Is ESPN’s Prediction That the Rockets Finish 8th Legit or Insane?
ESPN’s computer simulation just dropped a bomb — it predicts the Houston Rockets will finish 8th in the Western Conference. On today’s show, we break down whether that’s wildly off base or surprisingly plausible.
From your discussion:
“He has Houston Rockets eighth in the Western Conference … it would require injury … Durant misses half the season … loss of VanVleet … the point guard situation is a disaster.”
“I think it’s maybe a 10-15% chance they finish 8th … but the West is deep … upside, injuries, depth all matter.”
In this video, we explore:
What assumptions the ESPN model likely used (injuries, player performance, depth)
How fragile the Rockets’ playoff hopes are — especially reliant on Durant, VanVleet, and point guard play
The risk factors: ball handling, backup guard play, injuries, competition in the West
Sim comparison: Hollinger vs ESPN simulations — how models differ and what that means
Whether fans should take this prediction seriously — or use it as fuel
👇 Question for Rocket Nation:
Do you believe this prediction — or do you think Houston beats the odds and finishes much higher?
📺 Full Episode: Reaction to ESPN Rockets 8th-Place Prediction
🎙️ Listen live on ESPN 97.5 & 92.5 FM | ESPN Houston App
#Rockets #HoustonRockets #NBA #ESPNSimulation #8thSeed #BasketballReaction #NBAAnalysis #RocketNation
9 Comments
ESPN CAN5 GET ANYTHING RIGHT, RHEYRE ALL DEI HIRES
These dudes are dumb…talking fast doesn't make you educated
Anything possible. But everything would have to go wrong for us to finish 8th. This means this team with Durant is worse than with Jelen green. This also mean Segun would suck this year.
In my opinion, anything short of game 7 wcf is a bust season.
Cool we got something to prove. Teams should be sleeping on the rockets, hit the club the night before they play the rockets.
It’s better to be underrated than having really high expectations for higher chance not meet the expectations. We just overhaul majority of our line-ups so it given that will take some time to jell.
Laughable. Last year they predicted this was a play-in team. Means nothing.
looks like your simulation is wrong. You can make easily make a simulation go in the other way. What a lot of people miss is the heart, their hearts are in a good place.
The same argument you make about the Rockets dropping down to the 8th seed is the same argument you can make for any team. Health is the most important thing for any team.
Let Victor go down and the Spurs are cooked. Same for Clippers, Mavs, Golden State, Lakers, etc…. The Rockets are a very deep young team. I think they can overcome FVV being out and still end up top 3 in the West. It'll look different without FVV but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The media over exaggerate everything. We'll see how it plays out.
They’re basically saying anything is possible. Yeah finishing eighth is possible, but it’s highly improbable.