The Houston Rockets have been the consensus #2 team (not too unlike the Boston Celtics) in the Western Conference for the past few years. They were basically the only team to ever be thought of as capable of knocking out the Golden State Warriors.
Things are changing in Houston, though. Apparently it could lead to changes in their head coach. Mike D’Antoni has established something good, but not great. Lateral movements year after year don’t usually end well for an NBA head coach.
Ask Dwayne Casey how that worked out for his top-seeded Raptors, who stopped coming close to making LeBron James blink in 2018.