This week, ESPN has released its predictions for the Eastern and Western Conferences prior to the 2024-25 season.
In that article, the world’s leading sports publication predicted the 2025 play-in standings, with the Houston Rockets coming in at No. 10 in the West with a 44-38 record. The New Orleans Pelicans come in at No. 7, followed by the Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies and Rockets to round out what ESPN called “the play-in bracket.”
In the current NBA Play-In tournament format, the two highest seeds and the two lowest seeds play each other, with the winner of the seventh and eighth seeds earning the No. 7 playoff seed and the loser playing the winner of the ninth and 10th seeds with the No. 8 playoff seed on the line.
In the scenario presented by ESPN, the Pelicans and Warriors would meet at the same time as the Rockets and Grizzlies. The loser between New Orleans and Golden State would play the winner of Houston’s game against Memphis for the final playoff spot.
In 2023, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Pelicans, giving the Lakers the No. 7 seed while New Orleans was forced to eliminate Sacramento just to get the No. 8 seed before being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Last season, the Rockets finished 11th overall and 41-41, but appear poised to improve with a number of young players on the roster and the addition of the No. 3 overall pick. Reed Sheppard.
If Houston can add a few more wins to its resume from last year as ESPN predicted, the Rockets will have a solid chance of making the playoffs, even in what appears to be a very competitive Western Conference.
Although the San Antonio Spurs were not included in the “play-in bracket” in ESPN’s predictions, Victor Wembanyama and company are probably the Rockets’ biggest threat to making the playoffs outside of the teams already listed above Houston.
As the French phenomenon begins its second season and Chris Paul join the list, Gregg Popovitch and the Spurs could realistically challenge the Rockets for a playoff spot this year.
