NBC Sports Power Ranking Sees Rockets Land as NBA's Sixth-Best Team

The Houston Rockets' most recent game on Saturday turned out to be over shortly after it started. Just ask Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson.

"I rarely say this but I thought the game was over in the first quarter. Eight turnovers? I believe we had eight turnovers.

Their physicality. We weren't ready for the fight. They just kind of manhandled us physically."

Kevin Durant was simply unstoppable for the Cavaliers, en route to 23 first half points and 30 points through three quarters.

The Rockets didn't even have Alperen Sengun, but it didn't even matter. They didn't need him.

Houston secured a convincing 117-100 victory, in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the score would indicate.

Houston has stacked two convincing blowout wins in a row, including their 119-96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in front of a national audience on the NBA's prime time slate.

The Rockets' play leading up to those games left alot to be desired, as the team seemingly played to the level of their opponents' competition, dropping games to the dregs of the Western Conference.

For this reason, the Rockets' drop on NBC Sports' power rankings are unsurprising. Houston came in as the league's sixth-best team, which represents a slight drop from their previous fourth-place spot.

The writer, Kurt Helin, explained his calculus while noting Houston's major need (or needs).

"What Houston wants for Christmas is to start taking better care of the ball. This was the biggest concern after point guard Fred VanVleet went down — Houston turns the ball over 16.3 times a game, second most in the league (to Portland), and their 13.8 turnover rate is seventh in the league."

Helin continued, noting his dream postseason matchup.

"I want Denver and Houston to finish as the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the West, setting up a second-round playoff series between Alperen Sengun and Nikola Jokic."

The Rockets and Nuggets have squared off against each other three times already in 2025-26 and won't be facing one another again until March.

Houston has gone 1-2 in those games but each have been down to the wire and/or drama filled. Especially their two most recent matches in December.

The last matchup got extremely testy between Kevin Durant and Bruce Brown, in addition to Durant and Tim Hardaway Jr.

Houston ultimately won that match but lost the previous one, which was heavily influenced by officiating.