Finishing the regular NBA season strong is the Houston Rockets' focus rather than future playoff opponents, says James Harden.

Harden: Rockets not thinking about potential playoff opponents


James Harden insists the Houston Rockets are focused on finishing the regular NBA season strong, rather than worrying about who they may face in the playoffs.

The Rockets sit third in the Western Conference with a 50-28 record after Tuesday's 130-105 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Harden was the star of the show at Golden 1 Center with a game-high 36 points, the guard also finishing with 10 assists to his name.

A clash with the Warriors or the Nuggets is likely to come in the conference semi-finals, but Harden is not concerned about what may happen later in the season.

"We have four or five games left before the postseason starts, that's our focus, just getting better and taking care of business," he told reporters.

"I'm so focused on what we have to do in this locker room that it doesn't matter who we play [in the playoffs].

"The West is so great that any given night or any opponent you play in that first round is going to be difficult. 

"Obviously those two [the Warriors and the Nuggets] are at the top right now but, you know, we got some really good teams that are in the rest of the six.

"I think the most important thing is us playing well. [If] we get there, we get there. If not, we're playing well and our swag is where it needs to be, it doesn't matter what seed we're in.

"We've been healthy as of late so we've got to continue that and continue to find a rhythm on both ends of the ball and be ready."

As it stands, the third-placed Rockets would meet the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs and would be in the same half of the draw as the Nuggets.