The Rockets are still figuring out how to use Chris Paul

With 4:47 remaining in the fourth quarter and Houston trailing by just five, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni did something unexpected: He put Chris Paul on the bench in favor of Eric Gordon. Houston went on a 13-7 run to close the quarter and defeated the Warriors in the season-opener, 122-121.

If anything was painstakingly clear about Houston in its season opener, it’s this: CP3 or not, this is virtually the same team we saw last season.

“How could you say that?” you might ask.

Paul is one of the best point guards in NBA history. James Harden morphed into a top-three point guard last season. With D’Antoni pulling the strings and two top-tier floor generals at his disposal, Houston should have the most dynamic offense the league has to offer.

But there’s one problem: There’s only one basketball, and Harden — an all-world scorer and the reigning MVP runner-up — controls it. The Rockets paired two players who need the ball to be effective, including Paul, a player who thrives in the mid-range, but isn’t necessarily the best fit on a team that only shoots threes and layups.

The result was visible: A win over the defending champions — who did not have Draymond Green in the fourth quarter — highlighted by more iso-ball and tough shots by Harden, and an awful shooting night for CP3, who finished with 11 assists but only four points on 2-of-9 shooting.

The Rockets do indeed have a win to show for Tuesday night, and the Warriors did take a loss, but this wasn’t the kind of victory Houston fans should have hoped for. Instead of working seamlessly as a unit, Paul and Harden were two separate entities sharing the same court, idly standing by while the other dribbled the ball into oblivion.

That won’t work if the Rockets hope to dethrone the Warriors in the playoffs come May. And odds are, Mike D’Antoni knows it, too.