The Houston Rockets have clinched a spot in the 2026 NBA playoffs, and they've now won five consecutive games, including a 140-106 trouncing of the Utah Jazz on Friday night. With this recent hot streak, the Rockets are now fifth in the Western Conference standings, and as things stand, they are set to face the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs.

Considering how the Los Angeles Lakers, the current third-seeded team in the conference, appear to be ripe for the taking amid Luka Doncic's hamstring injury that has him out indefinitely, there might be great incentive for the Rockets to try and manipulate their seeding and end up with the sixth seed.

Not only does this delay a potential matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder until the Conference Finals, they can also give themselves the best chance to advance to the second round. However, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka doesn't sound too interested in doing that.

“We’ll play it out. I think it’s too tight to try to manipulate anything. We’ll just stay healthy, take a look at a few more lineups and rotations and play consistently good basketball. Whatever happens with seeding will happen,” Udoka said following their win on Friday, per Chris A. White of Fyrebear.

Rockets dare not to piss off the basketball gods

Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka talks with Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Toyota Center.
Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Seeding manipulation is not the way of a winning team, and the Rockets seem to know this. Any team with championship aspirations know that to be the best, one has got to beat the best one way or another.

Houston is at least letting the chips fall where they may, and a matchup against the Nuggets, while difficult, may not be the worst in the world for them to deal with. At the very least, Udoka has his team locked in and geared up in battling whatever team comes the Rockets' way in the playoffs.