In blowing out the Jazz, 143-105, on Wednesday, the Rockets earned their 50th win of the 2024/25 season and locked in a top-six playoff seed in the Western Conference. Houston also secured the Southwest Division crown with the victory.
With no starter playing more than 29 minutes in a dominant win over the rebuilding Jazz, Houston was paced by Jalen Green‘s 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting. All-Star Rockets center Alperen Sengun and reserve forward Jabari Smith Jr. each notched 15-point, 14-rebound double-doubles. Sengun was also one assist shy of a triple-double.
Houston didn’t emerge from the contest totally unscathed, however. Starting wing Dillon Brooks incurred his 16th technical foul of the season for kicking Utah guard Collin Sexton in an inconvenient place, and will net a one-game suspension unless the tech is rescinded.
In their second season under head coach Ime Udoka, the Rockets have returned to the playoffs for the first time in five years. This iteration of the club is quite different from the club’s last playoff team.
Young talents like Sengun, Green, Smith, Tari Eason and Amen Thompson will get their first postseason run, and will be supported in that effort by playoff-seasoned pros like Brooks and Fred VanVleet. It will be fascinating to see how this relatively inexperienced squad might stack up in a battle with one of the West’s more veteran-heavy playoff teams.
At present, Houston is the No. 2 seed in the West. Only six games separate the Rockets from the West’s No. 8 seed, the 43-32 Clippers. Houston is also just 2.5 games better by record than the 47-29 Nuggets, and three games better than the 45-29 Lakers, so the Rockets’ seed and first-round opponent remain very much up in the air.
Houston hardly has an easy road for its final six games of the 2024/25 regular season. The Rockets will face off against only postseason-bound West rivals, with two games against the Warriors, two games against the Clippers, and matchups with the Lakers and the top-seeded Thunder left on the docket.
Congratulations Rockets …. 👏 not a Udoka fan. He has done an excellent job this year. Rockets are young but deep with talent. Udoka has gotten them competitive quickly. Really want to see what they do in playoffs.
They have exceeded expectations for sure. Most are expecting a 1st rd loss, I agree with you that it will be interesting to see if they can do better.
Just because of Udoka and Brooks I really do hope this gets rocked by whomever is the 7th seed.
But their schedule down the stretch is difficult to say the least – at home vs OKC, @ GSW, @ Clippers, and @ Lakers, and then vs Nuggets in the season finale.
They’re up 2 games in the loss column. It seems unlikely they remain in 2nd.
Why all the hate for Udoka? He got the job done in Boston (maybe a little too well), and then got the job done quickly in Houston. Players like him. What gives?
Also, Rafael Stone for Exec of the Year.
I don’t get the Udoka hate, dude can coach. Took a team that had 22 wins to 41 and now 50+ and division champs. Rockets might not be ready this year, but they will be a force. Also, if PHX is in the lottery, HOU gets that pick.