Rockets 2017-18 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions

The Houston Rockets will have a completely revamped look for 2017-18, acquiring Chris Paul before the start of free agency to make an all-in push at dethroning the Golden State Warriors.  

Paul joins James Harden in a Houston backcourt that looks like it should be the most dynamic in basketball. There will be logistical challenges in how each player has to change their game, especially given their success as primary ball-handlers. Harden nearly won the MVP last season in his first year as a point guard under Mike D'Antoni; people call Paul the Point God.

There are some issues to unmuddy here.

The Rockets have also been consistently linked to Carmelo Anthony over the last month without resolution. Anthony has formally requested a trade to Houston after being alienated by the now-deposed former New York Knicks president Phil Jackson for more than a year. No deal has been made yet, but there's a decent expectation that Anthony will eventually find himself in Houston.

All of that makes the Rockets' season all the more interesting to watch. Here's a brief look at what to expect from perhaps (finally) the best team in Texas.

To check out the full Rockets schedule, click here.

2017-18 Details

Season Opener: Oct. 17 at Golden State

Championship Odds: 10-1 (via Oddsshark)

Full Schedule: NBA.com

Top Games

Golden State Warriors: Oct. 17, Jan. 4, Jan. 20

The Rockets are trying to compete for a championship. You don't add 32-year-old Paul and (likely) 33-year-old Anthony without a win-now edict. Their four-year extension with James Harden will keep their window open beyond Paul's and Anthony's end of their primes, but the Rockets are either winning now or paying a lot of money for runner-up trophies.

Problem: No one matches up with the Warriors. No one even comes frankly all that close. LeBron James is probably the second-greatest basketball player in history, played at his ultimate peak of efficiency and all-around brilliance, and he could only drag the Cavaliers to one win over this team in last year's NBA Finals.

Paul's a great defender, but Harden tops out as average (at best) and Anthony's been a lost cause on that end for years. These aren't the players you build around if you're going to try defending Golden State on the perimeter. Trevor Ariza (???) is a good defender, but no one alive—not even Kawhi Leonard—can defend Kevin Durant at his ultimate peak.

These games will be three-jacking scorefests, not dissimilar to last year's Finals. The Rockets, like the Cavs, will try to beat Golden State simply by outscoring them. 

Doing that over a seven-game stretch feels impossible at this point, but these games are must-watch for a few nights of the regular season.

Prediction

It's hard to predict exactly where the Rockets will wind up until we know whether they'll have Anthony in the fold. With Carmelo, they're going to be a 55-to-60-win team that competes with the Spurs for the West's second seed. The Warriors, Rockets and Spurs are clearly the class of the West, regardless, and they'll wind up as the top three seeds—even if Melo somehow winds up elsewhere.

Interestingly, Houston's regular-season ceiling might be a little lower with Paul and Anthony in the fold. Both are aging players who need rest. If you get 70 games out of both at this point, you're more than happy.

Harden threw the Rockets on his back for 55 wins last season, but that was a different roster. Houston has less depth and a little bit less outside shooting than it did a year ago. Adding Paul is a no-brainer move. Doing so at the loss of Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams (plus a couple of developing young guys) hurts, and so will shedding the players necessary to add Carmelo's salary.

Houston's trying to build something akin to the Boston Celtics' Big Three, featuring late-prime players (minus Harden) all desperate for a ring. It's tough to see them pulling it off, but getting to 55 wins shouldn't be a problem.