Houston Rockets: Father Time is ticking, and 2018-19 could be it
The Houston Rockets nearly broke through the Golden State Warriors last season, but 2018-19 could be their last real chance with this core
The Houston Rockets were one win away from beating the Golden State Warriors and possibly winning an NBA Championship. In some minds, had Chris Paul not gotten injured in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets would’ve closed the deal.
Nevertheless, as history will remember, the Warriors came back to win the series and the 2018 NBA Championship.
And while you might say that the Rockets will have an opportunity again to knock off the defending champs this season, not so fast. But not only because they lost Trevor Ariza or added Carmelo Anthony, but also because Father Time is sneaking up on this team.
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It may have already caught up to Carmelo Anthony’s game, but the player that it could be dangerously close to overtaking is one Chris Paul. Even after signing a huge extension this summer, that doesn’t guarantee anything.
And considering his injury history, I honestly don’t know what Paul we’re going to see in 2018-19. Paul will be 34 years old by the time the playoffs start this season, and is coming off an injury that cut his postseason short.
He has only played a full 82 games once in his career and has played at least 70 games three times in his last six years. Last season, he missed 24 regular season games and still suffered a bad hamstring injury in the playoffs.
One potential sign of hamstring injuries is too many minutes. Even though he only played 32 minutes per contest last season, the Rockets need to find a way to keep his minutes down, at the very least, during the regular season.
Paul is not big, and plays a rough style of basketball. Those two things don’t generally mix well together with age.
When the playoffs begin, it’s easy to understand why he’d be playing a bit more. After all, in the playoffs, rotations are cut short and you generally play your best lineups for extended periods.
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And if the Houston Rockets want to challenge the Golden State Warriors for a spot in the NBA Finals again this season, they’re going to need to limit their usage of Chris Paul. While Father Time could never be defeated, it could be held off. If Houston can do that, they need to do everything in their power to make it happen.