A current staff social media put up touting the Houston Rockets’ return to the NBA playoffs for the primary time in 5 seasons proclaims, “WE ARE SO BACK.”
Don’t look now, Western Convention, however a jelling core on a late-season surge might give this Rockets run some endurance.
Houston entered Tuesday with 15 wins in its previous 17 video games and a 3 1/2-game edge on the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 2 seed within the West. The pesky Rockets have shaken a number of fellow contenders — together with conference- and league-leading Oklahoma Metropolis — whereas laying blueprints for extra mayhem.
“We’ve upped our physicality, upped our depth general, and I feel guys are simply actually locked in on either side of the ball,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka mentioned. “Getting what we would like offensively, guarding the way in which we’re defensively, it’s what we wish to see going into the playoffs.”
Conversely, the remainder of the West would simply as quickly see something however such cohesion from the Rockets with 5 days left within the common season. Whereas main scorer Jalen Inexperienced is averaging 22.6 factors, 5.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 24 video games for the reason that All-Star break, seven teammates have joined him in claiming the position of staff excessive scorer over that span.
On Sunday, Dillon Brooks contributed 24 factors and Alperen Sengun notched a double-double with 19 factors and 14 rebounds to carry the Rockets to a 106–96 victory at Golden State — one in every of a number of groups vying for positioning within the Nos. 4–8 vary within the West.
Houston hounded Warriors star Stephen Curry all through the sport, limiting him to 3 factors on 1-for-10 capturing, together with seven misses on eight makes an attempt from deep.
Pending outcomes of the upcoming play-in event, as many as 4 Western Convention playoff groups might hail from California. The win in opposition to the Warriors was promising, then, because it snapped Houston’s seven-game highway shedding streak in opposition to Golden State.
The Rockets on Friday can finish a seven-game highway skid in opposition to the Lakers, which might all however sew up the No. 2 seed.
Ought to seeding maintain within the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Rockets must prevail in Oklahoma Metropolis to achieve the franchise’s first NBA Finals since 1994–95.
Whereas there isn’t precedent for that this season — the Rockets misplaced each highway conferences to the Thunder by a mixed 28 factors — Houston absolutely boasts current bragging rights over OKC, which lengthy had a bead on home-court benefit within the playoffs.
Fueled by Inexperienced (34 factors) and Sengun (31), the host Rockets ended the Thunder’s 11-game profitable streak with a 14-point victory Friday.
The Thunder trimmed a 23-point deficit to single digits within the fourth quarter earlier than Inexperienced helped the Rockets regain management. He scored 15 factors within the fourth as Houston led by double digits for the final 7:09.
“Our guys perceive what’s at stake arising,” Udoka mentioned. “I feel we’ve made a acutely aware effort to actually lock in and focus.”
Additional cramming has include the territory, however the Rockets don’t thoughts.
“We wish to be very sharp and deliberate about what we’re doing going into the playoffs,” Udoka mentioned. “We’ve thrown a little bit bit extra at them so far as preparation, and our guys are dealing with it properly.
“Understanding that that is the extent it’s going to get to, these are groups we’re going to play in opposition to. And for our guys which have by no means been there, it was about enjoying nice basketball heading into postseason.”
In the end, the Rockets are “SO BACK” within the playoffs.
And it’s trying like that keep could possibly be substantial.