Rockets get unexpected gift from Jokic and the Nuggets before playoffs

The Rockets have all eyes set on the playoffs as the season winds down, and may have just gotten an unexpected boost from Nikola Jokic of all people. Jokic went ballistic down the stretch of Saturday's game against the Spurs to give the Nuggets an overtime victory over San Antonio. The victory puts Denver one step closer to surpassing the Lakers for the 3 seed in the West and giving the Rockets a more favorable matchup against LA in the 4/5 matchup.

The Rockets should be rooting for a series against the Lakers

The Nuggets' win was an unexpected boon as they snapped an 11-game Spurs win streak with a late comeback. Down the stretch of the regular season, every 50-50 game matters that much more for the final standings. And every game played between top teams could have substantial effects for the final standings. The Nuggets are now just 0.5 games back of the Lakers for the third seed, although they are also losing the head-to-head tiebreaker.

This is big news for the Rockets after the Lakers' recent injury news. Their top two scorers this season in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will miss the remainder of the regular season, and their status for the playoffs is also in question. Even though the Rockets have plenty of question marks about making a deep playoff run, facing an injured Lakers squad in the first round would make their path a lot easier.

The Rockets are likely to finish as either the 4th or 5th seed. They could potentially catch the Lakers if Los Angeles drops enough games to end the season. But either way the 4/5 series in the first round is calling Houston's name. Going up against the Nuggets, especially without Steven Adams to slow down Jokic, would be a nightmare scenario. But the Lakers without Luka are much more appealing.

The Lakers could be the Rockets' dream matchup

In fact, Los Angeles has struggled in large part this season against young and athletic teams. Their defense has been poor and could be exploited by the Rockets' athletic slashers. A young star like Amen Thompson could have a field day against the older and slower Lakers defenders.

Recently, the Lakers had turned things around behind the brilliance of Luka Doncic. He was on a historic tear scoring the ball in the last month before his injury. And he was even putting more effort into defense, which inspired a better team performance too. Now that Luka has gone down with injury, the Lakers will be missing their biggest advantage but still have the weaknesses for Houston to attack.

Regardless of how the Rockets finish the season, it's clear they need to be rooting for a Lakers matchup.