With third-year guard (and reigning Western Conference Player of the Week) Jalen Green taking on a starring role, the Houston Rockets are stacking wins and suddenly have a plausible path to play April basketball beyond the conclusion of the 2023-24 regular season.
After a six-game winning streak and an 8-1 record in March, the Rockets (33-35) entered Wednesday only 2.5 games back of Golden State (35-32) for the No. 10 spot in the West standings — and with it, a play-in tournament berth to potentially qualify for the 2024 playoffs.
While the Warriors would own the tiebreaker over Houston, it’s worth noting that the Rockets do have one more head-to-head matchup with the Warriors (on April 4) to potentially gain ground. Better yet, it’s at home, where the Rockets are 23-11 this season.
With that in mind, Green and the Rockets aren’t shying away from talking about their end goal. Here’s what Green told Vanessa Richardson of Space City Home Network after Tuesday’s win:
I’ve got a goal right now, and that’s to get to the playoffs, and just win. Stack as many Ws as we can before the end of the season, and pray that we can get into the play-in [tournament]. That’s the main focus, right now.
Everyone is playing hard. We’re chasing something, right now. I think we’ve all got the same goal, and everyone is on board with it.
The complete video can be viewed below.
With Green leading the way (particularly after Alperen Sengun’s multi-week injury), the Rockets will look to keep their momentum rolling when they host Chicago (34-35) on Thursday at Toyota Center. Tipoff of that game, which kicks off a three-game homestand versus opponents who all have losing records, is at 7:00 p.m. Central.
On paper, it’s an ideal opportunity for the Rockets to do exactly what Green stated: Stack more wins as the chase continues.
#Rockets beat the Wizards 137-114
Jalen Green 42 POINTS (T-CAREER HIGH) & 10 REB@SportsVanessa with @JalenGreen after the @HoustonRockets WIN pic.twitter.com/SwK5ER3j8w
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) March 20, 2024
