Rockets Have Been the Homecourt Heroes This Season

The Houston Rockets have thrived at home all season. They've won 23 of their 33 home games and picked up some signature victories at home. The Rockets are continuing that trend into their most recent stretch of games, riding into a home matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on a four-game win streak. Houston has returned to its defensive identity and found efficient offense from its best players, fueling its recent winning.

The Rockets have just 10 losses at home this season, putting them in elite company in the NBA. Eight teams currently have 10 home losses or fewer. The Western Conference has been elite at holding home court, as six of the eight teams are in the West. Excluding the LA Clippers, each Western Conference team with 10 or fewer home losses is above Houston in the standings. The main difference is how successfully each team has picked up difficult wins on the road.

Houston has a respectable record on the road at 18-14. However, the Rockets are taking advantage of the opportunity to play in front of their home fans. They're still just one game back from jumping into the second seed, so winning their home games and protecting home court during this stretch could go a long way toward helping them climb the standings.

The Rockets have picked up signature victories at home all season.

They benefitted from Fred VanVleet's heroics to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder at home on the first day of December 2024. Houston then hosted a dramatic NBA Cup Quarterfinals matchup against the Golden State Warriors, which was defined by a controversial one-point victory for Houston.

Excluding the Denver Nuggets, Houston has won against each of the teams ahead of it in the standings at least once at home. The Rockets have played the Nuggets just once this season, winning on the road in Denver.

While the Rockets aren't playing the caliber of teams as their Western Conference counterparts, they still need to keep the focus as they navigate the rest of their home schedule.

A win against the Mavericks and clinching a season series victory win is the next step for Houston as it tries to use its home stretch to climb the standings. The Mavericks are holding on to the final Play-In spot as they try to recover from losing their star players. Houston can't afford to slip up against a team that could be playing with some desperation.

Once this extended homestand is complete, Houston will host several key matchups at home for the rest of the season.

Houston will host the Thunder for one game and Denver for two in the impending stretch. The Rockets also have some tough away matchups against the Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers before the regular season finishes. Houston should keep winning as many home games as possible and staying respectable on the road to earn an important home-court advantage once the postseason begins.

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