Chris Paul and the Rockets Are Back at Full-Strength

It’s hard to find a more significant turnaround over the last three months than what we’ve seen from the Rockets since their nadir in early December. Houston dropped to 11–14 after blowing an eight-point lead to Dallas with under three minutes remaining on Dec. 8, limping off the floor at the American Airlines Center in Dallas following a pair of late buckets from Luka Doncic. Houston’s 25-game stretch to open 2018-19 marked a complete reversal from last year’s 65-win squad, and as James Harden and Co. sank to 14th in the West, the whispers began; was last year Houston’s lone chance at a Finals berth?

The concerns quieted as the calendar turned to 2019, and they should be muted after…