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Going into the final day of the regular season, the Houston Rockets did not know if they would finish the night as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference or vault all the way to No. 2.
A chorus of onlookers insisted that finding a way to stay at No. 4, even if it involved intentionally losing, would be Houston’s best bet at dethroning its chief rival, the Golden State Warriors. A No. 4 seed, the reasoning went, would line the Rockets up to face the Warriors in the second round, rather than in the conference finals, thus reducing the fatigue that the team’s overworked superstar, James Harden, would accrue before the grueling matchup, while also increasing the likelihood that its fragile and aging leader, Chris Paul, would remain healthy for the showdown.