Rockets Stay Flat In The Athletic's Power Rankings

That seems fair.

Dec 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) reacts to a tripping foul called in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets have had a bit of an unusual schedule early in the 2025-26 season. They've played just 23 games -- easily the fewest in the NBA.

They'll have a bit of a congested schedule on the back end, with 29 games in 54 days. They rank as a top-five offense and defense, in spite of the injuries they've faced, with both Fred VanVleet and Dorian Finney-Smith yet to take the court.

VanVleet isn't expected to play at all, while the Rockets have allowed Finney-Smith to take his time recovering from an injury that's plagued him for an extensive period of time.

On the court, a few things have been apparent. For starters, Amen Thompson is having to adjust to playing point guard (and probably shouldn't be playing point guard).

Much has been made about the fact that he played the position previously in the Overtime Elite. But there's a stark difference in the OTE and the NBA, from a competitive balance standpoint.

His freakish athleticism is best tailored when cutting to the basket and/or slashing to the rim. Or getting downhill. 

Especially in transition.

Putting him at point guard takes away some of the things he does best. His superpowers if you will.

The Athletic's Law Murray outlined the Rockets' possibilities as buyers on the trade market. 

"The Rockets could certainly use some ballhandling help because of Fred VanVleet’s recovery from knee surgery, but they have limited avenues to find a solution there. Free-agent acquisition Dorian Finney-Smith, who is 32, has a 2028 player option, but he has yet to debut with Houston after having ankle surgery. Eason hasn’t played in a month because of an oblique injury, but he is expected to return this week. Though Eason may be the easiest player to trade, Houston should probably hold onto him given how well he fits the Rockets’ style of play."

The Rockets are hard-capped, which will make it difficult to not just add a point guard via trade, but any player, without parting with a key player. In theory, that's how trades work, in general.

In order to get a good player, you have to give up a good player (or players).

Murray also listed the Rockets as the league's fourth-best team, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons.

Based on Houston's 16-7 start, it makes sense why the Rockets wouldn't want to take a big swing.