When the Rockets arrived in Portland on Friday, they were fourth in the Western Conference with the Trail Blazers fifth. By the end of the evening, the Blazers' loss to the Thunder dropped them to seventh, a reminder of how tightly-packed the Western Conference race has been.
The standings, however, were not a topic either coach believed would be worth bringing up in the locker room before even the midpoint of the season, even if both admitted they check it every day.
"You (look.) And you try to hex everybody all the time," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said.