Has not played in one game surpassed the 24-25 season!

NBA official website has updated the latest strength list, which is still completed by official website writer John Schuhmann.

We are more concerned about the Western Conference:

No. 1-5: 1. Thunder, 2. Nuggets, 3. Rockets, 4. Timberwolves, 5. Clippers;

No. 6-10: 6. Lakers, 7. Warriors, 8. Mavericks, 9. Grizzlies, 10. Spurs;

No. 11-15: 11. Trail Blazers, 12. Kings, 13. Suns, 14. Pelicans, 15. Jazz.

Eastern:

1-5: Cavaliers, Knicks, Magic, Pistons, Hawks;

6-10: Bucks, 76ers, Heat, Pacers, Raptors;

11-15: Bulls, Celtics, Hornets, Wizards, Nets;

Rockets ranked third in the West, and because the Cavaliers ranked fourth in the East only ranked fourth in the total. Therefore, the Rockets are also third in the league's strength list.

The third in the NBA strength list is also what makes me popular, which has tied the highest ranking last season. In December last year, the Rockets ranked first in the West at the highest level at the beginning of the month.

Although the Rockets only ranked second in the West with 15 wins and 6 losses in their record, we also successfully "topped" the West and ranked third in the strength list because of the direct showdown with the Thunder (15 wins and 5 losses).

However, the Rockets have not actually been favored by the NBA official website for the whole season. Basically, if the Rockets lose one game, they will drop 3-4 places, and if they win a few games, they will get 1 place.

The Rockets, ranked third in the West at the end of the season, once fell out of the top 10 of the league's strength list. After that, the Rockets used a 10-win and one loss to reach the eighth place of the strength list (the regular season ended with the fourth place of the strength list)

In fact, it is understandable that there are no teams with no big-name stars. Even though the Warriors next door were almost playing in the playoffs at that time, the strength list was still stable in the league.

This year, Durant has already third in the league before the season started, and he is a little scared.

The following is the detailed combat power analysis part given by ESPN in the Rockets part (pure translation)

Last week's ranking: 5th place ↑2024-25 season record: 52 wins and 30 losses

Offering efficiency (OffRtg): 114.9 (12th place in the league) Defensive efficiency (DefRtg): 110.3 (5th place in the league) Net efficiency (NetRtg): +4.6 (7th place in the league)

Key signings: Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith, Clint Capela Key players: Dillon Brooks, Jaylen Green

Three key data are worth paying attention to...

The Rockets average 5.5 more shooting opportunities than their opponents (shooting or going to the free throw line), leading the gap in the league with a clear advantage. They also ranked first in the league with a huge advantage in offensive rebounding, averaging 18.1 points per game, ranking second in all teams in 29 seasons tracked by this statistics.

According to Second Spectrum's tracking data, the Rockets' defense averages 51.4 breakthroughs per 100 rounds, the most in the league. However, when a breakthrough directly leads to a move, a mistake or a free throw line, they only give their opponents 0.97 points per breakthrough, making their second lowest loss efficiency in the league.

Last season was Durant's 14th career season in which he averaged at least 25 points per game and had a real shooting percentage of 60% or more. That's five more seasons than any other player in NBA history, with LeBron James (nine times) and Stephen Curry (eight times) ranked second and third.

Key question: Is the team's outside shooting enough?

The Rockets undoubtedly need top scorers like Durant. At non-clutch situations, their offensive efficiency ranks 10th in the league (115.2 points per 100 rounds), but at the last five minutes of the game or the clutch time when the score difference between overtime was within five points, their offensive efficiency plummeted to only 106.6 points per 100 rounds (8.6 points less than non-clutch moments), with only four teams falling more. If the opponent's defense can effectively limit the pick-and-roll cooperation between Fred VanVleet and Alperen Shinkin, the Rockets often find it difficult to get a high-quality (first-time) mobile phone in the final stages of the game.

There are still not many high-quality shooters around Durant. Last season, among Rockets players who shot at least 100 3-pointers, only Finney Smith and Aaron Holiday made three-pointers or more than the league average. Whether VanVleet can increase his three-point shooting percentage from 34.5% in his first season with the Rockets to 38.7% closer to his career level will be crucial.