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After a tough loss at home to the Golden State Warriors, the Houston Rockets dropped to 42-26 and into a tie for the third seed in the Western Conference. With just 14 games left to play, the Rockets are almost certain to make the playoffs but are fighting to give themselves the best possible seeding in a loaded Western Conference.
Behind monster outings from Steph Curry and Demarcus Cousins, the Warriors jumped out to an early lead against James Harden and the Rockets. However, the Rockets would mount a spirited comeback late in the fourth quarter and were able to pull the game to within one point with just 10 seconds to play.
In what has become a running theme in the Rockets-Warriors rivalry, the game ended up coming down to the final buzzer with James Harden (maybe) deliberately missing a free throw in order to try for a game-tying tip-in. Harden struggled mightily from deep, but secondary scorer Chris Paul made a number of clutch plays down the stretch to give the Rockets a shot at stealing away the win.
Houston Rockets Playoff Forecast & Prediction
Now in a tie for the three seed with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Rockets turn their attention to their remaining 14 games in order to ensure them at least home-court advantage in the first round and an opportunity to avoid the Golden State Warriors until the conference finals. With the 20th toughest remaining strength of schedule in the NBA, the Rockets have a relatively easy path down the home stretch.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, on the other hand, have the third toughest remaining schedule with two games against the Raptors and one apiece against the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, and Indiana Pacers. The Rockets and Thunder actually meet each other in the final game of the regular season and should the Thunder be able to keep pace with the Rockets despite the schedule disparity, the matchup could be the one to decide who faces the Warriors in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Harden Struggles from Deep Despite Big Scoring Night
Although Harden led all Rockets with 29 points on the night, he struggled from three-point range, going just 2-12. Harden’s struggles from deep were a major factor in the Rocket’s early deficit and allowed the Warriors to comfortably open up a big run early on that they would coast on for the majority of the game.
Despite almost coming back late, Chris Paul was more the catalyst in that run and came up with a huge and-one to pull the Rockets within one point. While the Rockets may be better suited deferring to Paul when Harden goes cold, he remains such a dynamic scorer that you simply cannot risk taking the ball out of his hands and missing out if he gets hot. This outing showed that although Paul and Clint Capela are back in the lineup offering a more versatile offensive look, this team still lives and dies with the play of James Harden.
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