As the Houston Rockets enter the season, by far their biggest challenge will be coping with the loss of starting point guard Fred VanVleet: a trial in which their success hinges upon the ability of young guards Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard to step into his role.
Now, in ESPN's latest NBA power rankings, as laid out by Kevin Pelton's model to predict team wins, the Rockets sit fifth in the Western Conference, with VanVleet's injury being named as the primary reason for this drop.
While it remains to be seen whether Houston can revive its offense around their acquisition of superstar scorer Kevin Durant and repeat their regular season performance from last year, the painful truth is that, for now, this uncertainty means that this ranking is deserved.