3. Win the 2019 NBA Finals

I’ll admit it: this goal is overly simple. That doesn’t mean it’s not absolutely the number one goal of the Rockets this year, though.

After getting so close the previous year, there’s no reason to think they couldn’t finally get over the hurdle this year.

And this year might be the Rockets’ best chance at finally overcoming the Warriors. Chris Paul is 33-years-old, and he isn’t getting any younger. Oh, and his four-year deal worth $160-million isn’t getting any smaller.

While Paul maintained his elite level of play this past season, there’s no denying that a drop-off in production is lingering. And as he enters the back-end of that deal and his mid-to-late 30s, the Rockets will be handcuffed by his and Harden’s salaries. They will have less room to add newer prime-aged talent in the next couple years, save for paying egregious amounts of money in luxury tax.

Right now, Houston has talent that rivals anyone in the league, a top-end coach, and a GM in Daryl Morey who desperately wants to win.

For the Rockets, it’s championship or bust.