The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Houston Rockets at Staples Center on Sunday.

The Rockets (1-4) were expected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA, and they definitely appear as such through five games. Their only win came against an Oklahoma City Thunder team that is equally as bad, followed by losses to the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Most teams would struggle with that schedule, but they've suffered double-digit losses in all of them. That's sadly where this team is at right now, and it's all about development. The good news is that the young core has a bright future, with Jalen Green, Kevin Porter and Christian Wood all showing signs of growth. The next step is to figure out the John Wall dilemma. He's been practicing with the team and mentoring these young guys, but it remains to be seen where he's playing after saying he's done with the Rockets.

The Lakers (3-3) have been the talk of the NBA, but it's all a bit of an overreaction. An 0-2 start had fans wondering if the sky was falling, but three wins in their last four games is a good sign going forward. More importantly, LeBron James returned from his ankle injury in the team's most recent win on Friday, and it appears that he, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook are finally starting to gel. That's all that really matters for this club because it's up to those three guys to take them as far as they can carry them. We've yet to see all three play well in the same game, but it's just a matter of time before they're clicking and the wins are flowing like water.

These teams played three times last season, with Los Angeles sweeping the season series. Before that, the Rockets won 19 of their previous 24 games over the Lakers in this series.