Rockets have their biggest challenge this season already set out before them

The Houston Rockets have had an excellent start to the season, posting a 12-4 record and, as it stands, holding the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

Yet, given their losses to both the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets, NBC's latest NBA Power Rankings have ranked the Rockets below both of those teams, identifying them as the fourth-best team in the league as it stands. Therefore, early in the season, Houston's biggest challenge has already been set out before them: play dominantly enough that they are considered a heavyweight of the caliber of those two teams.

Their ranking, as of now, is perfectly justifiable given their inability to defeat the best teams they have played so far. Yet, if the Rockets want to truly cement their status as championship contenders, they must somehow enter the same tier as the Nuggets and the Thunder.

The Rockets, as well as they have played, still have a tall task before them in a loaded Western Conference

While many had concerns about the Rockets' viability as a championship contending team given the season-long absence of starting point guard Fred VanVleet, they have done enough early in the season to erase a significant portion of those concerns.

Through their first 16 games, they are second in the NBA in offensive rating, first in offensive rebounding percentage, first in 3-point percentage and fifth in points per game. They have displayed an ability to win games both through dominant offensive performances and jaw-clenching, defensive spectacles, cementing their status hands down as one of the best teams in the league.

Yet, almost no one, at this point, would argue that they are truly at the same level as Oklahoma City and Denver.

The Thunder are 18-1 to start the season, and they are, yet again, the NBA's best defensive team by a large margin. They have dominated opponents on a night-to-night basis even without their second-best player in Jalen Williams (who will return to the lineup tonight).

The Nuggets, meanwhile, have just surpassed the Rockets in offensive rating despite missing two key starters in Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, and their depth looks vastly improved this season, rendering the team even more dangerous given how dominant Nikola Jokic can be when he is on the court.

The Rockets are certainly the third-best Western Conference team behind this formidable duo, but what can they do to be considered in the same echelon as them?

Primarily, they must iron out some of the wrinkles in their offense, becoming less dependent on isolation possessions from Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun in order to close games.

They must, also, beat the good teams that lie ahead on their schedule, as their losses to the Nuggets, Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs are truly what is holding them back from being considered a contender on par with these teams.

They will face the Nuggets on the road on Dec. 20, and, depending on the result of that game, this conversation can be reconsidered at that point. However, for now, the Rockets' path, and their direct competition, has been laid out before them.