Chris Paul has had a chance to contend with various rosters over the course of his career. Right now, his future is uncertain after he was traded to the Washington Wizards, but it seems his best contention days are behind him.
Paul believes the best chance he got came with the 2017-18 Rockets, calling it one of the best team’s he ever played on in an interview with ESPN.
“To be real honest with you, that first year in Houston might have been top two, top three, or the best team I ever played on. Seriously, we were so connected defensively, and offensively. When I talk about basketball, in those years I was in Houston, we played the entire season to get ready for one team: Golden State. We played the entire season, our defensive game plan, our offensive game plan, every single game was to get ready for Golden State ’cause there’s a certain way you had to play in order to beat those teams.”
Chris Paul says the 2017-18 Houston Rockets might have been the best team he ever played on and that the reason the 2018-19 Rockets slipped is because they didn't bring back Trevor Ariza.
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Chris Paul averaged 18.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 7.9 assists in the 2017-18 season, as the Rockets led the league in wins with 65 and managed to take the Warriors to seven games in their Conference Finals matchup before a historic cold streak from three caused them to lose.
Why Did The Rockets Not Replicate Their Success In 2018-19?
Paul was honest about one of the primary reasons behind the team’s failure in the 2018-19 season was the departure of Trevor Ariza.
“Why I believe our team was so different in the second year, is we didn’t bring back Trevor Ariza. Honestly, I mean that wholeheartedly.”
Naturally, Ariza’s departure played a role, but the team seemed to have far deeper problems. Their offense had started looking stagnant and wasn’t good enough to even beat a Kevin Durant-less Warriors in the playoffs that year. The time for the team was up, with Ariza’s departure probably signifying that Paul’s tenure with Houston is almost over.
CP3 was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the summer of 2019, while Harden would be traded away in January 2021 to bring an end to that era of Rockets basketball.
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