Recapping the Rockets’ 2019-20 season through 64 games

Performance against teams with losing records

Although the Rockets have lost 24 games this season, 13 of them have been against teams with losing records, which is concerning. This could be attributed to the Rockets underestimating these opponents, or simply playing to their level of competition.

Granted, five of these games came when the Houston Rockets were playing a back-to-back game, which means they were without Russell Westbrook, so that surely made a difference. But these are the types of games the Rockets should be able to win, even without Russ.

For example, if the Rockets had won each of these games, they’d be 53-11, which would tie them with the Milwaukee Bucks for the most wins in the league this season. On top of that, this would have given them the top seed in the Western Conference, which obviously makes a big difference in securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

What makes matters worse about these 13 losses is that five of them were home games for the Rockets, which should certainly have swung in the Rockets’ favor. The good thing is that the Rockets have had success against winning teams this season, and they won’t be facing any sub-.500 teams in the postseason, whenever that is.

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