With 10 wins in 11 games, ESPN keeps Rockets at No. 4 in NBA power rankings
With 10 wins in 11 games, ESPN keeps Rockets at No. 4 in NBA power rankings After 10 wins in 11 games, ESPN is listing Houston at No. 4 in its weekly NBA power rankings. Only Oklahoma City, Cleveland, and Boston are higher.
In a battle of top-three teams in the Western Conference standings, the Houston Rockets (47-26) dropped a game to the rival Denver Nuggets (46-28) on Sunday night.
But that's the only game that Houston has lost in its last 11 outings. Moreover, their advantage in the loss column was restored to two games when the Nuggets lost to Chicago a night later.
Thus, Houston held its recently obtained perch at No. 4 in ESPN's weekly NBA power rankings. Each week, these rankings are based are based on where members of the network's in-house panel (Michael Wright, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin, Ohm Youngmisuk, and Chris Herring) think each team belongs at this juncture of the 2024-25 season.
In rankings published Wednesday, Wright wrote of the Rockets:
The Rockets usually don't squander prime opportunities for victories but that wasn't the case Sunday against the Nuggets, despite three-time MVP Nikola Jokic sitting out due to an ankle injury. However, Jamal Murray ran roughshod through the Rockets' defense, dropping 39 points to end Houston's nine-game winning streak. Houston coach Ime Udoka called the performance "sloppy" at a time when the Rockets are looking to tighten key areas for the postseason. Houston has established a physical, defense-first identity that Udoka needs his team to fully embrace in closing out the regular season.
For most of the next game, Houston's defense looked much closer to its season-long form (No. 4 in the league) during Tuesday's win over Atlanta. The Rockets held Hawks star Trae Young to a relatively underwhelming night while forcing a game-high 5 turnovers.
The next challenge for the Rockets will be maintaining their form away from Houston. While they've won 10 of 11, overall, it's worth noting that eight of their past 10 games have been played at home inside Toyota Center. Starting Thursday in Utah, they will embark upon a three-game road trip against the Jazz (16-57), Phoenix Suns (35-38), and Los Angeles Lakers (44-28).
The Rockets are 27-11 at home and 20-15 in road or neutral-site games (Emirates NBA Cup 2024 semifinal in Las Vegas) during the 2024-25 regular season.
The only teams ranked ahead of the Rockets by ESPN are those with superior records: the Oklahoma City Thunder (60-12, No. 1 in West), the Cleveland Cavaliers (58-14, No. 1 in East), and the defending champion Boston Celtics (54-19, No. 2 in East).
Denver is immediately behind Houston at No. 5 in the league.
More: After seven straight wins, ESPN lifts Rockets to No. 4 in NBA power rankings
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