Houston Rockets: 5 keys to contending in 2017-18

3. Stay healthy

Coming into last season, many were low on the Rockets due to various reasons. One of the more prominent was the risk of injuries to some of their key players, mainly Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon. Both players had struggled in previous years to play over 60-65 games in a season, but were able to stay healthy for the most part during the 2016-17 campaign.

Anderson played 72 games while Gordon played 75 in a new role as sixth man. For Anderson, it was the most games he’s played in a season since 2012-13, while for Gordon it was his highest amount since his rookie year in 2008-09.

Now Houston added Chris Paul, a player that has dealt with his fair share of the injury bug over the past couple of seasons. Over the last four years, Paul has played an average of 70 games per season. While that isn’t a drastically low amount, you can essentially pencil Paul in to miss anywhere from 5-15 games per season as he continues to age.

If Anderson and/or Gordon can’t replicate their healthy campaigns from a year ago, the Rockets could be in trouble this season. As of now, the trio of Harden, Paul and Gordon are the only quality guards on the roster, while Houston doesn’t have another elite shooting big that could replace Anderson and space the floor.

Injuries to one (or both) of the players could force Houston to dig deep into its bench and play players more than they are used to. An injury to Gordon would really crush the Rockets’ guard rotation, so effectively managing his minutes and workload will be key this year. Again, Houston has lofty goals come playoff time, making it essential they can run out a fully healthy squad starting in April.