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Way-too-early NBA Western Conference playoff predictions

By Blake Holmes

DENVER, CO - APRIL 7: Donatas Motiejunas #12 of the New Orleans Pelicans goes up for a lay up against Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets on April 7, 2017 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - APRIL 7: Donatas Motiejunas #12 of the New Orleans Pelicans goes up for a lay up against Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets on April 7, 2017 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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2. Houston Rockets

The Rockets made one of the bolder moves of the offseason and traded for Chris Paul. That trade sent Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, and a protected first-round pick to the Clippers from Houston. Now before I get into the team overview, I see the Chris Paul/James Harden going in one of two ways. First, they go on a tear, it works perfectly, but they still go on to lose to Golden State in six in the Western Conference Finals. That could happen, or it could be a catastrophe, since Harden won’t handle the ball as much. Either way, it has potential to be very fun to watch.

Houston Rockets starting lineup:

PG: Chris Paul

SG: James Harden

SF: Trevor Ariza

PF: Ryan Anderson (or maybe Carmelo Anthony?!)

C: Clint Capela

Not only did they get Chris Paul, but they re-signed Nene and also gave Harden the largest extension in NBA history. The contract is for four years, and $228 million. In the 2022-2023 season Harden will make over $500,000 per game. That is an insane amount, but the Rockets do keep him under locks for a while.

Now as I said before I would not be shocked to see this team struggle a little bit, but I’m taking the high road with them. They still have a ton of three-point shooting, and they live by the mentality of scoring a ton of points. The Rockets were second in the league for points scored last season, and they’ll look to do it again.

One of the glaring weaknesses of this team has been a lack of defense. Harden plays virtually none and Paul doesn’t turn things around by himself. To improve from last season, though (they weren’t too bad at 17th in defensive efficiency), they have added two great versatile defenders in P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute. Plus, if they can score enough points, how much defense do they really need? We’ll see the answer to that this year.

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