Houston Rockets vs. Philadelphia 76ers seeding game preview

With both the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers locked into their playoff matchups, this could be the rare game in which neither teams cares about winning.

For Houston, health is paramount. With Russell Westbrook uncertain for the playoffs, the Rockets have to protect the rest of their rotation completely. The Rockets will be underdogs in their first round matchup if Russ is out, and it would deprive the NBA of half of the storyline they so covet in the OKC-Houston series. Luckily for them, the “Chris Paul Revenge Tour” narrative is still alive and well.

For Philadelphia, they lost Ben Simmons to a knee surgery to remove a loose body. That will make their first round matchup against the Boston Celtics all the more difficult. However, this could definitely be a chance for team brass to see how a team completely centered around Joel Embiid can look going forward. If Philly overachieves in the playoffs, Simmons could easily be on the trading block whenever the offseason actually begins.

Tonight marks the final game for Houston of the regular/seeding season. As such, I would like to thank everyone who has read any preview this season. I know it’s been a weird season for so many reasons, but please know that I greatly appreciate each and every one of you. There will be game previews for the playoffs as well, but it’s harder to get sentimental in those.

Tip-off is at 8pm CT on ESPN and AT&T SportsNet Southwest