Coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance, you’d think the Houston Rockets would command more respect. Despite being led by a bonafide MVP candidate in James Harden and battling back from a 3-1 deficit to win their second-round playoff series, you’d struggle to find anyone outside of Houston picking the Rockets to win the West in 2015-16.

For the vast majority of NBA fans, it wasn’t that the Rockets had shown resilience, it was that the Los Angeles Clippers had choked. It wasn’t that Harden was playing at peak Kobe Bryant levels, it’s that he committed 12 turnovers in an elimination game and kicked LeBron James in the balls one time. No matter what the Rockets did, they were painted as overrated villains.

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The top of the Western Conference has gotten a lot tougher, and the loss of Josh Smith hurts the Rockets more than anyone’s let on. But with most of the supporting cast back and the addition of Ty Lawson, Houston could very well be in the running for another top-4 seed this year.

Thanks to the incredible talent in the West, timing isn’t exactly on Houston’s side. But like it or not, with a dynamic duo of Harden and Dwight Howard leading another group of complementary role players, the Rockets’ time for contending is right now.

2014-15 Vitals

56-26, 1st in Southwest Division, 2nd in Western Conference

103.9 PPG (6th)/100.5 OPPG (17th)

107.0 Offensive Rating (12th)/103.4 Defensive Rating (8th)

Team Leaders

Scoring: James Harden, 27.4 PPG

Rebounding: Dwight Howard, 10.5 RPG

Assists: James Harden, 7.0 APG

Steals: James Harden, 1.9 SPG

Blocks: Terrence Jones, 1.8 BPG

Honors

All-NBA Team (1st): James Harden