The race for the playoffs in the Western Conference has been congested all season long, and it appears that we will have an entertaining final month as three games currently separate the 5th through 10th seeds. The rest of the teams in the conference haven’t been given much of a shot at making a run at a spot in the Play-In, but the Houston Rockets have caught fire lately, and could be knocking on the door if things go their way this coming week.

Houston Rockets Have NBA’s Longest Winning Streak

The Houston Rockets are 3 games out of the playin while winning 5 games in a row and 7 out their last 8.

Don’t give up on the season just yet pic.twitter.com/kkSowkXCsi

— Clutch City Entertainment (@ClutchCityENTX) March 16, 2024

After their loss to the Clippers on March 6th, the Rockets were in 12th place in the West. It dropped their record to 27-35, and they were 6.5 games behind the 10th place Lakers, who were sitting in the final Play-In spot.

They haven’t lost since. Houston won three straight road games starting last Friday, defeating the Trail Blazers, Kings, and Spurs, and came home to take care of business against the Wizards to give them four straight victories. Then, on Saturday, they were able to overcome an underdog status in order to defeat the Cavaliers by 14 points, giving them the longest active winning streak in the NBA. (The Celtics won on Sunday, matching Houston’s streak of 5 straight)

Can They Catch The Lakers For The 10th Spot

The Houston #Rockets next 4 games:

Wizards — 11-56

Bulls — 33-35 (@ Home)

Jazz — 29-38 (@ Home)

Blazers — 19-48 (@ Home)

If they’re serious about a play-in push, there’s a real chance their current 5 game winning streak gets extended to 9. pic.twitter.com/YRMeR6GsYk

— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) March 17, 2024

Combined with their back-to-back wins before the loss against the Clippers, Houston has now won 7 of their last 8 games, and are now 3.5 games behind the Lakers after LeBron James and company fell to the Warriors on Saturday.

Their schedule will certainly help them out over the next week. The Rockets have four straight games coming up against teams that are under .500, a stretch that will bring them all the way to next Wednesday’s game against the Thunder. Things will get tougher after that as they still have games against the Clippers, Warriors, Timberwolves left on the schedule, and two against the Mavericks.

As far as strength of schedule goes, the Rockets have the 20th toughest remaining path, while the Lakers come in at number 23. The Warriors, who are just percentage points ahead of LA for the 9th spot, have the 26th toughest.

It is the thrid time this season that Houston has won at least 5 straight, with the previous two times coming before Christmas.