Chris Paul to Houston is a curious move

Just about any team in the NBA is better when they can acquire Chris Paul, but the Houston Rockets may be the on exception. The Rockets traded Patrick Beverly, Sam Dekker, Lou Williams, Darrun Hilliard, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Wiltjer, DeAndre Liggins, a top-three protected 2018 first round pick and $661,000 to the Clippers for Paul.

When Paul announced he was opting out of his deal with the Clippers it made sense that he would leave. And now with a revelation that his relationship with head coach Doc Rivers has deteriorated ever since his addition of Austin Rivers to the team, it is obvious that he was planning on leaving La La Land. But how exactly will Paul work in Houston?

When Mike D’Antoni took over the Rockets he immediately made James Harden his point guard, figuring the more times the ball was in Harden’s hands, the better. That decision paid off this year and Harden not only had his best year as a pro, but the Rockets were a significant threat in the Western Conference. But the addition of Paul means somebody will have to move off the point. There is no logical way the Rockets can move Paul off the point. He’s one of the best point guards in the league, but how can they move Harden off the point after so much success last year?

Having that much talent in a single backcourt certainly, makes the Clippers as dangerous as any team. According to FiveThirtyEight, Harden and Paul had a combined assist rate of 97.5-percent last season, which is easily the highest in NBA history. Their combined usage of 58.6-percent ranked third in league history, trailing only LeBron James with both Dwayne Wade and Kyrie Irving. Both are great shooters and scorers as well.

But remember, those numbers were composites when they were on different teams, both as the focal point of different offenses. Together, roles will change, their number of touches will change, and the offense will change. There will just have to be a wait-and-see game with how it works out with them together next year, but it does seem difficult to see it working as wonderfully as it does on paper.

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Corey Johns

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You could say Corey was born to become a sports journalist. His father won a national championship coaching college soccer. His mother is a baseball fanatic who hasn't missed seeing an Orioles game since 1983 (literally, sometimes it's annoying). His great uncle was a big-time boxing promoter and his maternal grandfather was once a department head at the Baltimore Sun. Basically, sports and journalism run through his blood. He played just about every little league sports there was when he was a kid and was a multi-sport athlete in high school; even playing in the first-ever high school sanction Rugby game in the country. Eventually he retired from sports as an undefeated Maryland state Rugby champion as a high school senior. Perhaps lack of athletic talent has more to do with the retirement, but he will tell you that it more had to do with a great desire to jump right into media. Upon his graduation from University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a triple communications major, Corey started the So Much Sports network and has continued to grow his websites and continues to work to make them premier sports media outlets.

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