The Houston Rockets kind of struck out a bit in free agency last season, sticking with the main core while seeing the likes of Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute leave to other teams. Instead, they downgraded, picking up James Ennis and hoping that Carmelo Anthony can find his former level of play.
Those moves didn’t work out, obviously, with both of those guys finishing the season away from Houston (and the NBA for Melo). The Rockets started out the season slow, lumbering to an 11-14 start before James Harden went bananas, carrying the team back to relevancy in the loaded Western Conference.