In the Tough Western Conference Every Regular Season Game Is Important

Even though the regular season is 82 games and spans several months in the tough Western Conference, every game takes on even more significance.

Dec 20, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka yells rom the bench during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Going into last season the Houston Rockets were seen as a team on the rise but not someone who could challenge the top teams NBA. They had finished 41-41 the prior season and even though it was a league best 19 game improvement it still wasn't good enough to get the Rockets into the playoffs.

Many believed that the Rockets would more than likely compete for a playoff spot in 2024-2025, but that would be as far as they would go in the standings, as the Western Conference is a knockdown fight from game one to the end of the regular season.

The Rockets not only surpassed those expectations but achieved even more than most Rockets fans thought they could last season. The Rockets finished with 52 wins, their most since the James Harden days, and were the second seed in the Western Conference.

Even though the season would end sooner than they liked with a first-round loss to their long-time nemesis, the Golden State Warriors, the Rockets felt they were a team that could stay at the top of the rankings for years to come. That seemed even more likely after the Rockets pulled off the most significant trade of the offseason when they acquired Kevin Durant in a move that sent Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green to the Phoenix Suns.

The Rockets have had more ups than downs so far this season. They started the season 13-4 and dominated most of their wins. They hit a rough patch in December and the beginning of January after the schedule began to catch up to them.

Now, after three straight wins, they sit at 26-15, a good record, but in the tough Western Conference, a few losses here and there can have you go from top of the conference to potential play in a spot.

The Western Conference is as tough as it has ever been which makes every game important

Year in and year out the Western Conference is the tougher of the two conferences. Teams are usually only seperated by a few games from the second seed sometimes all the way down to the tenth seed. This season has been no different as seeds 2-7 are only separated by three games in the loss column.

The Rockets are currently the fourth seed, one game behind the San Antonio Spurs in the loss column and one game ahead of the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers. One bad week can see you drop several spots in the Western Conference, and even though there is still half of the season left, that will likely be the case for the rest of the regular season.

The Rockets brought in Kevin Durant to give them the closer they desperately needed. The Rockets had more of an eye toward the playoffs than the regular season when they made the move for Durant.

They hoped that would help them get over the hump in the playoffs, as he is known to be one of the most clutch players in the NBA. However, with the standings as close as they have ever been, each regular-season contest takes on even more importance as the season goes on.