Generally, when two very talented players join together, the offense becomes explosive. The lowest ORTG of two all-star caliber guards in recent memory happened in 2015 with the Washington Wizards who had a rating of 101.8. That ranked 19th in the league. Other than that, most teams have had a top 10 offense with the Heat, Cavs, Thunder, Raptors, and Warriors taking center stage, all with offensive ratings reaching as high as 109. So with very few exceptions, great offensive players figure it out when they’re on the same roster.

I think the best example would be Lowry and DeRozan in Toronto. The two have clashing styles with DeRozan being a heavy iso slasher with a poor jump shot while Lowry is a PnR God with his pull-up threes and strength attacking the basket. If DeRozan is playing off-the-ball, the Raptors, in theory, become easier to guard because of his poor jump shooting. And when you give him the ball, his only goal is to score with a career average of appx. 3.5 assists. By all accounts, the Raptors offense shouldn’t be this good. Both are ball dominant who work best with the ball in their hands, but somehow they have managed to reach the Western Conference Finals and sustain a top 10 offense in the NBA for a number of years.

Here are some examples of ball dominant players that have found success working together in the league.

Lowry and DeRozan

Since 2014, produced at least 48 wins, with a high of 56 in 2016.

Lowry averaged 19.8 and 6.9 from 2014-2017

DeRozan averaged 23.4 from 2014-2017 and a career high 27.3.

Consistent top 10 offense, peaking with 108.8 in 2017 (ranked 6 - highest rank is 3 in 2015 w/108.1)

Reached Eastern Conference Finals in 2016

KD and Steph

NBA Champions

Steph averaged 25 and 6.6. 5 points below his previous season but w/ slightly higher efficiency.

Durant averaged 25.1, 8.3 and 4.1. 8 points below his career high and 2 points below his career avg.

One of the best offensive ratings of the modern era and highest among duos with a 113.2.

KD and Russ

At least 45 wins all 7 years both were effective players. High of 60 wins in 2013.

Average ORTG of 107.7. High of 110.2 in 2013. Low of 104.5 in 2015 (KD and Westbrook injuries)

KD MVP in 2014

KD average of 28.5 points per game with a career-high of 32(!!!) in 2014.

Westbrook average of 22.6, 7.9, and 5.5. Career highs of 28.1 and 10.4 in 2016.

Reached Conference Finals three times and NBA Finals once.

Longest sustained success for a duo since MJ and Pippen.

Wade and LeBron

Most success other than Pippen/Jordan.

Reached NBA Finals 4 times winning 2.

LeBron averaged 26.9, 6.7APG, and 7.6RPG. Won back to back MVPs in 2012 and 2013.

Wade averaged 23.1, 4.7APG, and 5.3RPG. High of 25.5 in 2011.

Most efficient offense by far with a TS% of 57.5% from 2011-2014 (high of 59% in 2014)

ORTG of 108.2 from 2011-2014 and a high of 110.3 in 2015.

Kyrie and LeBron

At least 51 wins from 2015-2017. High of 57.

Reached NBA Finals all three years winning only in 2016.

Kyrie averaged 22.4 and 5.3. Career high of 25.2 in 2017.

LeBron averaged 25.6, 7.4, and 7.6 with career highs in rebounds and assists of 8.6 and 8.7, respectively, in 2017.

ORTG of 108.9 from 2015-2017. High of 110.9 in 2017. 58% TS% in 2017.

Something similar might happen in Houston if Chris Paul joins the Rockets with James Harden. Both are All-NBA talents who work best with the ball in their hands. But if history has told us anything, it’s that they’ll work well together. Though, what might make Houston even better than some of the other teams that I listed is that Chris and James are both elite 3 point shooters. This makes either still superbly effective when working off the ball. You can’t sag off one and load up on the opposite end of the player, you have to be aware of them at all times. This makes things doubly hard when both players are some of the best passers the NBA has ever seen. The sometimes stiff offense that D’Antoni runs will have new life breathed into it if CP3 were to join. The ball would be moving side to side and end to end like very few offenses that have existed. Look at some examples of their versatility here and here.

Some would argue that Houston already tried something similar with Ty Lawson. Let me address this with a couple things. 1.) Chris Paul is a better player. 2) Chris Paul is a much better player. Darryl Morey knows this and is already exploring the Chris Paul market with reports coming out that he’s willing to offload Patrick Beverley, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and their contracts. The Rockets are already a 50 win team. If they get Chris Paul, who knows what could happen?