THE Houston Rockets‘ dominant 137-114 victory over the Wizards of Washington improved their record to 33-35 to remain 11th in the Western Conference. They are desperately trying to hunt down the LA Lakers (37-32) and the Golden State Warriors (35-32) for the final Play-In spot.
Tuesday’s win at Washington extended their surprising streak to six games and cut the Dubs’ lead in the standings to just 2.5 games.
Finding yourself 2.5 games behind for the final Play-In spot isn’t impossible, but the young Rockets will have to be nearly perfect to overtake the Warriors. Houston also can’t afford to pile up win after win to climb the standings. They hope the teams they pursue also falter.
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The Houston Rockets’ goal of surpassing the LA Lakers or Golden State Warriors won’t be easy either. To land a Play-In ticket, they will have to do so without emerging star Alperen Sengun. The Turkish international’s Grade 3 ankle sprain would keep him sidelined for the remainder of the Rockets’ schedule.
Over the past two weeks, the Rockets have done extremely well with their offensive mainstay. But, as the stakes rise with each passing game, no one knows if Houston won’t wilt under the pressure.
Houston Rockets must overcome Alperen Sengun injury and strength of schedule
The absence of Alperen Sengun for the remainder of the season will only make the Houston Rockets’ goal of making the Play-In Tournament even more difficult. According to Tankathon, they have the 11th strongest program left. THE Los Angeles Lakers are 19th while the Golden State Warriors are 26th.
Houston still has two games left against “Luka Legend’s” Dallas Mavericks. Jalen Green and his teammates still have to face the OKC Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, LA Clippers, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic. The Rockets are not guaranteed to sweep the Utah Jazz in three games and also beat the Chicago Bulls.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka’s group will likely be favorites only against the Portland Trail Blazers and home games against Utah and Chicago. They are expected to be the underdogs against everyone else.
The Houston Rockets have missed the playoffs for the last three years. To have any chance of ending this streak, they will have to overcome a busy schedule and Alperen Sengun’s injury.
Green Jalen, Jabari Smith Jr., Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson have stepped up in recent weeks. They will have to play much better to chase down two of the NBA’s flagship franchises for the final Play-In spot.
