The victory of Rockets (12th in the West) Saturday evening against the Suns not only allowed us to breathe and avoid a fourth defeat in a row, but also, combined with the setbacks of the Jazz (11th) and that of the Lakers (10th), continue to dream of a place in “play-in”.
Indeed, the two franchises, Houston and Los Angeles, are currently separated by five victories and, as there are around twenty games remaining, that is not nothing. The Texans will have to achieve a perfect or almost perfect end to the season to give themselves the best possible chance of entering the Top 10.
“We know what we have to do. We have to win 14 or 15 of the last 22 matches,” ensures Alperen Sengun. “In reality, we want to win every game, but if we want to make the play-in, we have to take 14, 15 or 16.”
Hoping that, at the same time, the Lakers or the Warriors drop matches. “I look at the rankings every day. I know where we are. We have to do a series”confirms Dillon Brooks.
Insurmountable limits outside?
“We look at the team in front of us, so it’s Utah,” adds Fred VanVleet. “When we lose, we check if we have lost ground. We had two complicated weeks. We would like to do a small series, to get closer. It's within reach. We just need to put things in place. We are not obsessed with that, we mainly want to play well and then see how we can move up the rankings. But it remains a goal, that's for sure. »
But is it still playable? Because the Rockets certainly have an affordable schedule to finish the season (unlike the Lakers), with for example three matches against Portland and Utah and two against San Antonio and Washington, without forgetting a duel against Chicago as well.
However, they will play 50% of the time away. And that's a problem because, far from Houston, Alperen Sengun and his teammates are still in difficulty with a very poor record of 6 wins in 30 matches. “We’re going to have to be better away”warns the Turk. “We are good at home, but away, we will have to steal matches. »
Before testing themselves and leaving for three consecutive away matches, Ime Udoka's players host the Spurs and the Clippers in a “back-to-back” game on Tuesday and Wednesday.
