Houston Rockets’ Chris Paul, right, steps over Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) after losing the ball out of bounds during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, in Oakland, California. AP/Ben Margot
After the first 31 games of the 2017-2018 NBA season, the Houston Rockets are tied with the Golden State Warriors as the number 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 25-6 record.
With the arrival of Chris Paul this off-season, the team’s lethal offensive repertoire just got even deadlier, with some claiming it’s already at par with the reigning NBA Champions.
Although the playoffs won’t start until April, Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey has made it clear that beating the Warriors “is the only thing we think about.”
“I think I’m not supposed to say that, but we’re basically obsessed with ‘How do we beat the Warriors?’” the proud executive told ESPN Radio’’s Ryen Rusillo.
“Last year the Spurs knocked us off, so we’re very worried about the Spurs, they’re always one step ahead of every organization and guard us better than anyone. But we calculated it—it’s like 90 percent if we’re gonna win a title, we’ve gotta obviously beat the Warriors at some point. So we’re extremely focused on that. A lot of our signings and what we do during the year is based on that.”
This off-season, Morey admitted to ESPN’s Zach Lowe that the team would be “[upping] our risk profile and [getting] even more aggressive” with finding the right personnel for Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo offense, which resulted in trading for Chris Paul.
The Rockets defeated the Warriors 122-121 in a highly competitive game on opening night last October and are scheduled for two match-ups in January. Khristian Ibarrola /ra