Houston Rockets: 3 most difficult stretches of the 2019-20 season

2. 8 game stretch from Jan. 15 to Jan. 29

Houston’s eight game stretch between Jan. 15 and Jan. 29 is the longest stretch of this list. They’ll start with a four-game home stand against the Blazers on Jan. 15, LeBron James and the Lakers on Jan. 18, then Chris Paul will make his second visit to Houston on Jan. 20 and the final game of the home stretch will come against Nuggets.

Then, the Rockets will go on a tough four game road trip starting on the easier side with the Wolves on Jan. 24. Then, Houston will fly to Denver once again on Jan. 26, before taking on Utah the very next night and finishing in Portland on Jan. 29.

While Houston’s first four games of this run will come against three of the top Western Conference teams, I expect the Rockets to take care of business at home and win 75 percent of those games. However, the stretch against the Nuggets, Jazz and Trail Blazers on the road will be a real test, especially since Houston will be playing three games in four nights.

As we’ve already covered, the Rockets finished 1-1 in Denver last season and lost their only game in Portland. The Rockets finished 1-1 in Utah last season, which remains one of the most difficult arenas to play in for visitors, and it won’t get any easier after the Jazz added Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic over the summer.

The Rockets will do well in their home games and they should beat Minnesota at the beginning of their road trip, but those last three games in four nights could result in a 2-2 split on their four-game road trip.

Next: No. 1: Mar. 25-Apr. 2