How the Houston Rockets Can Guarantee They’re Top Three in the West

The Houston Rockets ended last year in very disappointing fashion, getting bounced in the first round. Their dismissal from the postseason hurt even worse considering Luka Doncic didn’t ever touch the court, while Austin Reaves only played in Game 5 and Game 6. The LA Lakers were undermanned and still took care of the Rockets without much resistance. 

If I’m being honest, that outcome wasn’t all that big of a surprise. Sure, it was shocking to see them lose in that fashion to a Luka-less Lakers squad, but I wasn’t surprised by their inability to advance. After all, Rafael Stone did say, “it’s just not our year,” after not making any moves at the trade deadline, per Roundtable. 

Houston’s own GM didn’t have much faith in this team in February, so why should anyone else have felt differently come the postseason? They were clearly in need of Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams, and couldn’t do much of anything without them, right? 

Well, not so fast. The Rockets won 52 games with FVV in 2024-2025, and still had the same level of success without him last year. As covered on Roundtable, this team really wasn’t discernibly worse without Steven Adams on the court either. So what gives? How will their returns be enough to push Houston to the next level? 

For starters, every season isn’t made equally. 52 wins last season earned them the fifth seed last year, while the same number put them in second place the season before. You just never know where you’ll end up because you can’t control how other teams perform. 

You can, however, control how you perform against other teams. Particularly against the top teams in the conference because that can grant you valuable tiebreakers at the end of the season. That’s something this team really struggled with last year. 

The Rockets only had one victory over each of the teams ahead of them in the Western Conference standings. That’s just embarrassing and showed how they stacked up against real competition. 

Even the Minnesota Timberwolves won their season series against Houston, despite winning three fewer games and finishing lower in the overall standings. Who knows how the Wolves will perform this season, but hopefully we see different results. 

We need to see some more wins against the top teams in the conference if the Rockets expect to be viewed as a contender. They have three games against the Denver Nuggets and OKC Thunder, and four games against the Lakers, Wolves, and San Antonio Spurs. 

After having a 5-12 record against those teams last season, they need to be way closer to .500 if they want to instill faith in any viewers around the league. Otherwise, I find it hard to see a world where the Houston Rockets are a serious contender, or even get home-court advantage. 

More from RocketsRoundtable: 

Amen Thompson Is An Underrated Most Improved Player Candidate 

KD’s Not Worried About Betting Sites, He’s Focused on His Teammates

How the Rockets’ Preseason Games Can Put Them Ahead of the Curve

Is the Houston Rockets’ Head Coach in Jeopardy of Losing His Job?