With eight games left, Rockets effectively clinch 2020 playoff spot

The NBA’s return plan calls for eight regular-season games per team, and the Rockets (40-24) have a lead of 8.5 games on No. 8 Memphis.

After a multi-month hiatus to the 2019-20 season due to COVID-19, the NBA is poised to officially announce its plan to return later this summer at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.

The specifics of the league’s plan will effectively clinch a playoff spot for several teams, including the Houston Rockets.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the announcement will come after the NBA’s Board of Governors formally approves the league’s 22-team return plan during a Thursday morning conference call.

According to Wojnarowski, these are the specifics:

Each of the 22 teams will play eight regular-season games in Orlando for seeding purposes for the playoffs, sources told ESPN.

Joining the 16 current playoff teams in Orlando will be the New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs in the West and the Washington Wizards in the East, sources told ESPN.

If the No. 9 seed is more than four games behind, the No. 8 seed will make the playoffs. If the No. 9 seed is less than four games back, there will be a play-in tournament.

The target date for resuming play is July 31, with the playoffs potentially extending to October 12.

The Rockets (40-24) were tied for the West’s No. 5 seed at the time of the season’s March 12 suspension, which puts them 8.5 games ahead of the current No. 8 seed, Memphis (32-33). With only eight regular-season games left, this means the Rockets have officially clinched a playoff spot, assuming the season moves forward according to the plan.

Houston has now made the NBA playoffs in all eight seasons since acquiring superstar guard James Harden in October 2012. Prior to that trade, the Rockets had missed the playoffs in the previous three seasons.

While the Rockets can’t fall to the range of the potential play-in tournament for the No. 8 seed, there is plenty of room for them to move up or down in the West standings. They trail No. 3 Denver (43-22) by just 2.5 games, while they only lead No. 7 Dallas (40-27) by 1.5 games.

Thus, within those eight games, the Rockets could easily move as high as No. 3 or as low as No. 7. It is not yet known when details of the schedule (game opponents, dates, and times) will be released.

It’s worth remembering that the usual advantages of higher seeding may not apply to the 2020 NBA playoffs, since games will be held at a neutral site and without fans — as opposed to the usual home-court advantage. However, some matchups will certainly be preferable to others, and that’s where the final order could still have great importance to the Rockets.

Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the NBA could also consider a range of proposals to potentially give higher-seeded teams some sort of minor advantage within the Orlando format, such as an extra coach’s challenge or the ability to start each quarter with possession. However, even if approved, that would pale in comparison to the usual perks.

Additional details on some of these subjects could emerge Thursday after the plan’s formal approval by team owners. Meanwhile, some discussions are likely to continue into the days and weeks ahead. After all, nearly two months remain until the league’s proposed July 31 re-opening date, which leaves plenty of time for further discussions on specifics.

For now, the NBA and 22 of its 30 franchises are just happy to have a plan, and finally a path forward to complete the 2019-20 season.

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