Houston Rockets: I Never Doubted You For A Second!

Looking forward to what will most likely be

a lopsided and predictable

an exciting and unpredictable Western Conference Finals, this is, rather than a time to apologize, a time to celebrate the journey through which the Houston Rockets, as a team, have embarked upon.

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I honestly can’t remember a single team that’s been through what the Houston Rockets have this season. First, they overcame the loss of Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones for most of the season. Then, with the playoffs right around the corner, they lost Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas for the rest of the season.

And they somehow summoned the courage to clinch the second seed in the Western Conference.

Then, 12 games into the playoffs, they turned a one-trick-pony offense into arguably the second-deepest team in the playoffs and a real threat to come out of the Western Conference.

Finally, on Sunday, the Houston Rockets became only the ninth team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit by stepping all over a Los Angeles Clippers team ready to march vehemently into the first Western Conference Finals in their franchise’s history.

That being said, it’s only fair to establish that I never doubted the team for a second.

(You’ll just have to take my word for it…)

However, even if I didn’t lose confidence on the Houston Rockets’ #Pursuit, I’d like to apologize on behalf of those who did. I’m sorry we ever doubted your depth and your abilities to create on offense.

I’m sorry we doubted your

sub-par

defense which, despite having one of the most physically dominant players of the last 10 years, allowed teams to shoot 60-percent from inside the paint and an overall 46 percent from the floor.

I’m sorry we took

a declining

Dwight Howard for granted. I’m sorry we entertained, if even for a second, the idea of getting rid of a $22.3 million a year center that just missed exactly half of the regular season.

I’m sorry we condemned the mid-season acquisitions of Josh Smith and Corey Brewer. As it turns out, both of them saved your season. I’m sorry.

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I’m also sorry it took arguably the biggest collapse in Clippers’ history — yes, even bigger than last year’s against the Oklahoma City Thunder — for the Houston Rockets to make the Western Conference Finals.

I’m sorry it took a 3-1 hole for you to wake up and for James Harden to shake up the non-MVP hangover.

I’m sorry it took nothing short of a miracle for you to come back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter of a win-or-go-home Game 6 in which everyone on your team — with the exception of Josh Smith and Corey Brewer — looked ready to pack it up and get the offseason going.

I’m sorry you had to bench MVP runner-up James Harden for your team to start clicking in the fourth quarter of the most important game of the season.

I’m also sorry Dwight Howard’s mental toughness got exposed with every single in-game fit he threw throughout the series. *cue to Draymond Green bursting with joy*

I’m sorry you’ll have to battle against a Golden State Warriors team that won’t fold under pressure like the Los Angeles Clippers did.

Warriors-Rockets note... pic.twitter.com/gFk2uEZCrK
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) May 18, 2015

But more importantly, I’m sorry you’ve gotten this far just to get your title hopes squashed by one of the most effective teams in NBA history.

I’m sorry.

Next: Josh Smith: From Zero to Hero

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