The Next Two Weeks Will Make or Break the Rockets’ Regular Season

The Houston Rockets have had an up-and-down season to say the least. Even before the season started, the Rockets completed the biggest trade of the offseason, trading for Kevin Durant and sending Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the Phoenix Suns.

The elation and excitement of a major trade quickly faded as the Rockets learned that Fred VanVleet, their on- and off-court leader, had suffered a major injury right before the start of training camp. That injury set the Rockets back, as they now had to scramble to find a player on their roster who could replace VanVleet's contributions.

The Rockets started the season with a tough overtime loss to the defending NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and then were dominated by the Detroit Pistons in their first home game.

Two losses early in the season don't define an NBA 82-game regular season, but some of the reasons for those losses, like poor shooting and poor execution in clutch time, would linger throughout the season.

Despite the early losses, the Rockets would go on to have their best two-month stretch of the season to that point, posting one of the best records in the NBA in October and November. However, as the schedule became more difficult and the days off between games shrank, the Rockets would struggle in December and parts of January.

During that time, the Rockets had maybe their two worst losses of the season, blowing a 25-point lead to the New Orleans Pelicans and a double-digit lead to the equally bad Sacramento Kings.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, those two losses wouldn't be isolated cases, as they would suffer head-scratching losses to teams like the Utah Jazz and, most recently, a shorthanded Golden State Warriors team at home.

The Rockets have also suffered a devastating loss to the San Antonio Spurs, losing by 25 points in a game that showed how far apart the two teams are at this point in the season.

Despite the losses and injuries, including a season-ending injury to Steven Adams, the Rockets are still in a good position for home court in the first round because they are not alone: every team not named the Spurs or Thunder has struggled at times this season.

The Next Two Weeks Could Determine Where the Rockets Finish in the Standings

If you just visited social media or listened to fans, you would think the Rockets are in danger of having to play in play-in games to make the playoffs.

Even though the Rockets have struggled at times this season, that is not the case. The Rockets, heading into their critical matchup with the Denver Nuggets, are currently third in the Western Conference.

They are three games up in the loss column on the seventh-seeded Phoenix Suns and also hold the tiebreaker. Despite the lead in the standings, every game is critical, as teams three through seven have been battling for position all season.

That is what makes the next two weeks very important for the Rockets as the regular season winds down. The Rockets will face the three teams currently trailing them in the standings as they take on the Nuggets on Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers twice next week, and the Minnesota Timberwolves on the 25th of this month.

The Rockets trail the Nuggets 2-1, and if they lose Wednesday's matchup, they'll lose the season series. If the Rockets can sweep both Lakers games next week, they take that season series and are currently holding a 1-0 lead over the Timberwolves with two games left, including the matchup in two weeks.

The end of the regular season is coming up fast for everyone, including the Rockets. The next two weeks will make or break the Rockets' chances of holding on to that all-important home court advantage.