MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MARCH 18: Head coach Mike D'Antoni of the Houston Rockets reacts during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 18, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

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With their playoff seed all but locked up, the Houston Rockets embark on a very easy stretch of the schedule, one that encourages the resting of players.

The Houston Rockets essentially have their playoff seed secured and James Harden has the MVP award locked up, which is why it is important they use their remaining schedule to strategically rest players and manage minutes heading into the playoffs.

As seen by Chris Paul and Luc Mbah a Moute‘s recent injuries (as well as Stephen Curry‘s), playing in meaningless games can lead to significant harm. Whether it is a freak injury caused by another teammate or an injury that is the result of wear and tear, key rotational players could go down and be hampered come playoff time.

For the Houston Rockets, they will only be judged on what they do in the playoffs. Sure, getting 65+ wins in the regular season would be nice, but would that really mean anything if the team lost in the second round? Absolutely not. After seeing the effects that fatigue and injury had on Houston during last year’s second round series, the importance of resting moving forward only increases.

Mike D’Antoni appears to recognize the value in resting players, as he sat Chris Paul in the team’s recent win over the Detroit Pistons, and will likely keep him (and Mbah a Moute) out until early next week. D’Antoni’s comments on resting are a big relief for Rockets fans that have seen the team run itself into the ground before the playoffs arrive:

On the @SportsMT show, coach Mike D'Antoni said the #Rockets "probably will" rest Chris Paul tonight vs. Detroit. He added they will soon start giving guys games off to rest on different days. — ClutchFans (@clutchfans) March 22, 2018

However, one player that D’Antoni (and possibly management) will have to override is James Harden. Harden is notorious for being against resting in the regular season, and even though he has the MVP award secured unlike last season, he is still focused on playing down the stretch:

On the prospect of getting a night off here or there down the stretch James Harden said “I’m good, I wanna play.” — Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) March 23, 2018

This is where coach and management must step in to change his mind and convince him that resting is incredibly valuable, especially with Houston’s upcoming schedule. Again, the Rockets are up four games (with a tiebreaker advantage) over the Golden State Warriors for the 1-seed, and the Warriors are dealing with plenty of injuries themselves. The race for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs is all but finished, and now all the Rockets have to do is remain healthy and rested for the playoffs.

The Rockets’ schedule is extremely favorable moving forward, with several games against teams involved in the great “tankathon”:

Here is the upcoming schedule for the #Rockets. A lot of easy games that encourage resting… pic.twitter.com/m6jZkQfKuG — Eric Spyropoulos (@EricSpyrosNBA) March 24, 2018

It would simply be inexcusable for the Rockets to avoid resting players in certain games and making sure that the minutes load is reasonable in every game moving forward. Houston is easily going to win over 60 games, which should allow the Rockets to not get caught up in winning “big” games down the stretch against other playoff opponents.

With the Warriors ceding the 1-seed to the Rockets, Houston can now focus on remaining healthy and getting rest before the playoffs start, when the success of the Rockets’ season will ultimately be determined.