jeremy lin
Jeremy Lin will likely see his first playoff action this year. http://www.kcra.com

The Houston Rockets are in the home stretch of the 2012-2013 NBA regular season.

Houston is firmly entrenched in the playoff race as the No.7 seed in the Western Conference. They have a three-game lead in the loss column over the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers, who are tied for the final postseason berth.

As long as the Rockets don’t collapse in their final eight games, the clubs should ease their way into the postseason. They have a fairly easy schedule down the stretch, starting with Wednesday night’s contest against the Sacramento Kings.

The teams will meet in Sacramento at 10 p.m. ET. Viewers can watch a live stream online by purchasing NBA League Pass Broadband.

The Rockets have won two straight games, and are set to get back two of their top players. James Harden should play after sitting out in both wins. Chandler Parsons is expected to be on the court after missing Houston’s last game.

It looked like the Rockets might be left out of the playoffs for a portion of the season. Now, the club has a chance to beat out the Golden State Warriors for the sixth seed. They trail Golden State by just one game.

Jeremy Lin is set to play his second game in April and the point guard is looking to continue his hot play from March. On April 1, Lin scored 19 points in a win against the Orlando Magic.

Sacramento has been one of the worst teams in the league, continuing the trend from the past few seasons. The Kings are out of playoff contention, with not much left to play for.

The biggest story surrounding the Kings is whether or not they are playing their final games in Sacramento. Mayor and former NBA star Kevin Johnson is trying to prevent the team from relocating to Seattle.

It’s the first time that the two teams are meeting since they completed a trade in February. Houston sent Patrick Patterson, Toney Douglas and Cole Aldrich to Sacramento for Francisco Garcia, Thomas Robinson and Tyler Honeycutt.

Even with the season essentially over, Jimmer Fredette has barely gotten any playing time. He’s been kept on the bench in three of the Kings last four games.

Betting Line: Houston -4, 217.5

Prediction: Houston 115, Sacramento 107