The Houston Rockets Are in Danger of Losing Home Court Advantage

The Houston Rockets are facing the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday afternoon, trying to snap a five-game losing streak. After their double-digit loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, they are at their lowest point of the season.

The Rockets have played eight of their last nine games on the road and are in the midst of their second four-game road trip. Combine that with the multiple injuries the Rockets have had over the last month, and you get a five-game losing streak.

Before the losing streak the Rockets were second in the Western Conference starting to put some distance between themselves and the fifth seed. The Western Conference as it usually has been competitive all season.

Even after wins, players and coaches would talk about how losing a few games in a row could make you go from a top-two seed with home-court advantage to a fifth or sixth seed having to start on the road. The Rockets have now fallen to fourth in the Western Conference, only a game up on the Los Angeles Lakers.

To make matters worse the teams directly behind and in front of them in the standings are on winning streaks. That makes Saturday games against the Mavericks even more important and dangerous at the same time.

Of course, by now everyone knows that Luka Doncic is no longer a Maverick. The Mavericks completed one of the most shocking trades in NBA history recently sending Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis.

That move shocked the NBA world and changed the landscape of the entire league. Many believe that the Mavericks took a step backward in the long-term move. However, in the short term, they are still an excellent team motivated to prove everyone wrong.

Davis has not suited up yet for the Mavericks, but that will all change Saturday as he is making his debut against the Rockets. That is terrible news for a Rockets team that needs a win desperately. There will be much more attention on this game than usual for a Saturday matchup in February.

No matter the circumstances, the Rockets must turn their season around as soon as teams like the Lakers and the Timberwolves gain on them fast in the standings. It is a long season, and every team struggles at some point, but the time is now for the Rockets to end their five-game losing streak.

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