[Basketball News]

Mailbag: Can the Rockets catch the Jazz or Spurs out West?

Mailbag: Can the Rockets catch the Jazz or Spurs out West?

[simple simon]

no way they catch the Spurs

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by simple simon

no way they catch the Spurs

I agree, they won't catch the Spurs, and probably won't catch Utah either. Right now Yao is just getting back and you can tell he isn't in game shape. When he does get there though, they are going to be a scary team come playoff time no matter what seed they are.

[Lefty Noob]

I don't know... Houston won't catch San Antonio, especially given how hot the Spurs have been. But they have a chance of sneaking up on the Jazz, I think. The Rockets have been playing some pretty good ball since Yao's return.

[Basketball News]

With a little more than a month remaining in the regular season, the Rockets will visit the Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Raptors with hopes of beginning a late-season surge towards the NBA playoffs.

The Rockets (40-25) have won three of their past four games, but they've experienced mostly up-and-down play since returning from the All-Star break. They're just 7-6 over that span and haven't had at least a four-game winning streak since January.

Despite the muddled play, the Rockets are only trailing fourth-place Utah by 3 1/2 games. The Jazz have come back to Houston in the standings after dropping consecutive road games on a swing through Florida.

The Rockets wouldn't mind moving past Utah, but they're more concerned with getting in a groove over the final month of the season.

Rockets looking to build momentum towards playoffs

[Lefty Noob]

If they keep winning 75% of their games, while Utah continues to struggle, they'll make up those 3.5 games in no time.