Mavericks: Ranking Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis among NBA’s best duos

Dallas Mavericks duo tops Rockets backcourt: 5. James Harden and Russell Westbrook

The Rockets have the top backcourt combo this season. Harden is leading the NBA in scoring for the third consecutive season by averaging 34.4 per game. He remains truly unstoppable with the ball in his hands. Westbrook averaged 27.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game this season. They have both played outstanding basketball.

The reason this duo did not rate higher is they may be worse on the floor together. Using two-man combinations that played over 50 minutes together on NBA Stats, Harden and Westbrook have the eighth-best net rating on the Rockets among all featuring the Beard. It is only the fourth-best in all with Russ on the court. There net rating on the floor together is a strong 5.8, but plenty of other Rockets duo rated higher.

The Nuggets and Celtics duo posted higher net ratings on the floor together. It is hard to argue with the Rockets 34-18 record when Harden and Westbrook have shared the court, though. That win percentage would jump them to seventh in the NBA.

It does not take into account the time necessary for adjusting to playing together again. They were teammates on the Thunder for three years before Harden was traded to Houston. This is their first season wearing the same jersey since 2012, though. No team is looking forward to facing this duo during the restart.