Since the start of March, Jalen Green and the Rockets have shown strength with a 7-1 record.
David J. Phillip/Associated PressThe Rockets’ play-in chances have changed. This is not the case with mentality.
When the Rockets returned from the All-Star break, having stumbled in too many games against too many teams far from the playoffs to consider their own chances of reaching the playoffs, they vowed to worry only about how they played, rather than where it might take them.
They always intend to think this way. Play like a playoff — or at least play-in — team, and maybe they will be one.
“We want it, for sure,” Rockets guard Fred VanVleet said. “I think the common theme is just play well, and everything else will take care of itself. We play good basketball, we play together. I think we will have a chance in the final stretch. It’s just there for us.
“At the end of the day, we know what the issues are. To have a real chance, we have to play our best in the last few weeks. I think the group has found that swag and that energy as we put some real effort in here.
Entering March, the Rockets were 25-34, in 12th place in the Western Conference, seven games behind the Lakers for the final play-in spot.
The Rockets went 7-1 this month, placing themselves 3½ games behind the Warriors and Lakers to reach the play-in games.
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Houston, however, was careful not to overemphasize the rankings. The Rockets changed the game by focusing on their game rather than what it could do for them. That’s always the plan.
“We haven’t discussed it much,” coach Ime Udoka said. “I think everyone knows what the standings are and where we are. We just want to play good basketball, consistent basketball, and the results will come by themselves.
“(We) put ourselves in a hole earlier with some of the ups and downs and games we let slip away, or we might be in a different place right now. Now you’re going to have to do it yourself and get some back-end help. But first we have to do our part, and we’ll see where it all ends up.
The Rockets pushed themselves to the brink with losses to struggling teams, including Brooklyn, Toronto and Memphis. Since the break, they have taken care of business against teams at the bottom of the standings – San Antonio, Portland and Washington, with the first two eliminated on the road – and recorded road wins in Phoenix and Sacramento.
That set up Saturday’s test against the Cavaliers, the Rockets’ first game against a team with a winning record since Alperen Sengün And Cam Whitmore have been hurt. Houston led the Cavs by 27 en route to a 117-103 victorymaintaining momentum ahead of a one-game trip to Washington and a relatively soft part of the schedule.
The Rockets’ next four games will be against teams with losing records, although the Bulls, who the Rockets face on Thursday, have dominated Houston in Chicago this season and are 7-3 in their last 10 games to advance to Eastern Conference play-in position.
Houston’s schedule will get considerably tougher in the final 10 games, but overall the Rockets, Warriors and Lakers have comparable schedules.
The Rockets (32-35) have eight games remaining against teams with winning records, split evenly between home and road.
The Lakers (36-32) have eight games remaining against teams with a winning record, including five at home.
The Warriors (35-31) have nine games remaining against teams with winning records, including five on the road. One of their games against a team with a losing record brings them to the Toyota Center on April 4 to face the Rockets.
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This will be a key stretch for the Rockets if they can stay in contention through the end of March. From March 31 to April 7, they will host the Mavericks, travel to Minnesota, host Golden State and Miami and visit Dallas.
They would probably need to win some of these games, not only to catch the Warriors or Lakers, but potentially to win the tiebreaker against Los Angeles.
The Warriors already have the tiebreaker against the Rockets, having won two of three meetings this season. The Rockets and Lakers split their two games, setting the conference tiebreaker record, where the Rockets have the advantage. The Rockets are 22-19 in Western Conference games; the Lakers 24-23.
Looking at the previous three seasons, the Rockets’ presence in the play-in race, alongside the Lakers and Warriors, represents a considerable improvement. But the Rockets expected it when they brought in a group of veterans to bolster a young core, and they demonstrated the improvement well before there was any reason to consider schedules over the past four weeks.
No matter where the Rockets end up, there’s an upside to having their first, second and third year players participate in high-stakes late-season games.
“I’ve been on teams myself where you knew you were done in December or January,” Udoka said. “It’s not the best feeling. Having something to play for, but also changing the mindset and mentality here, was one of the main goals this year. I think we did that from the beginning. To have a chance to still play something at this point in the season but also finish on a good note, the guys continue to grow. This is the first year with me, and I think we’ve seen the progress.
“Things are starting to improve a little here and there. We’d like to have that momentum next year, wherever we land.
With just 15 games remaining for the Rockets to make up necessary ground on the Lakers or Warriors, there are still chances of not landing in a play-in spot. The Rockets spent their margin of error before the All-Star break. But if the goal is simply to play at the level of a playoff team, they don’t depend on looking at the standings.
“We started well and had a lull in the middle with ups and downs,” Udoka said. “We would like to get back to playing like we did earlier, which is more consistent basketball. We saw it recently. We’d love to end on a high note…and see where it goes.
They would like this to fall into the playoff games, where they would likely have to win twice on the road to reaching the postseason. While playing with high stakes in March can be valuable, win-or-go games in April could be even more beneficial in the Rocketrs’ final rebuilding phase.
“We’re trying to put pressure on it,” guard Jalen Green said. “Obviously you see we have a lot more wins than the last two years, so it’s good to see the progress and what we can do. We’re trying to get better every day and make a run.”
