The Houston Rockets are “out here swaggin’ and hoopin’ ” — a phrase used by James Harden to describe how they are approaching this season with a brash brand of basketball overflowing with fun and cockiness. They are close to unbeatable when at full strength. They can’t be ignored, as Harden collects crossover victims on an almost nightly basis. And they can’t be easily dismissed because the team has a respectable defense in its bag to complement an explosive offense.

But the Golden State Warriors can’t obsess over the fact that the Rockets haven’t lost in more than a month. They can’t be consumed by every replay of Wes Johnson falling and imagining all of the memes coming his way, or Carmelo Anthony cursing out his teammates for failing to provide help on defense. Those moments are entertaining to them, as well, but can’t provide any motivation for a team seeking to repeat as NBA champion. As far as the Warriors are concerned, they can’t focus on the Rockets until — or if — they make what appears to be an inevitable meeting in the Western Conference finals.

“I don’t worry about what Houston is doing,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told Yahoo Sports. “They’re having a tremendous season. They’re playing great. They’re going to do what they’re going to do. We’re going to do what we’re going to do. And whatever happens, happens.”

Kevin Durant is well aware of the Rockets’ ability. (Getty) More

Any other season, in the absence of a team with four All-Stars in their primes that has made three consecutive finals appearances, the Houston Rockets would be the prohibitive favorite to win the championship. Even if wind up becoming only a distraction from the continuation of a potential dynasty, the Rockets have already served a purpose: They have rescued the regular season from boredom and at least provided a little suspense in what was supposed to be a Warriors victory lap.

The Rockets happen to be coming along at a time when the Warriors care more about what happens in June than in March. But that doesn’t make what they are accomplishing — especially during a 17-game winning streak in which 12 of those victories have come against teams competing for playoff spots — any less spectacular. Of the seven double-digit win streaks this season, the Rockets are responsible for two of them, having also run off a string of 14 consecutive victories. They won the regular-season series against Golden State and have no reason to be deferential to the champs with the favorite to win the MVP in Harden and a player who was a part of the last Western Conference team to win a playoff series against the Warriors in Chris Paul. They are an unconscionable 34-1 when Harden, Paul and Clint Capela play together.

“We respect the hell out of them. We respect all those guys and we know — you hear a lot from their GM [Daryl Morey] — but James, and CP and Trevor Ariza, those guys knuckle down and play. They leave the talking up to the GM and whoever else,” Kevin Durant told Yahoo Sports.

Houston has filled a void previously occupied by the Cleveland Cavaliers or the San Antonio Spurs as the team that could most likely become a postseason foil. And, at a time when the Warriors are no longer looking to respond to every perceived slight or approaching every game with pedal-to-floor urgency, the Rockets find themselves positioned to finish as the squad with the league’s best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Warriors led wire-to-wire during the regular season of their historic 73-win season two years ago, never trailed after November during their run to a championship the previous season and were tied with the Spurs for a day last March before finishing with the top overall seed. But in the fourth year of this historic run, Golden State is mostly motivated by preservation and preparation for another postseason grind. Kerr won’t have a problem resting his stars later in the season. The top seed is important but not at the expense of having a team too tired or banged up to complete its ultimate task.

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