Inside The Rockets

The Rockets Face Final Tests of the Season

The Houston Rockets have some difficult matchups before they reach the postseason, and some could have seeding implications.

Trenton Whiting

Mar 21, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) drives past Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) in the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Mar 21, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) drives past Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell (45) in the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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The Houston Rockets are nearing the end of the season while holding the second seed in the Western Conference. They've maintained their position with a timely winning streak and some difficult losses by some conference competitors. Houston will have a chance to give those teams a few more losses as they face several squads heading to the postseason.

Houston will play the No. 3 seeded Los Angeles Lakers and the No. 4 seeded Denver Nuggets twice each. The Rockets will play both games against the Lakers in Los Angeles, but they'll host Denver for both games against the Nuggets.

The Lakers and Nuggets lost a few games in a row, dropping in the standings and allowing Houston to gain more of an advantage in the No. 2 seed. They're both trying to bounce back from losing two games in a row.

Los Angeles suffered defeats to the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers were missing most of their rotation players against the Bucks, but their full roster was available for a blowout defeat to the Bulls. Chicago not only withstood a big game from Luka Doncic, it also countered with a few big scoring performances from Coby White and Matas Buzelis. Los Angeles wasn't close to winning either game after a poor offensive performance against the Bucks and a poor defensive outing against the Bulls.

The Nuggets have dealt with injury concerns as their two losses came without Nikola Jokic. He has missed three straight games and is set to miss Denver's match against the Rockets.

Jokic is a major factor behind Denver's success this season. He can't afford to miss much more time before the playoffs, and any postseason injury could spell doom for the Nuggets. Houston will try to take advantage of his absence as the team enters the final stretch as healthy as its been in 2025.

Houston's games against the Nuggets, Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers will decide the final order of the standings leading into the Play-In Tournament. The Rockets hope to win most of their games against their fellow playoff opponents and hold on to the second seed.

It won't be easy, as each Western Conference roster is loaded with talent and at least one player capable of making a first or second All-NBA team. The Rockets don't have a player of that caliber yet, so they'll try to compete with their full arsenal of long athletic guards and wings to wreak havoc on defense and take flight on offense. With the regular season coming to a close, finding wins against Western Conference contenders is of the utmost importance.

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Trenton Whiting
TRENTON WHITING

Trenton is a Houston-born, Pearland-raised University of Houston graduate who first developed his love for journalism while in school. He began his professional career as a sports reporter for a newspaper in Columbus, Texas, before becoming the managing editor.

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