Rockets draw even with Lakers
The Western seeding fight tightened as the Rockets drew level with the Lakers, which means tiebreakers and the final few regular‑season games will decide crucial home‑court positions. (CBS Sports’ playoff picture coverage flagged that tie and outlined why the last week of games is going to be decisive for seeding scenarios.) (cbssports.com)
Houston and Los Angeles hit the season’s last week with the exact same record, 50 wins and 29 losses, after the Rockets beat Phoenix 119-105 on Tuesday, April 7, and the Lakers got routed 123-87 by Oklahoma City the same night. (nba.com, cbssports.com) That tie is not just cosmetic, because the teams sitting fourth and fifth in the Western Conference are lined up to play each other in the first round, and fourth place gets home court in a best-of-seven series. As of Wednesday, April 8, the Lakers were still listed fourth and the Rockets fifth. (nba.com, cbssports.com) The reason Los Angeles stayed ahead is a tiebreaker, which is the league’s way of separating teams with the same record. The National Basketball Association says the first two-team tiebreaker is head-to-head winning percentage, and CBS Sports reported the Lakers have already clinched that edge over Houston. (nba.com, cbssports.com) So Houston does not just need to match Los Angeles from here. Houston needs to finish one full game better over the final three games, because a tie after 82 games leaves the Lakers in the higher seed. (nba.com, cbssports.com) The schedule is what makes this race feel like a sprint. The Rockets close with the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, April 9, the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, April 10, and the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, April 12. (nba.com) The Lakers finish with a road game against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, April 9, then home games against the Phoenix Suns on Friday, April 10, and the Utah Jazz on Sunday, April 12. (nba.com) There is another layer above them too, because Denver was sitting third at 52-28 on the official standings page, only two games clear of both teams with two games left for Denver and three left for Los Angeles and Houston. That keeps the third seed in play mathematically, even if the cleaner fight is still fourth versus fifth. (nba.com) Minnesota also matters here because the Timberwolves had already clinched the sixth seed area at 47-33 in the standings picture, and Houston still has to play them on April 10. One Rockets loss there could swing both Houston’s own seed race and the shape of the first-round bracket. (nba.com, nba.com) The calendar is brutally short now. CBS Sports noted that the regular season ends on Sunday, April 12, which means every result from Thursday through Sunday can flip home court, the fourth-fifth matchup, and possibly whether Denver stays out of that cluster. (cbssports.com, nba.com) If the records stay locked together, Los Angeles gets the better seat. If Houston gains even one game over the next three nights, the Rockets jump them. (nba.com, cbssports.com)
