Rockets clinch final playoff spot, eliminate Jazz

Despite all the turmoil that loomed over the team this season, the Houston Rockets still managed to squeak into the playoffs on the last night of the season.

The Rockets steamrolled a Sacramento Kings team without four key starters 116-81 to snag the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Utah Jazz can still tie them at 41-41, but the Rockets hold the tiebreaker by way of conference record.

Their reward for salvaging their season is a 1-8 matchup with the Golden State Warriors, who they met in the postseason last year under far different circumstances.

Houston comfortably cruised into the postseason with 57 wins last season. They rolled the Dallas Mavericks in round one, then launched a dramatic upset to leave the Los Angeles Clippers in shambles, before falling in a quick five-game series to the eventual champions.

The expectation coming into this season was for the Rockets to build upon their breakout season and possibly challenge for tops in the West. But instead they came out flat, dropped their first three games by a combined 60 points, and were forced to play catch up all year.

In the end, the destination is still the same: they were always too talented to miss the playoffs. But given the circumstances of how they got here, expect changes in the offseason after yet another rude dismissal at the hands of the Warriors.