Rockets Clinch Playoff Spot

The Rockets became the fifth Western Conference team to secure a playoff spot on Thursday when Phoenix lost at Charlotte, per the NBA (Twitter link).

Houston is currently 47-29, the No. 5 seed in the West, while No. 7 Phoenix dropped to 42-35. There’s no way for the Suns to make up the 5.5-game deficit with only five regular season games remaining on their schedule.

The Thunder (60-16), Spurs (58-18), Lakers (50-26) and Nuggets (49-28) are the other Western teams that have clinched playoff berths.

The Rockets have been a little uneven at times in 2025/26, but they’re still on pace to win 50-plus games for the second straight season despite playing without Fred VanVleet, who suffered a torn ACL in September. Another key rotation member, Steven Adams, underwent season-ending ankle surgery in January.

Houston currently has the 10th-best offensive rating in the NBA and the sixth-ranked defense. The Rockets are one of six teams in the top 10 in both categories, with the Thunder, Spurs, Pistons, Celtics and Knicks being the others.

Cleveland has a chance to become the fourth Eastern team to clinch a spot in the playoffs if it wins at Golden State on Thursday evening.