Predictions
Ultimately I think the dyad will succeed. They’re both very intelligent players who only dominate the ball out of necessity.
Offenses involving either of these two players will indeed favor the idea of letting them dominate the ball. And for most of the game, they’ll get their turns doing that.
“Forcing” them to play together is a first-world problem; they’re good players and will figure it out when they have to. The “your turn, my turn” exchange will be necessary at times, but likely for the best of both.
Paul George was a solid complement for Westbrook’s prime. He’s one of the rare low-maintenance stars in today’s league, which allowed Russ to just go. Problem is, he can’t do that for 38 minutes a night anymore.
And though Harden had a ball-dominant buddy in Chris Paul, he wasn’t nearly as energetic or forceful as Westbrook. The clash in styles will be a sigh of relief for both and they’ll willingly learn how to play off each other.
As for the supporting cast, there’s not much to worry about. If the top two are going, it’ll have a domino effect on everyone else. Gary Clark becomes a guy who could even start if necessary, Thabo Sefolosha hones in on his strengths and suddenly the Rockets have an armada of two-way guys after P.J. Tucker.
Isaiah Hartenstein remains that guy who boosts his lineups’ net ratings in very small samples, but is still too raw for coach Mike D’Antoni to trust consistently. Overall Houston’s bench is fine, which is all the team really needs.
The Rockets earn the No. 2 seed in the West and reach the conference finals for the second time in three years, merely falling to the LA Clippers in the “death, taxes and Kawhi Leonard in the playoffs” way that many teams do.