Rockets Slide in NBA.com's Latest Power Rankings

A big reason why the Houston Rockets have dropped to the fourth seed in the Western Conference is that they simply haven't played enough games to tack on wins. They have the same number of losses as the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets (17-6), but two less victories at 15-6.

Still, the Rockets probably could have been higher in NBA.com's latest power rankings from John Schuhmann if they hadn't put up their worst loss of the season against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. Houston lost, 122-109, in a game that Schuhmann noted was the only one the team never trailed by five points or less in the last five minutes. The Mavericks were in full control the entire night.

This week, the Rockets have dropped one spot to fourth in the league, behind the Lakers, Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder. While Kevin Durant has been a revelation to Houston's offense, the team clearly needs both him and Alperen Sengun to be a true title contender.

"Though they continue to have the best offensive rebounding percentage in the last 30 years, the Rockets aren’t winning the possession battle by as much as they did last season," Schuhmann wrote.

"Turnovers were an issue (43 total) in the two weekend games without Sengun and the Rockets have now committed 1.9 fewer turnovers per 100 possessions with him on the floor (15.2 per 100) than they have with him off the floor (17.1)."

Another big stat to note is that Houston is now 0-2 in the second game of back-to-backs. Their schedule has been the strangest of any team to start the season, but no rest has clearly affected the defense.

The Rockets have allowed an average of 127.5 points per game in the second contest of back-to-backs. The average margin of defeat in those games is 10.5 points.

Now, they're getting a lengthy break before playing again on Dec. 11, but is this much rest a good thing? Houston has just one more back-to-back set in 2025 before a total of 11 sets from January to April. The competition thus far has been noticeably weak, so are we in for a rude awakening down the road?

It's tough to tell, because even though the Rockets have played just seven teams that currently have a top-six seed in each conference, they've taken advantage of these games. Houston still has the second-best defensive rating in the league with a top-five offensive rating as well.