2. Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets have a very similar style of play as the Warriors do: live or die by the 3-ball. Unlike the dubs the Rockets didn’t really improve since last season where they forced Golden State to a Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals only to fall just short of the finals.
James Harden has been having another MVP-caliber season averaging a whopping 36.3 points per game. The reigning MVP also made history by going 32 straight games with 30 points or over. He and Chris Paul have been commanding a very revenge-hungry Rockets team hoping to make it back to the Western Conference Finals and win.
Harden and Paul are great players but they’re going to need more help from their supporting cast if they are to make it far in the playoffs. They lost more than they gained between this season and last in terms of depth and that may be their Achilles heel if they were to be matched up with a team with a strong set of bench players.
They’d also need to step up the defense especially with Harden as this team has become accustomed to strictly offense as their style of play. The Rockets have a good shot at going far this year, they just have to understand their weaknesses and improve upon them.