Has Rockets Win Streak Showcased Playoff Potential?

An advantage of this less plodding approach was a marked uptick in efficiency for Sengun. In his first game back, he went 8 for 12 from the field. He had only one turnover too, well under his season average of 3.4 per game.

Houston Gets Back to Beating the Bad Teams

A single game sample size isn’t representative of very much on its own. The Nets are 10-21, third-to-last in the Eastern Conference. Houston’s 2025 closer was also versus the Indiana Pacers, banished from the NBA Finals straight to the bottom of the league by the Tyrese Haliburton injury. In those two games, both victories, the Rockets at least showed that their “bad teams” problem was a matter of circumstance. But one could easily argue that the quality of the opposition just made Houston look a little better than they really are.

There’s more to suggest that the Rockets have been evasive about their final form this season, though. Durant had back-to-back 30-point games in Sengun’s two absences. That was against the 6-28 Pacers, but also the 19-16 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Houston’s Kevin Durant Strategy

Before the season was underway, the team made an announcement about Durant’s role. They would strive not to overtax him, effectively saving the full Slim Reaper experience for the playoffs. In the meantime, the offense would run through the team’s young talents in Sengun and Amen Thompson.

The Rockets lived up to minimizing Durant’s offensive burden in 2025. They should and most likely will return to the strategy in 2026 as well. Durant is an invaluable outlet for the offense even when he isn’t demanding constant double teams. Sengun has shown he can power Houston along as the primary engine. But the team could also afford to make the burden slightly lighter on Sengun as well.

Come playoff time, Houston will want access to a wide variety of offensive adjustments. That could be playing through Sengun in one half and Durant in the next, or favoring post-ups versus handoffs. Durant is their super weapon, though. It isn’t that Houston doesn’t know how to use him. It’s just that they want to keep him fully loaded for when they need to.

The Last Word

The Rockets will look to add to their win streak against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. Unusually, one-man defensive anomaly Anthony Davis is expected to be available. It will be interesting to see then how much the Rockets will look to play through Davis’s theoretical matchup in Sengun. A random win streak isn’t the priority, though. Going four of four to start the year means a whole lot less than going four of seven come playoff time.