Tie Breakers May Come Into Play for the Houston Rockets This Season

Every Western Conference game for the Houston Rockets takes on even more significance in tight playoff race.

Jan 3, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka on the bench against the Boston Celtics during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets were not concerned about tiebreakers and postseason seeding the three seasons prior to 2023-24. After James Harden's departure, the Rockets went into full rebuilding mode, and were more concerned with player development.

Last season, the Rockets had their first taste of Playoffs-esque basketball in late-March, fighting for the last Play-In spot before fading in the standings the last two weeks. So far this season, the Rockets have been near the top of the conference standings, and more than ever, tiebreakers will become important for playoff seeding.

Even though the Rockets are in the third seed at the moment they are only three games in the loss column from the seventh seed and a possible play-in game. The Western Conference currently has ten teams that are .500 or better.

That means a two-game losing streak could drop you from a top three seed to a sixth seed in a matter of days. The Rockets opponent tonight the Los Angeles Lakers come into Toyota Center at 20-14 only two games behind the Rockets.

This will be the Rocket's first matchup against the Lakers this season after splitting the four matchups last season. Tonight's game also marks another matchup between Ime Udoka and LeBron James. Last season, James and Udoka had a run in which they got into a heated exchange, leading to Udoka's second technical and ejection.

Part of Udoka's frustration was how the Rockets were playing, but he also wanted to convey to his team that he didn't want them to take a backseat to anyone. Besides the bad feelings between the two teams, the Rockets want to get a leg up when it comes to the head-to-head matchup.

The Houston Rockets try to get back into the win column as they host the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night.

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