The Rockets are trying to beat the Warriors at their own game

In the Golden (State) Era of the NBA, we view the rest of the league through a Warriors prism. It’s no different for the Houston Rockets, who added a slightly past-his-prime superstar to a 55-win squad and otherwise would be a leading title contender.

The league isn’t measured by title contenders with an “s” anymore, though, because there’s one clear favorite that’s too prominent to ignore. Instead, we ask how the best non-Bay Area teams stack up against the Warriors. Can they play them competitively? Hell, can they even match up at all?

The Rockets were a wildly enjoyable basketball experiment last year, but even they couldn’t match up directly with the Warriors, who have constructed a near-perfect five-man unit. As it turned out, Houston couldn’t even handle the San Antonio Spurs without Kawhi Leonard. Something needed to change.

The change was a trade for Chris Paul in late June, and assembling a backcourt with two future Hall of Famers that rivals any other team in the league. But that wasn’t the only move made. Crucially, the Rockets also signed P.J. Tucker, Luc Mbah a Moute, and Tarik Black this summer.

In any other season, with any other team besides what might be the best squad ever assembled, this would be about the Rockets. It should be about the Rockets after a summer this successful.

But the truth is, even their fantastic offseason wasn’t solely about them. It was really more of an attempt to catch up.

I’m not worried about the Paul and Harden fit. It’s rare to have two former assist leaders on the same team, but Paul and Harden give the Rockets two elite playmaking passers. If Harden is Golden State’s Stephen Curry, then Paul is a portmanteau of Draymond Green and Kevin Durant. He doesn’t quite initiate offense in the same way as Green, and he certainly isn’t quite a scoring creator of Durant’s caliber. (Is anyone?) Harden wore down in moments last playoffs, and when he did, there was little Houston could do without him. Paul is a necessary offensive creator, and one that’s nearly on Harden’s level.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey didn’t stop after Paul, though. The two wings he signed — Tucker and Mbah a Moute — are crucial to Houston taking the next step. They were almost certainly the best two-way wings available on the market at the Rockets’ price point, and Houston signed them both. In the modern NBA that the Warriors have championed, it’s imperative to have wings like this.

Both Tucker and Mbah a Moute had career shooting years with different teams last season — Tucker hit 40 percent in Toronto while Mbah a Moute nailed 39 percent on limited attempts (1.4) in Los Angeles. Defenses will dare them to shoot, but the Rockets are betting at least one of them can be a reliable sniper while providing versatile, switchable defense on several positions.

The Warriors’ deadliest lineup is the so-called Death Lineup: Curry, Durant, Green, Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala. It eschews traditional big men for five players with maximum versatility. Consider this Rockets counter: Harden, Paul, Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, and either Tucker or Mbah a Moute.

In the postseason, it will become increasingly difficult to play Ryan Anderson, despite his game-changing shooting, and even Clint Capela. (The Rockets hope that Capela develops so it’s much harder to take him off the floor.) Having a couple more two-way wings in the mix smooths those problems over.

Expect the Rockets to use James Harden’s surprisingly effective post defense, too. That will allow Houston to use smaller lineups with Harden guarding power forwards and not give up much defensively, while reaping the rewards on the other end.

When it comes to small ball and modern basketball, the Rockets are much more adept than last season.

This is the bigger question, and the answer is complex. Golden State’s lineup is nearly perfect, and it’s unlikely, if not impossible, that any other team would ever be able to duplicate them.

At times, though, opponents will need to keep up. That’s all that the Rockets are trying to do. Their small ball won’t beat the Warriors’ small ball, but Houston isn’t attempting to be a carbon-copy Golden State squad. They’re attempting historic numbers of threes and gambling on aggressive, modern basketball in other ways.

Tucker and Mbah a Moute will play big roles on the new-look Rockets because of their Warriors-like traits. Paul adds a necessary dimension to the offense, something that the Warriors have in excess. It means that Houston can imitate Golden State even more convincingly now, and imitating the best team in the league is always a good thing.

But it’s still an imitation. We’ll see if it will be enough against the real thing.