Chris Paul says he’s not overly concerned with Houston’s early-season struggles.
CP3, taking the long view, doesn’t believe anyone can beat the Rockets “four out of seven times” in a playoff series.
"I'm still not that concerned…Somebody's gotta beat us 4 out of 7 times. I don't see that happening."
That's what Chris Paul said when I asked about his concern level after last night's loss dropped Rockets below .500 23 games in.@CBSSportsNBA: https://t.co/Y5AEqAmsfj
— Reid Forgrave (@ReidForgrave) December 4, 2018
The Rockets, winners of a franchise-record 65 games last season, have sputtered to an 11-12 start and are currently 13th in the Western Conference standings.
Per CBS Sports:
And yet while this team certainly isn’t pleased with their start — “Our record ain’t that good,” Paul said — they remain relatively sanguine that they’ll still be right in the mix when it matters most.
“I’m still not that concerned, to tell you the truth,” Paul replied. “Somebody’s gotta beat us four out of seven times. I don’t see that happening.”
After Monday’s loss, coach Mike D’Antoni scolded me for bringing up the notion of comparing this Rockets team to last year’s Rockets team: “You shouldn’t, because it really doesn’t matter. This is our team this year. Who cares? Who cares? That’s the Rockets of the past. We can’t compare ourselves to Olajuwon or anybody. This is us. We gotta figure this out.”
Yet in D’Antoni’s own locker room, Paul was making the same comparison, unbidden, noting that last year’s team lost 17 games all season while this year’s team is already sitting at 12 losses.
“It’s a lot different than last year,” Paul said. “But once we figure it out, we’ll be alright.”
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