Leslie Alexander and Daryl Morey had a quick trigger last year when a season of high expectations began with the basketball equivalent of a fart noise. After three straight, season-opening losses of 20 points, followed by a 4-7 record through 11 games, Kevin McHale was out of the job.
This season might not begin with the blowouts and depressing play of 2015, but that doesn’t mean the record will be much prettier.
The Rockets play eight of their first nine games on the road, and 14 of their first 20 games in hostile environments. For a team that will be working on implementing a new system under Mike D’Antoni, working without Dwight Howard for the first time in three years and integrating Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Nene, this is less than ideal.