1. How will the team manage Chris Paul’s minutes ahead of the playoffs?
Rockets fans may have reasons to hold their breath at the recent success of the team at full health. While Houston has proven that it can win with a depleted roster, it hasn’t had comfortable enough blowout wins in recent games to afford to rest its stars. The tight race for third place in the Western Conference might demand more from Chris Paul and Harden to finish the season strong.
Chris Paul has been stellar since the All-Star break, but the difficulty of the Rockets’ schedule requires more of this production from the 33-year-old veteran point guard if the Rockets want a top-four seed in the playoffs. It is a luxury to be playing alongside a practically unstoppable Harden, but Paul certainly can’t sit back and watch, either.
Having Austin Rivers as a backup has been the surprise treat of the Rockets’ 2018-2019 season, and it takes a lot of the pressure off Paul to score at a high rate.
Chris Paul since the All-Star break:
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) March 4, 2019
18.7 PPG
10.0 APG
6.2 RPG
1.7 SPG
62.6% True Shooting
However, the star guard can’t afford to overexert himself if this year’s team wants to make a run at the Western Conference Finals.
Locking in a high seed and hoping to face the Golden State Warriors would only be ideal if Houston — and its star point guard — can stay healthy, not just up until that point, but all through the series as well.