Though the Rockets are off to a 2-0 start, they could be without star point guard Chris Paul for up to a month.
According to Marc Stein, Houston fears C. Paul could miss some time while recovering from the injury. Though he's officially listed as day-to-day, Stein noted HOU will be very cautious w/ Paul, as there are larger stakes at hand - sitting out and fully recovering now, rather than fighting through it, is the preferred method for a squad w/ title aspirations.
Without Paul, HOU remains a formidable unit. A second team featuring (reigning) 6MOY Eric Gordon & new acquisitions PJ Tucker & Luc Mbah a Moute, Mike D'Antoni has plenty of lineup combinations at his disposal.
When C. Paul sat out the end of HOU's Opening Night victory v. GSW, E. Gordon, P. Tucker & L. Mbah a Moute shared the floor w/ James Harden & Clint Capela.
Trevor Ariza & Ryan Anderson, two key starters, remain staples in MDA's lineup, could see increased PT* in wake of Paul's injury.
HOU looks to continue their hot start v. DAL on Saturday.
*Rox could go big w/ a lineup of J. Harden, P. Tucker, T. Ariza, R. Anderson & C. Capela w/ E. Gordon & L. Mbah a Moute (primarily) rotating in