Two Teams That Could Expose Rockets in Playoffs

The Houston Rockets have a couple tricky matchups to navigate in a potential playoff series.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams drives to the basket against Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets are going into the playoffs likely holding on to the No. 2 seed, but given how deep the Western Conference is this season, no matchup will be easy for them.

The Rockets could face the Los Angeles Clippers at some point before a potential matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

Both teams were identified by ESPN analyst Kevin Pelton as teams who could exploit the Rockets, especially in their half-court offense.

"The Rockets are second in half-court defense, per Cleaning the Glass, but they could face the Clippers or the Thunder. The Clippers would be a dangerous first-round opponent based on their stout defense, league-leading defensive rebound rate and advantage over Houston in playoff experience," Pelton writes.

"Although the Rockets have won three regular-season meetings (the teams play Wednesday in L.A.), Kawhi Leonard hasn't played against Houston this season, and James Harden missed the most recent matchup.

"If the Rockets can get to the conference finals as the No. 2 seed, it's all gravy but they've also managed to hand the Thunder two of their 13 losses during a five-game season series. On Friday, Houston shot an effective 56% from the field (counting 3s as 1.5 field goals) in a 125-111 win."

The Rockets took care of the Thunder on Friday, and they will have one last chance to beat the Clippers in the regular season on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. CT before possibly facing off against them in the playoffs, which begin on April 19.