The Rockets Could Put Distance Between Themselves and the Lakers

The Houston Rockets had a bounce-back win over the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night at the Toyota Center following their most lopsided loss of the season to the Denver Nuggets.

The Rockets came dangerously close to another heartbreaking loss. The Rockets led most of the game, holding a six-point lead before the Pelicans stormed back and took the lead. However, after a Jabari Smith 3-pointer and a Kevin Durant mid-range jumper, the Rockets were able to pull out a victory.

The win moved the Rockets to 41-25 on the season as they continue to flip-flop between the third and fourth seeds. The Rockets have been one of those two seeds for the last month.

Sometimes they are fighting with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the third spot, sometimes with the Denver Nuggets, and, more recently, with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers, coming off a comeback win over the Nuggets, are currently the third seed.

LeBron James, Luka Doncic and the Lakers have won five games in a row and are currently a half-game ahead of the Rockets for the third seed. The third seed is important because, as it currently stands, the third seed would more than likely face the Spurs in the second round instead of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who the winner of the 4/5 series would face.

That is what makes this week's games so important, as the postseason is fast approaching and the Rockets have only 16 games left before the playoffs.

The Rockets Can Put Some Major Distance Between Themselves and the Lakers This Week

Starting Monday, the Rockets will host back-to-back games against the Lakers, with Wednesday's game the final regular-season matchup between the two teams.

The Rockets won the only matchup of the season with the Lakers up to this point. On Christmas night, the Rockets dominated from the start and won easily, 119-96, never trailing. Amen Thompson was the leading scorer in the game, finishing with 26 points.

Now the Rockets have a chance not only to pick up two games on the Lakers but also to take the all-important season series, which factors into tie-breakers in the standings at the end of the season.

The Lakers come in as healthy as they have been all season, with only Maxy Kleiber showing up on the injury report for them. Of course, the Rockets have dealt with injuries all season as Steven Adams is out for the season, Fred VanVleet is still out after offseason surgery, Jae’Sean Tate is still out, and now Alperen Sengun is listed as questionable with lower back pain.

The Rockets understand how important the third seed is, even if they want to talk about it in public, because you never want to give the opposing team any bulletin board material. The Rockets look to move back into the third seed with a win over the Lakers Monday night at the Toyota Center.