Russell Westbrook's reunion with James Harden elevated expectations in Houston at the start of the season.
Another genuine superstar and MVP to partner Harden, at least on paper, rivalled the combinations of LeBron James-Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard-Paul George in the west.
There were definitely good signs after the Rockets opted to move on from Chris Paul and Clint Capela and switch to a 'small ball' strategy.
But Houston's season came to an end in the Western Conference semi-finals at Walt Disney World Resort, prompting the parting of ways between the Rockets and head coach Mike D'Antoni.
As the Rockets' wait for an NBA Finals appearance continues, we review the team's 2019-20 campaign using Stats Perform data.
Rockets make unwanted history
Houston have enjoyed a lot of regular-season success, but the same cannot be said in the playoffs.
This was the 14th consecutive season the Rockets finished at .500 or better but failed to reach the NBA Finals – the longest streak of its kind in NBA history.
Houston secured the fourth seed with a 44-28 record before falling to the Lakers in five games in the Orlando bubble.
The Rockets have not advanced to the NBA Finals since winning their last championship in 1995 – a sweep of the Orlando Magic.
There will be a new coach at the helm for their next Finals bid after D'Antoni's contract expired and the 69-year-old did not renew.
D'Antoni oversaw a 217-101 regular-season record in four campaigns in Houston, where the Rockets reached the Conference finals once and enjoyed three other trips to the semi-finals.
Harden and Westbrook enter record books
The Rockets gave up a lot to reunite former Thunder team-mates Harden and Westbrook – Houston parting with two future first-round selections, two pick swaps and Chris Paul for the nine-time All-Star.
Harden played his first three NBA seasons in Oklahoma City with Westbrook, helping the Thunder reach the 2012 NBA Finals before joining the Rockets afterwards.
In their first season back together in Houston, Harden and Westbrook became the first pair of team-mates in NBA history to average 25.0-plus points and seven-plus assists per game in the same season.
Harden averaged 34.3 points and 7.5 assists, while Westbrook averaged 27.2 points and seven assists in 2019-20.
Harden continues to produce crazy numbers
There is just no stopping Harden in Houston. In 2019-20, points scored by Harden and points scored off his assists averaged 52.4 per game.
It followed 53.9 in 2018-19, 51.3 in 2017-18 and 56 the season previous.
That marked four successive seasons with 50-plus points per game created, tying Oscar Robertson (1963-64 to 1966-67) for the longest streak in NBA history.
While Harden dazzled, Westbrook's struggles were evident in the playoffs this year.
Westbrook shot just 24.2 per cent from three-point range and 53.1 per cent from the free-throw line. He was the first player in NBA history to shoot under 25 per cent from three and under 60 per cent from the line in a single postseason (minimum 30 attempts in both categories).
The Rockets are usually at their best when Westbrook is not shooting a lot of threes – Houston had a 29-13 record when the 2017 MVP shot less than five from beyond the arc compared to 10-13 after attempting five or more.
Houston's whole offense revolves around three-pointers, and yet one of their main players does not shoot them well and they do not win much when he shoots a lot of them.
Small-ball disadvantage
Houston first experimented with 'small ball' while Capela was injured in January. Shortly afterwards, the Rockets opted to trade the center to the Atlanta Hawks.
All-in on the approach to help free up Harden and Westbrook, it led to a rebounding disadvantage, exposed in the playoffs. Their average rebound margin per game was minus-9.2, the worst by any team in a single postseason in which they played at least 12 games in the past 30 years.
The Lakers' Anthony Davis in particular was dominant against their small line-up, averaging 25.4 points and 12.4 rebounds while shooting 60 per cent from the field in the series against the Rockets.
During the regular season, Houston's average rebound margin was minus-3.4 in 2018-19 and minus-3.6 in 2019-20. Since the 1976-77 merger, there has never been a team to have a minus-3 or worse average rebound margin in the regular season and then go on to win the NBA title. In fact, only three of the 43 champions since the merger had a negative rebound margin in the regular season – the Rockets in 1993-94 (-0.3) and 1994-95 (-2.8) and the Miami Heat in 2012-13 (-1.5).
