3. Stay healthy
In his first season in H-Town, Chris Paul provided Rockets fans with a bevy of highlight outings. The veteran guard — who started in 58 games — surpassed Derek Harper and Allen Iverson for 12th on the NBA’s all-time steals list on the way to helping Houston finish the season with the No. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history.
However, the magical joyride would not come without its fair share of lows, as the star who arrived with huge fanfare struggled to stay healthy throughout critical junctures of the season.
Paul — who led the league in Real Plus-Minus — missed a total of 24 contests during the regular season due to ailments with his hip and knee. That marked the most games the point guard has sat out since the 2009-10 campaign, in addition to a set of bouts where Houston needed him.
After scoring 47 points and dishing out 10 assists combined in Games 4 and 5 to lead the Rockets to a 3-2 series lead in the 2018 Western Conference Finals, Paul was unable to go in the final two games of the series, as a right hamstring injury that he suffered during the final minutes of Game 5 robbed him of a chance to play in arguably the biggest game of his career.
Now, Paul finds himself seeking to lead the Rockets back to where last year’s championship hopes ended, as fans across Houston hope that he has better fortunes this time around.
Although the arrival of Michael Carter-Williams and Brandon Knight should help keep Paul fresh next season, the Rockets will need their go-to man to be present in the homestretch.