Houston Rockets: 3 takeaways from the preseason

The 2017-18 NBA regular season is almost upon us, as the Houston Rockets are ready to make their mark in the Western Conference. Here are the three major takeaways from the preseason.

In a preseason where most teams sought to experiment with their roster, the Houston Rockets treated their five-game exhibition slate as if each contest counted for all of the marbles.

Head coach Mike D’Antoni sought to play starters such as Chris Paul, James Harden and key reserves in regular season-like minutes throughout particular stretches in the effort to get a glimpse of possible lineups and rotations, and help his team get in sync with each other prior to the Rockets’ season opener against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 17 — crushing opponents in the process.

Houston finished the preseason with a 4-1 record, and averaged nearly 113 points per game through the last two weeks, as players such as Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela put together several impressive outings. It was just preseason, but they showed why many experts around the league consider the Rockets as a legitimate threat out in the Western Conference this season.

With that being said, here are the three major takeaways from the Rockets’ spectacular preseason.