18. Chicago Bulls
You have to credit where credit is due. The. Chicago Bulls have managed to retool the roster in a way that certainly makes their style of play that much more interesting. The Bulls were a lot of things last season. One of them that they weren't was interesting. You can't say that any longer. But while the Bulls are interesting to watch this season, I'm not sure if that equates to good. And that may be a big problem for the team. Heading into the NBA Trade Deadline season, the Bulls have some big questions to answer about their future.
At the moment, I do believe being a strong seller is on the table and probably a path they should explore. Interestingly, the team's two top-producing players are Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. In a perfect world, those two players are probably going to be traded by the deadline. If that were to happen, it'd become very clear that the Bulls have made the pivot toward a rebuilding team. Even with the solid start to the season, that probably should be the move for a team that has talent but is still very much finding out what's next for the franchise.
17. Houston Rockets
To be perfectly honest, the Houston Rockets have admittedly been one of the bigger surprises in the league this season. While I wouldn't consider them a lock to be a playoff threat in the Western Conference just yet, they do have some strong wins over the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks to begin the season. And say what you want about Jalen Green, but he's been pretty magnificent to begin the season. I'm not sure if he's made the next leap in his development, but he's certainly on the right track to do so.
The big question for the Rockets is whether they'll have the staying power to remain afloat in the deep Western Conference. Last season, they faded down the stretch and weren't able to even make the Play-In Tournament. That has to be a different story this season if this team does want to take another step forward in their development as a franchise. And if Green continues to play at such a high level, perhaps this is a team that can stay the course and emerge as another unlikely dark horse playoff threat.