Rockets Drop in Bleacher Report's Latest Power Rankings

The 2026 NBA calendar year has gone about like the rest of the season for the Houston Rockets. 

Up-and-down. 

Topsy-turvy.

Roller coaster. 

Okay, you get the point.

The Rockets won two of their first three games of the month, only to lose each of their last two to the Portland Trail Blazers. 

Another team with a sub-.500 record.

The Blazers are 19-20.

The Rockets have lost three of their last four games, as they also suffered defeat to the Dallas Mavericks earlier in the month.

Another team with a sub-.500 record.

The Mavericks are 14-25.

A theme of the season for the Rockets has been their performance against non-contending teams.

Houston has suffered two losses this season to Mavericks, a loss to the Utah Jazz, a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, a loss to the Sacramento Kings, a loss to the LA Clippers and two consecutive losses to Portland.

Of Houston's 13 losses this season, eight of them have come against teams with losing records.

All told, Houston has gone 11-8 this season against teams with losing records. 

They currently sit 22-13, which is good for sixth in the Western Conference. 

And they find themselves sliding in the latest power rankings by Bleacher Report, albeit slightly. 

Writer Andy Bailey compiled his power rankings after last week's blockbuster trade between the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards, which sent four-time All-Star guard Trae Young to Washington, in exchange for Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum.

The Rockets came in third place, a drop from last week's second-place landing spot.

Bailey explained. 

"The Oklahoma City Thunder have cracked the door open for the top spot in the power rankings for a couple weeks, but no one seems willing to walk through.

The Houston Rockets, for example, went 1-2 this week, with both losses coming to sub-.500 teams.

It wasn't all bad, though. Kevin Durant helped Houston avoid a three-game losing streak by burying his former team with a game-winner, and then he talked about his specific motivation against the Phoenix Suns.

With the Rockets' wealth of defense, athleticism and playmaking to carry them through the beginning of games and KD's ability to close them out, Houston has to be taken seriously as a title threat (even if it can't quite take advantage of OKC's struggles right now)."

The good news is that it's still relatively early in the season. Sure, we're about halfway through with the season, but there's a significant amount of time left.

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