'I Know They Not Liking This!' Rockets' Tari Eason Speaks on Play-In Race

The Houston Rockets are gaining on the Golden State Warriors for the final spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Dec 27, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) warms up prior to the / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

On Wednesday night, both the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets won their respective games. The overtime victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder propelled the Rockets to their tenth straight win.

With ten games left, the Rockets are only a game back behind the Warriors for the final spot in the postseason, and with an April 4 matchup scheduled between the two teams, the red-hot Rockets have a chance to knock the Warriors out of the Play-In, especially with the upcoming return of Alperen Sengun.

Nov 20, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Houston Rockets guard Dillon Brooks (9) guards Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

The Warriors have practically ran the NBA for the last decade, winning four Finals and making two more. For obvius reasons, the Rockets are excited by the possibility of toppling Golden State.

Tari Eason, who has missed much of the season due to injury, took to Instagram Live to announce that the Rockets are coming for the tenth seed.

"Warriors! Come out to play!" he yelled on social media. "Warriors! Come out to play! Yeah! It's like that!"

His video was captioned with "I know they not liking this." The unnamed "they" could be Warriors' fans, the Warriors themselves, or the NBA as a whole, which has used Stephen Curry and company as their poster boys for the last several years.

With the inevitable decline of Curry and LeBron James, the NBA is looking for a new star(s) to market as the face of the league. It's a little too late in their careers to turn to Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic. But rising young talent Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama, Paolo Banchero, and yes, Jalen Green and Sengun could throw their hat in the ring.

Even if the Rockets do topple the Warriors and then get bounced in the first round of the playoffs, expect the NBA to start to pivot to the young talent they already have.