The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers have been fighting for their playoff lives for much of the NBA season. Two teams with two of the most recognizable (yet aging) stars in the game have been middling at just above .500 basketball during 2023-24, and it looks as though they will both be relegated to competing in the Play-In Tournament if they want to actually make it to the postseason.
NBA: Rockets Now Just 2 Games Back Of Warriors In West
In the West:
10-seed — Warriors (36-33)
11-seed — Rockets (34-35)
2 game separation. 13 games left. pic.twitter.com/ljj4SAGbkz
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 23, 2024
But thanks to the recent troubles that the Warriors have endured combined with an unlikely surge from the Houston Rockets, Golden State is in real danger of falling out of the playoff picture completely as we head down the home stretch of the regular season.
Back on March 1st, it looked as though we knew exactly who the 10 teams in the Western Conference would be. The Lakers were the team that was sitting in 10th on that particular date, and they were 7 games up on Houston, who were in 12th with a record of 25-34.
Houston has lost just one single game in the time since. They have been the best team in the NBA during the month of March, posting a 9-1 record thus far, and are currently riding a 7-game winning streak, tied with the Celtics for the longest in the league. Five of the nine wins have come on the road, and each of the last four has finished with a margin of 10 or more points.
Tough Games Coming Up For Golden State
Houston Rockets in March:
— Best record in the NBA
— Top 3 net rating
— Top 3 offensive rating
— Top 5 defensive rating
Only 2.5 games back from taking the Warriors spot in the Play-In. pic.twitter.com/v4uLNtYClo
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 20, 2024
They have officially become a threat to the teams at the bottom of the standings in the West. After Golden State’s tough loss against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, Stephen Curry and company are now just 2 games up on Houston for the 10th and final playoff spot. The Lakers have a 3.5 game lead.
Can the Rockets make a run with 13 games left on their regular season schedule? Not only would they have to keep up their winning ways, they would have to hope that the Warriors continue to falter. Houston has a couple of winnable games coming up as they are set to take on the Jazz and Trail Blazers in the coming days, while Golden State embarks on a five-game road trip that begins with contests against the Timberwolves and Heat.
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