NBA Power Rankings: Rockets Dead Last Again?

The Houston Rockets have lost six of their first seven games and are on the same pace that they were last year.

With no growth in record, the team might be feeling a little frustrated but the Rockets have had a brutal start to the schedule.

A week ago, the Rockets were dead last in The Athletic's power rankings, but after grabbing their first win and playing an extremely tough schedule to start the season, Houston actually moves up four spots to No. 26 in the latest edition of the power rankings.

"Despite the early struggles for the Houston Rockets, the reason for optimism is that their schedule has been pretty tough for such a young group to face," The Athletic writes. "Only two of their seven games have been at home, and they’ve started off with Memphis, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Utah twice (before they send players away) and Phoenix."

The Rockets are given a little sympathy for their schedule, but the offense has left a little to be desired. The team ranks 27th in offensive rating and 29th in effective field goal percentage.

"They just have to figure out how to attack a little smarter," The Athletic writes. "But if they shoot like this for a big stretch, the Rockets simply can’t score enough to keep up with everybody."

If the Rockets can turn around the offense and compete longer against these challenging opponents, Houston may start seeing wins instead of losses and a higher place in future power rankings.

The Rockets are back on the floor tonight at Crypto.com Arena as they face the Los Angeles Clippers. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m.

You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

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