After sending the Utah Jazz home in a Game 5 victory, the Houston Rockets are in the position they have chased since May 28, 2019.
In case you’ve somehow forgotten, that was the date Houston lost a brutal Game 7 to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. At one point, Houston led the series 3-2, but Chris Paul missed both Game 6 and Game 7, and the Rockets didn’t quite have enough to overcome Paul’s injury against the defending champions.
This season, however, Houston is completely healthy with a deeper bench. The Rockets had less depth a season ago, and a separated shoulder really limited Luc Mbah a Moute‘s effectiveness in the 2018 playoffs.