Former NBA player, Trevor Ariza recently joined Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on a recent episode of the All the Smoke podcast. During his time there, Ariza spoke about many different experiences from his time in the NBA, with a very interesting one being his opinion on the 2017-18 Houston Rockets.
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During that season, the James Harden-led Rockets team was the best offensive team in the NBA, with an offensive rating of 114.1 at the time. And with players like Trevor Ariza, Eric Gordan, and Joe Johnson helping to shore things up on the other end as well, this team was one of the very best in the West.
Facing off against a Kevin Durant-led Golden State Warriors side in the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets even got out to a blazing hot start, quickly putting the superteam on the ropes. However, Chris Paul injured his hamstring during the series, a big reason why the Rockets eventually went down in seven games.
Speaking on the matter on the All the Smoke podcast, Ariza couldn’t hold back his frustration, as seen in the X (Formerly Twitter) post by @BiasedHouston
“We [The 2017-18 Rockets] probably had the best offense at that time. We were top five in defense… That’s the year CP [Chris Paul] got hurt… We was f**king them [Warriors] up! We had them really on the ropes, until he got hurt. And then they just turned it back on.”
Trevor Ariza on the 2017-18 Houston #Rockets:
“We was f*****g (the Warriors) up. We had them on the ropes until (CP3) got hurt.”
(: @shobasketball) pic.twitter.com/aOtQEbFGn6
— ᵂᴵᴸᴸ (@BiasedHouston) December 8, 2023
Today, the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors side is widely regarded as potentially the greatest team of all time. However, it would have been interesting to see what their legacy would have looked like, had Chris Paul never gone down with injury.
It’s likely that every member of the 2017-18 Rockets looks back at that moment painfully to this day.
Chris Paul’s injury wasn’t the only reason the Rockets lost
This series isn’t just infamous for Chris Paul’s injury. In fact, given Houston’s incredible collapse in game seven, the injury is remembered more as a footnote now than anything else.
The Golden State Warriors weren’t having a particularly great night, something that the Rockets could have, and really should have capitalized on. However, the team managed to miss 27 simultaneous three-point attempts, not great, especially considering that the team’s offense was centered around the long ball.
In 2018, James Harden even admitted to Slam Magazine that the loss played on his mind every day. The following is what he said.
“It’s on my mind every day. It’s Game 6, Game 7, that’s what drives me every day,”
Considering that this was James Harden’s best chance to win a championship to this day, it’s unlikely he is sleeping much easier today.
