Los Angeles Lakers: Re-ranking the NBA best duos
By Jason Reed
NBA Best Duos: 4. Houston Rockets — James Harden and Russell Westbrook
- Bleacher Report ranking: Third
James Harden and Russell Westbrook are undoubtedly the most interesting duo in the NBA. When the Rockets traded for Westbrook prior to the season it was viewed as a hail mary by a team that has been oh so close to getting to the NBA Finals but could never ultimately get there.
Both Harden and Westbrook are players that thrive with the ball in their hands and require a high usage rate to maximize their output. Having both of them on the same team with only one basketball was going to cause headaches, and it initially did.
However, something flipped. The team traded Clint Capela in a four-team deal and went small, landing sharpshooter Robert Covington. This opened up the floor for Houston, made them the NBA’s resident unicorn if they were not already, and it was working.
Westbrook was playing phenomenal in this new offense as he could now dominant the lane and drive to the hoop without Capela clogging it. This forced smaller defenses to play against Houston, maximizing what Westbrook did best: cause destruction.
As weird of a team as it is you cannot deny how talented both guys are. James Harden will go down as one of the five best point guards, from a statistical standpoint, of all-time and Russell Westbrook is a high-motor chaos creator that can stuff the box sheets himself.
If they fit together better then they could legitimately be number one on this list and that is not a hyperbole. However, despite what the numbers might say in certain areas, they don’t belong in the top three.