6. Houston Rockets
On paper, the Houston Rockets have the talent to compete with almost anybody given their new-look roster that is now centered around both James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
If this pairing can work, Houston will find themselves a lot higher on this list down the line, but it is a big if.
At this moment in time, Westbrook and Harden’s games do not mesh with each other at all. Both are ball-dominant, volume-shooting guards with not much in the way of an off-ball game. On top of that, Russ is also one of the worst outside shooters in the league.
Both of these guys also have a history of coming up short in the playoffs so there will always be some doubt – no matter how well they perform in the regular season – if this duo can get it done when the games matter the most.
However, both guys are clearly committed to making this work and at least Westbrook has addressed the fact that they will both need to work on their off-ball game.
So there is hope at least. And we already know that this team will take and make a ton of threes so they will still have that going for them, regardless.