Did you realize that 20% of the 2008-09 NBA season is already completed?

Most of the local mainstream media is locked into the Rockets narrative — i.e., "Tracy McGrady is a superstar and the Rockets can’t win in the playoffs without him, but he’s not the type of clutch superstar who can win in the playoffs, blah, blah blah." Thus, don’t expect to learn much from those sources about what really is going on in the NBA this season.

As noted last season, McGrady is long past being a bona fide NBA superstar and really is not much more than an average NBA player at this point except on those increasingly rare occasions when his injury-riddled body allows him to feel a bit like his formerly-dominant self.

Interestingly, however, even with McGrady sitting out several games and otherwise playing on a gimpy knee, the Rockets have muddled around well enough to lead their division through the first 20% of the season.

So, do the Rockets really have a chance to make waves in playoffs this season?

Thankfully, David Berri over at the Wages of Wins continues to provide insight into such questions with some of the best and most objective analysis of the NBA that you can find anywhere. In this post, he notes that the main NBA story so far this season is that the Spurs haven’t been very good, mainly because both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili haven’t played much. But he goes on to summarize what has been happening in the rest of the league and it does not bode well for the Rockets:

The Lakers are the best team in the NBA. And if their efficiency differential holds up (not saying it will, just saying if), the Lakers in 2008-09 will be the best team in NBA history.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have improved the most since last season. As I noted a few days ago, this is primarily because Ben Wallace, Anderson Varejao, and Delonte West have returned to form.

The Celtics have slipped. Yes, they are still very good. But the team is not what it was last year. And after a quick glance at the numbers, I think we can blame the aforementioned Garnett. KG’s WP48 [Wins Produced per 48 minutes] is only 0.200 this season. This is still far above average, but not nearly the level of productivity Garnett offered in the past.

The Pistons have really slipped and are on pace to suffer the biggest decline. I am afraid this change can be tied to the loss of Chauncey Billups and the acquisition of Allen Iverson. Yes, once again, “the Answer” is really not the answer.

The Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors both made major acquisitions in the off-season. In both cases, these moves were made so that these franchises could seriously contend in their respective conferences. So far, though, both teams are posting an efficiency differential that is less than the differential observed last season. So it appears that Ron Artest (in Houston) and Jermaine O’Neal (in Toronto) have something in common with Iverson. None of these players appear to be the answer.

The three best teams in the NBA are the Lakers, Cavaliers, and Celtics. At number four we have the Orlando Magic. Dwight Howard is having an amazing season, and the return of Tony Battie has also helped.

And the fifth best team is the Portland Trail Blazers.  .   .   .

Frankly, looks to me as if the Rockets would be better off at this point working on their "Life-After-McGrady" plan.

By the way, I have come to feel the same way as Dennis Coates about NBA regular season games.