{"id":184510,"date":"2026-03-29T13:37:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T17:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=184510"},"modified":"2026-03-29T13:37:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T17:37:00","slug":"the-games-to-watch-in-the-houston-rockets-final-stretch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/03\/29\/the-games-to-watch-in-the-houston-rockets-final-stretch\/","title":{"rendered":"The Games To Watch In the Houston Rockets’ Final Stretch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Including Sunday night, the Houston Rockets have only nine games to play in the regular season<\/a>. According to Tankathon<\/a>, the Rockets have the eighth-easiest remaining strength of schedule in the NBA. Amid underwhelming play and a coaching disconnect<\/a>, the Rockets have slid all the way down to sixth in the Western Conference standings<\/a>. The Rockets will need all the easy games they can get. Nonetheless, fans eager to gauge their team’s readiness for the playoffs should look out for the more challenging encounters. There are two in particular that stand out from the rest.<\/p>\n

The Games To Watch In the Houston Rockets’ Final Stretch<\/h2>\n

In terms of individual opponents, it\u2019s a mixed bag. The Rockets will face tanking teams like the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies. Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>\u2019s alleged protests<\/a>, the Milwaukee Bucks should be taking the same approach.<\/p>\n

Other teams may still be competing for playoff seeding. The New York Knicks are only a game and a half behind the Boston Celtics for the East’s second seed. The Philadelphia 76ers are only half a game behind the Atlanta Hawks for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the East. The Rockets will play the Knicks on Tuesday, March 31st, and the Sixers on April 9th. Both of those games should be heartfelt battles.<\/p>\n

That’s because the Rockets have their own reasons to compete—even at this stage of the season. The Rockets’ position in the Western Conference standings is far from secure. They are the sixth seed, teetering on the edge of the play-in tournament. They still have games to play against the team directly above them and the one directly below. It’s these final Western Conference games that will hold particular significance to Rockets fans.<\/p>\n

The Rockets’ Last Chance to Rise in the Standings<\/h3>\n

The team just above the Rockets in the standings is the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Rockets will play them at home in their second-to-last game of the season on April 10th. As of March 29th, there is only half a game between them. Since they split the season series up to this point, the remaining clash will be the tie-breaker in the event of equal records.<\/p>\n

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The Timberwolves are currently without star guard Anthony Edwards<\/a>. The hope is that the charismatic scorer will return from his knee injury in the next few games, but the Wolves will undoubtedly favor a cautious approach. It’s also worth noting the Timberwolves beat the Rockets without Edwards last week, winning an overtime brawl on March 25th, 110-108<\/a>. The Rockets got a strong 30-point performance from overburdened All-Star<\/a> Alperen Sengun<\/a>. Even so, ugly turnovers wound up costing them an overtime lead. The Rockets\u00a0should<\/em> lock in for a potential do-over in their second-to-last game of the season. Whether they do or not might say a lot about the fight they’ll put up in the playoffs.<\/p>\n