NBA Playoffs 2018: Ranking the 5 best possible potential matchups

3. Houston Rockets vs. Portland Trail Blazers

I honestly have no idea if this could actually be a close series. What I do know is that it could be ridiculously fun to watch.

It would pit arguably the two hottest backcourts in the league against each other. James Harden and Chris Paul have been steadily excellent all season, while Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have gone from heat check threats to nightly guaranteed performers.

Lillard and Harden, in particular, would be a great head-to-head battle. Harden has been the consensus MVP pick for most of the season, as he’s leading the league in points per game (30.7), is third in assists (8.7) and is having one of the best all-around offensive seasons in league history.

Lillard, meanwhile, has exploded over the last month-and-a-half. In his last 18 games he’s averaging 30.8 points per game, including three games of over 40 points and eight of over 30.

They’re both players capable of lighting it up on any given night and leading their team to a win, so while Houston should have too much depth over a seven-game series, there would be some high-scoring shootouts in the process.

Surprisingly, Portland have also developed into one of the better defensive teams in the league. They’re top five in points allowed per game and opponent field goal percentage, a huge improvement on previous seasons with essentially the same lineup.

Starting Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless in the frontcourt gives them the switchability to potentially keep up with Houston’s screen-heavy offense, while Nurkic is a solid rim protector and defensive anchor.

We’ll likely need both teams to make at least the second round to see this series, but it could be a high-octane shootout and sneaky good matchup.