What a Difference Four Games Makes for the Rockets after December Struggles

The Houston Rockets entered the 2025-26 season as one of the most talked-about teams in the NBA, especially after their active offseason and 52 wins the previous season. The Rockets made the playoffs for the first time last season but lost in a disappointing seven-game series to their long-time nemesis, the Golden State Warriors. The Rockets knew a change was needed and made the offseasons most significant move by acquiring Kevin Durant via trade.

That put the Rockets in the national spotlight, as they were immediately considered a team that could compete for an NBA championship alongside the Denver Nuggets and the defending NBA Champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Rockets knew being in the spotlight would make them a target all season long.

Being one of the top teams meant the Rockets would be on national tv more than they have been since James Harden prime in Houston and that became reality in the first game of the season as the Rockets faced off agaisnt the Thunder on opening night.

The Rockets would lose that game by one point in overtime and then lose their second game of the season, this time to the Detroit Pistons. Grumblings started after the second loss about the Rockets not being ready to contend, but the Rockets quickly put those fears to rest, going on to win 14 of 15 games to start the season at 14-3.

That quieted the critics for a little bit as the Rockets played consistently good basketball through the first two months of the season. Up until that point in the season, the Rockets had one of the more favorable schedules, with multiple days off between games and no back-to-backs until the end of November. The Rockets had a 15-4 record heading into December and were near the top of the NBA standings. December proved to be much more difficult than the Rockets expected.

The Houston Rockets play in December had some fans panicking as the Rockets struggled

The Rockets started the month with a rematch agaisnt the Utah Jazz on the second night of their back-to-back games agaisnt the Jazz. The Rockets destroyed the Jazz the night before and the Jazz players did not forget as they played an inspired game in the win over the Rockets. That was a precursor to what was to come as the Rockets struggled for most of the month.

As the losses started to pile up in December you could hear fans fustration start to come out and it hit a season high after the Rockets blew double digit leads to two of the leagues worse team in the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans. It went to another level after a lackluster effort to the Los Angeles Clippers that saw the Rockets get beat in every aspect of the game by the struggling Clippers.

The Rockets and their coaches realize better than anyone that every team in the NBA deals with bad stretches, even the top teams. The key is to limit those bad stretches throughout a season and correct your mistakes so that the losses dont start to pile up. That is precisely what the Rockets have done since that loss to the Clippers, as they have now won four straight games, all in dominating fashion, starting on Christmas night against the Lakers.

The Rockets now sit at 21-10 after their 120-96 victory over a shorthanded Brooklyn Nets team, and just like that, they went from hearing Ime Udoka should be fired to now being back in the top four of the Western Conference standings. The Rockets' recent struggle and now surge show again why overreacting to a bad stretch in an 82-game season doesn't make any sense.