These last 5 years, the Houston Rockets had been victimized by the “Super Warriors “. Great regular seasons and even a a great playoffs, before getting downed by the Warriors in 4 of these last 5 playoffs.
But now with the Warriots dynasty over, the Clippers and Lakers have risen, which means the Rockets would once agin have their hands full in the top-heavy West.
Three summers ago, the Rockets lended James Harden a hand by trading for Chris Paul, who was supposed to help the Rockets get over the hump in the West but he didn’t.
In year 1, Paul was everything the Rockets were asking for, as Paul helped the Rockets to pull within one game of the NBA finals, before the Rockets choked away the last two games and fell short against who else, the Warriors.
But you could argue, that if Chris Paul hadn’t gotten hurt in game5 of that series ah the Rockets would’ve been the ones in the finals, sweeping Lebron and the Cavs en route to a championship.
But in year 2, the Rockies saw that Paul wasn’t enough after all, as the Rockets were bounced in the second round by the Warriors in 6 games even though they didn’t have Kevin Durant down the streak in game 5, and all of game 6.
That loss prompted Houston to make some moves, which is why when the suddenly rebuilding OKC Thunder put Russel Westbrook on the trade block, the Rockets pounced, and traded 4 first round Draft pick along with Paul to OKC for the “Triple-Double Man” that is Russel Westbrook.
This move meant, that Harden not only has a new helping hand but a better one. The difference between the two players, is that Westbrook is faster then Paul and more aggressive, as well the fact that Chris Paul’s prime years are behind him.
It also means, that Harden and Westbrook are on the same team for the first time since 2012 in... OKC.
That year, along with Kevin Durant, the Thunder made it to the finals, before getting eliminated in 5 games by the “Big Three” of LBJ, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat. Now 7 years later, Westbrook and Harden have gotten a whole lot better with an MVP apiece to show for it. Yes, the two stars have developed into “Ball- Dominant point guards” over the years, but the way I see it, Westbrook does get a lot of assists besides scoring lots of points and getting a lot of rebounds. He can make it work with Harden who can really shoot, especially under coach Mike Deantoni, who loves doubling and even tripling the offensive pressure with his style of plays and can now do that even more with Westbrook and Harden.
Overall, I say that while this team may not be the best in the West when the dust settles, I think they are a scary duo, that shouldn’t be overlooked one bit, especially in the regular season, when these two superstars statistically show out night it and night and night out.
PREDICTION: 62-20. 1st in the West, Lose In WCF to Clippers.
This team is good, but the depth of the Clippers will be too good for them come playoff time in my opinion.
Via ESPN on Twitter.
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