Rockets Have A Chance to Get Back on Track and Secure Homecourt in Playoffs

The Houston Rockets are set to host the New Orleans Pelicans tonight at 6 p.m. CT, playing their second straight game against them. After a 109-97 win in their previous game, the Rockets will travel back to Houston to kick off a six-game homestand as the regular season winds down.

Against a Pelicans team sitting 14th in the Western Conference, the Rockets will have an opportunity to start a winning streak. They haven't had one since late February, as the team has struggled mightily through the second half of the season.

Houston is 5-5 in its last 10 games, but has a 10-12 record since the 41-game mark, which ranks 16th in the NBA. The Rockets' offensive and defensive ratings have taken a significant dip through the second half of the season, with the offense ranking 23rd (111.4) and the defensive ranking 12th (113.2).

With Fred VanVleet being the only rotation piece out for the Rockets, they're relatively healthy with just 19 games left in the regular season. They once held the second seed in the West at the start of February, but injuries and poor performance dropped them to the fifth seed. Houston is struggling to compete with the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, and Denver Nuggets to move up in the standings.

A winning streak followed by a stretch of home games could be exactly what the Rockets need to move up and secure home-court advantage for the playoffs. With the Golden State Warriors (35-28) and Minnesota Timberwolves (36-29) catching up, the last thing Houston needs is to have a colossal falloff to the Play-In Tournament. The gap is starting to close as the team is 38-25 and just three games ahead of the sixth seed.

The Rockets have the eighth-best home record this season at 20-10, so this homestand is more of an advantage than people think. Of their final 19 games, 11 are at the Toyota Center. Houston will have a major opportunity, and it starts with tonight's game against the Pelicans. The momentum needs to continue to build for the Rockets.

Earning homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs would be significant, so every game counts the remainder of the regular season.