Rockets Remain NBA's Fourth-Best Team in Latest Power Rankings

Consistency.

Dec 3, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) looks to pass to a teammate against Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) and Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets suffered their worst loss of the season on Saturday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Granted, it’s worth noting that the Rockets were without superstar center Alperen Sengun, in addition to Steven Adams.

(Not to mention Fred VanVleet and Dorian Finney-Smith all season, and Tari Eason).

Injuries happen, though. It’s all a part of the game.

It’s the next man up mentality. And the Rockets got 38 points from their bench (mainly between Aaron Holiday and Reed Sheppard, who combined for 31 points).

However, they didn’t shoot as well as they have been all season, shooting just 34.5 percent on 29 long-range attempts, and they got one of Amen Thompson’s worst games of the season.

The Rockets’ two-way standout had nearly the same amount of points as turnovers, scoring 7 points and doling out 6 turnovers (compared to six assists).

Although the loss was just Houston’s sixth loss of the season, it was their second loss in five days, both of which came against non-contending teams, as the Rockets lost to the Utah Jazz earlier in the week.

The commonality? Both games were back-to-back games.

The Rockets only have one more such game this month but have three next month in January. Ditto for February and March.

All told, the Rockets still boast the fourth-best record in the Western Conference, yet have played the fewest games in the Association, to date.

In the latest power rankings by The Athletic, Houston remained fourth in the rankings. The writer explained their calculus.

“The Rockets attempt the fewest 3s in the league, have one of the worst turnover rates and are arguably the slowest team in the league. And yet, they are off to their best 20-game start in eight years while overwhelming teams with second-chance scoring opportunities and the kind of size that overwhelms teams on both ends of the floor. This wasn’t a great week for the Rockets, though, as they lost two road games to losing teams while dealing with the dreaded five games in seven days stretch.”

The Rockets’ next game will be against the LA Clippers on Thursday, followed by a duel against the Denver Nuggets next Monday.

The Nuggets game will start a six-game stretch of road games.