Rockets Rank as Fifth-Best Team In Western Conference

The last two weeks of play has rendered the Houston Rockets as the NBA's best version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Houston blew a 25-point lead to the New Orleans Pelicans and lost in overtime. 

Houston then beat the Denver Nuggets, who are easily viewed as one of the best teams in the league, thanks in large part, to Nikola Jokic, who more recently posted an insane 50-point triple-double, with 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists on Christmas Day. 

Houston then suffered back-to-back losses to the Sacramento Kings and LA Clippers -- two of the worst teams in the Western Conference. 

The Rockets then dominated the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA's premier Los Angeles team, in their own Christmas Day matchup. The loss was so convincing that it drew the ire of Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick. 

Houston won 119-96 all told, dominating the Lakers on the glass 48-25 and 17-7 on the offensive end.

In Houston's next game (and most recent game), they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-100, limiting Donovan Mitchell, the league's fourth-leading scorer, to just 16 points.

With the Rockets' inconsistencies, it can be rather difficult to render an accurate assessment of where they rank among the league’s elite. 

Rockets Drop in Power Rankings

However, it's not a surprise that they dropped to seventh in the latest power rankings concocted by Marc Stein of the Stein Line. 

Stein explained.

"It made little sense when we last assembled Power Rankings on Thanksgiving that the point guard-less Rockets had the league's No. 1 offense and what we've seen from Houston lately has likewise been difficult to comprehend. They've suddenly lost four of the past five games ... three of those in overtime and then a heavy loss to the struggling Clippers. The only win in that stretch, meanwhile, came at Denver, which isn't the friendliest place to play even when the Nuggets somehow sport a better record away from home than they do at Ball Arena. Dropping from No. 2 in these rankings last month to sixth in the West is a dip we didn't see coming."

All told, Houston ranked as the league's fifth-best team in the Western Conference. The Rockets have gone 6-6 in December and face off against the Indiana Pacers on Monday. 

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