The next season James Harden demanded a trade and got it in January, sending the Rockets into a freefall to the basement of the NBA. After moving on from Harden, the Rockets traded or released most of their veterans and finished the 2020-21 season with an NBA-worst 17-55 record under first-year coach Stephen Silas.

The Golden State Warriors were able to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA Play-In Tournament, which has set them up with a first-round matchup against the No. 2 seeded Houston Rockets.

The Rockets ranked last in ball movement, averaging just 294 passes per 24 minutes of possession, and they were 25th in player movement (10.7 miles per 24). While Golden State led the league by a wide margin in assist rate (recording assists on 71.4% of their field goals), Houston ranked last (54.9%) by an even wider margin.