts and working out on the beach. A guy who gets up from bed and has an engine. And they’re number one in pace so what that tells me is they’re gonna hit the ground running.”

Jay Williams agreed with the sentiment that people should be high on the Rockets’ chances, doubling down on what he’s previously said about how Houston should aim to face the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals.

https://twitter.com/GetUpESPN/status/1277622651834511360?s=20

While, as we’ve stated previously, it’s strange to see mainstream media speaking so highly of the Rockets, it’s still welcome. Perkins even went so far as to say Houston could actually win it all:

“Daryl Morey was saying, ‘I feel like we can win the championship’, and guess what? I believe him,” said Perkins.

With eight games to make up ground in the West before the playoffs, the dedication of Russell and James throughout the hiatus is starting to make real believers out of some.