Chris Paul Says The 2017-18 Houston Rockets' Only Goal Was To Defeat The Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors made five consecutive NBA Finals appearances from 2015 to 2019. During that time span, no Western Conference team managed to get the better of the Warriors in the playoffs.

But if there was one team that pushed the Warriors to their limits, it was the 2017-18 Houston Rockets. Former Rockets star Chris Paul revealed on ESPN's 'The Hoop Collective' podcast that their sole goal that season was to defeat the Warriors in the postseason.

"To be real honest with you, that first year in Houston might have been top two, top three, or the best team I ever played on," Paul told ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "Seriously, we were so connected defensively, and offensively. When I talk about basketball, in those years I was in Houston, we played the entire season to get ready for one team: Golden State."

CP3 added: "We played the entire season, our defensive game plan, our offensive game plan, every single game was to get ready for Golden State ’cause there’s a certain way you had to play in order to beat those teams.”

(Starts at 14:05)

The 2017-18 Houston Rockets were a special team led by Chris Paul and James Harden. They had the best record in the league, finishing as the first seed in the Western Conference with a 65-17 record.

The Rockets reached the 2018 Western Conference Finals, where they faced off against the Golden State Warriors. It took the eventual champions seven games to eliminate the Rockets.

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A Terrible Shooting Night From The Three-Point Line Cost The Rockets A Berth In The 2018 NBA Finals

At one point in the series, the Rockets lead 3-2. Even after losing Game 6 of the series, many expected them to close the job in Game 7. The Rockets could have very well done that if it wasn't for a historically terrible three-point shooting night.

The Rockets missed 27 consecutive three-pointers, which allowed the Warriors to record a 101-92 win. 

Houston blew a 15-point lead in the process and to this day, it remains one of the biggest choke jobs in NBA history. Even Kevin Durant was surprised at how the Rockets missed wide-open three-pointers that night.

If the Rockets had changed their game plan and attacked the paint, they could have easily closed out the series and had a shot at winning the 2018 NBA Championship.

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