Game 82: Who Will the Rockets' Playoff Matchup Will Be?

(© William Liang | 2026 Mar 14)

With each team playing 81 games to this point, there’s a full slate for the NBA finale today. The Lakers and Nuggets both have games that are much more important than the Rockets vs. Grizzlies matchup, previewed on Roundtable.

The Thunder and Spurs are locked into the top two seeds, while Houston and Minnesota’s battle on Friday kept them both in fifth and sixth place. The Nuggets remain in third and the Lakers in fourth, but that’s still subject to change.

The Nuggets are in San Antonio and I think both teams want the same outcome in this game. If the Nuggets lose, they still have the chance to drop down to fourth place and play the Rockets.

The Spurs would prefer this because they’d avoid having to potentially play Denver and OKC on a championship run. Instead, they’d play the Wolves or an injured Lakers team in Round 2.

While Houston has been hot, I believe Denver still prefers that matchup considering the Timberwolves are more battle-tested and have beat them in the playoffs before.

As for the Lakers game, they might not care as much about whether they win or lose —— but other teams want them to beat the Jazz. A Lakers win and a Nuggets loss is the only way LA can jump to third place. Otherwise, we’ll see the same seeding that we started the day with.