The Houston Rockets wrap up their season on Sunday, but the club feels like there is plenty to play for.
The Rockets (40-41) won’t be part of the postseason, but they can prevent a fourth straight losing season if they can defeat the host Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
The Clippers (51-30) have nothing to play for and will be the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Los Angeles will meet the No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks in the first round.
Finishing with a .500 record in Ime Udoka’s first season as coach would mark a significant upgrade for a club that went 22-60 last season and 20-62 the prior campaign.
Houston also has a bright future as it builds around third-year guard Jalen Green, second-year forward Jabari Smith Jr. and rookie forwards Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore.
Green, the No. 2 overall pick in 2021, ranks second on the Rockets with a 19.7 scoring average. Smith, the No. 3 overall pick in 2022, is averaging 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds.
As per the rookies, the 21-year-old Thompson (No. 4 overall) is averaging 9.4 points and 6.5 rebounds, and the 19-year-old Whitmore (No. 20 overall) is averaging 12.1 points in just 18.3 minutes per game.
“Cam is a scorer. He’s going to be a guy that’s going to average 20 in the league for a long time when it’s his turn,” Udoka said. “Amen can do it all. He’s an (Andre) Iguodala type. That’s already at a young age.”
Green scored 26 points and Thompson had 17 points and matched his career high of 15 rebounds during Friday’s 116-107 win over the host Portland Trail Blazers.
Thompson spent time in both the frontcourt and backcourt with starting point guard Fred VanVleet out with a right hip contusion.
“I love experiences like that, getting to develop in different positions, point guard, everything,” Thompson said.
Los Angeles has lost its last two games after falling 110-109 to the visiting Utah Jazz on Friday.
Kawhi Leonard (right knee) missed his seventh straight game and won’t play Sunday with nothing on the line.
In fact, there is no guarantee Leonard will be ready for the first game of the playoffs, though the club remains hopeful.
“That is what we want to see,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Hopefully, he will be playing.”
Paul George also is expected to sit out Sunday. George departed the Utah contest early with the Clippers aware that the Mavericks had lost to the Detroit Pistons, thus assuring the fourth seed.
James Harden (foot) also could sit. He returned to play 10 minutes against the Jazz after missing the previous two games.
Lue said the Clippers can feel proud about a regular season in which they reached the 50-win mark for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign.
“Getting the fourth seed in a tough conference — you got (five) teams that won 50 games — it means a lot to have the home-court advantage in the first round,” Lue said. “Winning our (Pacific) division for the first time in 10 years says a lot about just staying with it even through tough times.”
Bones Hyland scored 20 points off the bench against Utah, two nights after pouring in a career-high 37 in a loss to the Phoenix Suns.
The Clippers have defeated Houston nine straight times, including a 106-100 home win on Nov. 17 and a 122-116 road triumph on March 6.
–Field Level Media
