The Houston Rockets are coming off of a 2018-19 NBA campaign in which they won 53 games and made it to the second round of the playoffs before losing to—surprise, surprise—the Golden State Warriors.
Well, this offseason, the Rockets decided to end the James Harden-Chris Paul experiment and try an stranger one, trading Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder to Russell Westbrook.
Harden and Westbrook? This should be interesting, to say the least.
With the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz all making big moves and the Denver Nuggets on the rise, the Rockets have become sort of an afterthought in the Western Conference.
So, here are four burning questions for Houston heading into the 2019-20 season:
4. Is this Style Going to Persist?
Daryl Morey can rotate players in and out as much as he wants, but the problem lies with how he views his team should play.
Having Harden dribble the shot clock out before eventually hoisting a contested three-pointer is not winning basketball, and now that Westbrook is on board, that problem may be compounded.
But has Morey actually had an epiphany and realized that the style he was employing was simply not working? Or is he just basically trying to throw two iso-heavy players together to see if that somehow works?
I don't know what Morey's angle is, but if the Rockets continue playing the way they have been for the last several years, it's going to result in more heartache in the playoffs.
3. Are they Deep Enough?
When Houston won 65 games a couple of years ago, one of the primary reasons for its success was its depth.
But now, going into this coming season, it's questionable as to whether or not the Rockets are deep enough to actually contend with the big boys int the West, especially considering most of these teams are very deep.
Houston has Tyson Chandler, Danuel House, Gerald Green, Austin Rivers and Gary Clark coming off the bench. The thing is, Chandler is barely a shell of his former self, Green is incredibly volatile and Clark is an unproven youngster entering his second season.
House is nice and Rivers has actually developed into a decent two-way player, but I'm not sure there is going to be enough consistency in the second unit for this team to be that much of a threat.
As we have seen time and time again in the playoffs, depth matters, and contrary to popular belief, it actually matters even more in the postseason than it does in the regular season.
2. Is Mike D'Antoni the Right Man for the Job?
Mike D'Antoni wins regular-season games. He won 60 games twice during his tenure with the Phoenix Suns, and he has already done it once with the Rockets.
Since becoming head coach of Houston ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, D'Antoni has gone 173-73, good for a sparkling .703 win percentage.
But, much like his time with the Suns, D'Antoni has yet to lead the Rockets past the conference finals, leading many to wonder if he is really capable of coaching a team to a championship.
We get it. D'Antoni is an offensive mastermind who helped revolutionize the game in Phoenix and has had Houston among the leaders in offensive efficiency ever since he arrived, but his style doesn't seem to get it done in the playoffs, and we know he doesn't preach defense.
Let's say the Rockets get bounced out early in the playoffs yet again this year, which is a distinct possibility, if not probable. Do the Rockets decide to bring D'Antoni back for another season?
At some point, you have to come to terms with the fact that what you're doing may not be working, and you have to move on as a result. Should Houston experience another playoff flameout in 2020, the Rockets may end up coming to that realization with D'Antoni.
1. Can James Harden and Russell Westbrook Co-exist?
When the Rockets acquired Westbrook in a trade with the Thunder earlier this summer, I had a rather conflicting reaction. I was scratching my head, but at the same time, I wasn't surprised, because, well, it's Daryl Morey.
But seriously: how does Morey possibly expect Harden and Westbrook to co-exist?
If Westbrook couldn't get it done with Kevin Durant or Paul George, what makes Morey think he can get it done with an even more ball-dominant player in Harden?
When it comes to Russ and James, we are literally talking about two of the most iso-heavy players in the NBA, and we know that Westbrook is not a good perimeter shooter.
So who is going to be the primary ball-handler? Will it continue to be Harden? Or will Harden play off the ball—something he is not particularly adept at—and allow Westbrook to run point so as to not make Westbrook a spot-up shooter?
I don't know how the Rockets are going to do this, but I can't wait to see them try.
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