For the Houston Rockets, the month of December was quite the rollercoaster ride from start to finish. The team's 14-game winning streak from November carried into December only for it to hit a brick wall on Dec. 20 in a 122-116 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Toyota Center.
Then came the left adductor injury to star point guard Chris Paul and things really began to go south, as the Rockets lost their next five contests.
According to an article published this morning by TNT analyst David Aldridge, the now-healthy Paul said he didn't sweat it when his Rockets lost five games in a row.
“We know what we have to do,” Paul said on Friday after a loss to the Washington Wizards. “We have to get it right. We’re not tripping because we know how we play. I’m a big believer in building and winning. I said that a long time ago. You don’t need to learn stuff and lose. Learn stuff and win, and we done lost a few. All in all, we came out healthy. For us, that’s part of the process. We’re cool.”
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey recently said that beating the Golden State Warriors in a seven-game playoff series is all he has on his mind, but Paul feels like the Rockets should emulate the consistency and patience of the San Antonio Spurs instead.
“It’s no secret they’re the defending champions,” Paul said of the Warriors. “They’ve won the West, what, three years in a row? So until somebody beats them, they’re the reigning champs. You can do that if you want to, but it’s a league that changes. It changes. We were No. 1 in the West a couple of days ago. When you’ve been around long enough, you realize it’s all about how you’re playing. Where’s San Antonio right now? They ain’t tripping. They just want to get their guys healthy.”
On New Year's Eve, the Rockets put an end to their five-game skid when they got revenge over the Lakers in a 148-142 double-overtime thriller at the Toyota Center. Unfortunately, Houston superstar guard and MVP frontrunner James Harden suffered a grade-two left hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
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