The Beard and CP3: Houston’s Game 7 Heartbreak

In summer 2017, Chris Paul was traded to the Houston Rockets to join James Harden, forming the "Bledsoe-Harden" (Beard-and-CP3) backcourt. Two elite ball-handlers together made the Rockets the Warriors' biggest Western threat.

In 2017-18 the Rockets posted a league-best 65 wins, and Paul-Harden's dual-screen offense hummed. In the West Finals against the mighty Warriors, Houston battled through four games. In a crucial Game 5 on the road, Paul hit big shot after big shot to seize the series lead—then pulled his right hamstring on a drive and left the floor. That painful celebration became the most gut-wrenching image of his career.

Up 3-2, at home, one win from the Finals—everyone thought Paul would finally touch the Finals floor. But without him in Games 6 and 7, Houston's offense dulled. In Game 7 the Rockets' threes bricked (27 attempts, only 7 made), falling 92-101, the series 3-4.

That night's Houston rain extinguished the most real title hope of the "Bledsoe-Harden" era. If Paul had been healthy, maybe it'd be different—a debate that lingers. But basketball has no "if." The hamstring became the metaphor of Paul's career: always just a little short.

After Houston, Paul was traded to Oklahoma City, beginning an unexpected redemption.

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