Houston Rockets are 1 game out of Play-In Tournament position amid 8-game win streak

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Jalen Green missed out on back-to-back Western Conference Player of the Week awards after again leading the Houston Rockets to a 3-0 record in the last seven days.

The video above is the ABC13 Houston’s 24/7 Streaming Channel.

But those victories, which included Green’s two 40-point games, extended a conference-best eight-game win streak and, most crucially, kept the playoff-starved ball club one game behind the 10th-place Golden State Warriors, who hold the final Play-In Tournament spot, as of Monday.

Houston (35-35) faces the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday evening, which could end with the Rockets gaining a half-game on the Dubs and earning the longest win streak in five seasons. Not bad for a team that has drafted in the lottery since James Harden’s departure.

Rockets reportedly nearly parted with Green

Green’s ascension as the go-to Rocket during this run had a sacrifice from another emerging young talent, Alperen Sengun, who went down with an injury on March 10 and has been missing in action since.

With Sengun out of commission, Houston has been able to play uptempo to the former No. 2 pick’s advantage.

A co-existence question has come up. For example, Green hadn’t scored 40 points until this streak without Sengun in the lineup.

So, imagine the shock that Houston wouldn’t have had Green leading the team down the stretch. On Monday, the Athletic’s NBA insider, Shams Charania, reported the Rockets offered Green and multiple first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for veteran swingman Mikal Bridges at the trade deadline.

Brooklyn declined the proposed swap, Charania said.

Neither ABC13 Sports nor ESPN have independently confirmed Charania’s report. Still, Green and Sengun will enter the final year of their rookie deals after this season, so the Rockets must agree on whether one or both would get a contract extension.