Following the addition of Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets this summer, the team has found the other legitimate star it has been looking for to pair with its current franchise player, James Harden. Now with the ace point guard part of the fold, The Beard has a lot of reason to believe further that the Rockets have what it takes to win the title next season.
That said, Harden recently revealed, via an interview with Sam Amick of USA Today Sports, that he feels they are now at the same level as the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors.
“Every summer, it’s about getting better and putting yourself in a position to last an entire season. I know how exciting this season is and I know how important it is, so I’m going to take full advantage of it. I have a lot of charity (events), a lot of things going on, but when I’m in that gym that’s kind of my getaway. That’s kind of when I’m locked in.”
“I just knew that in the summertime obviously (Paul) was a free agent, and I wanted to see where his head was. He didn’t seem happy, so after that we just took it from there. Obviously Golden State has been in the Finals and won two out of three, so that’s what everybody is trying to build up against. But we’re right there. We’re right there. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do, but it definitely puts us in a better chance.”
The Rockets are coming off a solid season where they won 55 games, and finished second in the Western Conference. Harden also had a career year, leading the league in assists and ranked second in scoring, which made him a runner-up for the MVP Award that Russell Westbrook ultimately won.
While there is no doubt that Harden and Paul are two of the best players in the league today, the potential issue they may face is proving that they can co-exist on the floor throughout the year. If they’ll be able to successfully show that, the Rockets might just surprise many if they can dethrone the heavily-favored Warriors, on their way to the title.
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