Paul-Rondo tiff in the past
The Rockets game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night is expected to be the first in which guards Chris
Paul and Rajon Rondo play against one another since their memorable incident in the second game of the season.
That was when Rondo spit at Paul, Paul struck Rondo and the NBA handed suspensions to both along with the Lakers’
Brandon Ingram for his role in the fight that followed.
Paul, however, said he had not even considered that aspect of Thursday’s game until asked about it.
“There’s a lot of worse things that have happened since then,” said Paul, who missed 17 games with a hamstring injury just as Rondo missed 17 games following right hand surgery. “I forgot about it. Once the fine, write the check, move on.”
Coach Mike D’Antoni was not concerned about the rematch becoming a distraction with the Rockets’ need to win games greater than to make a point. The Rockets are 3-0 against the Lakers this season.
“That seems like three seasons ago, doesn’t it? It really does. I mean, unbelievable,” D’Antoni said. “I’m not putting anything into it. I don’t know how the players will feel about it. “It’s another game. We need to win it and go on.”
Getting old gang back together
As much as the Rockets needed to get injured players back to be at their best, with Chris Paul returning from his hamstring injury to play five of the final six games before the break and Clint Capela expected back from thumb surgery on Thursday, Paul said they need their full roster to see what they can be.
Paul, Capela and James
Harden have not played in the same game since Dec. 20 and have been healthy and available at the same time for just 23 games this season.
“If we went on a winning streak with me out, that was still not our team,” Paul said. “And if we won all our games with Clint out, that’s not our team.
“If we were undefeated without Clint, it’s not like when he was healthy we would be like, ‘No, stay out, we don’t need you.’ We won’t know what we look like until we get everybody.”
The All-Star break might have been well-timed for the Rockets, offering a fresh start following two particularly disheartening losses in the three games beforehand.
“I think the break was good for everybody, the tough loss against OKC and the Minnesota loss,” Paul said.
“Hopefully — we’re going to see — it was a good break for everybody to get away for a couple of days and (now) get to work.”