The gathering is a fire, and the scattering is full of stars. For the Rockets that fought with the Warriors in the West Conference, it must be a difficult hurdle in the hearts of many Rockets fans. At that time, the Rockets led by the "Light Bulb Combination", with Gordon, Ariza, Tucker, Gerald Green, Capela and other outstanding role players, if it were not for the Warriors in the sky, I am afraid that they would have rushed out of the West and the Cavaliers Division Finals, and according to the competitiveness of the Rockets at that time, it was not impossible to win the championship in the end. Unfortunately, Paul strained his hamstring at a critical moment, which also made the Rockets lose their lead, and unfortunately lost to the Golden State Army in the Battle of July 1.
After being eliminated by the Warriors 4-2 in the semifinals the following season, the light bulb group also disbanded, and although it ushered in the All-Star backcourt of Westbrook, the Rockets who never rushed into the Western Conference Finals again, also completely entered the rebuild after trading Harden to the Nets last season. Now this new rocket, the only one who has experienced the original Western Conference final is Gordon. And Harden, Tucker, Paul, these major contributors, have been scattered in various teams, Tucker after leaving Houston, but also to go to two places, fortunately last season also followed the Bucks to realize their championship dream, becoming the only player in the "Western Conference Finals Rockets" to win the championship.
Paul and Harden are in the top two of the league assist list this season, both of them averaging 10 assists per game, Paul also helped the fish-belly team transform into a Finals team after joining the Suns last season, only two wins away from the first title of their careers. The Suns reached a 4-year 120 million maximum salary renewal with him in the offseason, and Paul, who is 36 years old this season, although the average score per game is only the lowest 13.9 points in his career, these 10 assists are indeed an important factor for the Suns to rank first in the league, and the Suns, who are currently proud of the league with 34 wins and 9 losses, are really likely to continue to attack the Finals under Paul's leadership.
Although Harden's state has declined this season, he can still hand over a quasi-triple-double of 22.7 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists, and in the absence of Durant and Irving not long ago, the Nets rely on Harden's single-core team to stabilize the current throne of the top three in the East.
Harden and Paul dominate the assist list, three-point shooting rate list, the same two rocket-related players, PJ Tucker with an average of 47.4% per game three-point shooting rate is high in the league, Gordon is ranked second with 45.5% shooting rate. After Harden and Westbrook left last season, Tucker also lost confidence in the Rockets, forcing the palace team to trade it, and the Rockets also fulfilled his wishes, sent Tucker to the Bucks, and joined forces with brother Alphabet, resulting in the best 3D Although only 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in the regular season, the awakening in the playoffs also made a contribution to the Bucks' championship. This season to the Heat, the 36-year-old Tucker has averaged 8.4 points per game, ushering in another spring in his career, and this score is even higher than he was in the Rockets, the third highest in his career, and according to the current momentum of the Heat, Tucker is not without a chance to usher in the second crown of his career.
As for the "round face" that still sticks to Houston, this is his 6th year for the Rockets, although the team has begun to rebuild, But Gordon is still the team's focus on the core of the backcourt, averaging the third highest point in the team per game 14.9 points, but in view of the recent rumors about Gordon's trade, the Rockets' only "Western Conference Finals experience" is probably going to say goodbye to HughEs.