Surprising stat shows the best is yet to come for the Rockets this season

The Houston Rockets have struggled to beat the NBA's best teams this season. So, some fans may be surprised to learn that their 12-4 record comes with the fourth-most difficult schedule in the NBA so far.

The data comes from the good folks at Power Ranking Gurus. Their strength of schedule "is determined by (team's) rankings in our Composite NBA Power Rankings". By that measure, the Rockets have been challenged.

That's right. The Rockets have indeed lost games to elite teams. Here's the rub: They haven't played many of the league's worst teams, either. The Rockets have faced a gauntlet of solid, unexceptional squads so far. In the aggregate, it's made for a reasonably challenging schedule.

Best of all, it only gets better from here.

Rockets' schedule is posed to get easier

The Rockets have had the fourth-hardest schedule thus far, and they have the very easiest schedule remaining.

It feels almost impossible. The Rockets have only played the Thunder once. They haven't played the Lakers yet. How is this happening?

Well, they haven't played the Jazz yet either - although they've got a back-to-back set with them starting on Monday. The Rockets haven't played very many of the league's worst teams, and that changes starting now. This team should be able to stockpile some wins:

But what does it all mean?

Rockets need to win when it counts

For the Rockets, nothing means much of anything until the postseason. That's when the games count.

For the time being, they need to circle certain dates on their calendars. When the Rockets are playing one of the league's best teams, they need to show up.

That said, they shouldn't take anyone for granted, either. The NBA Is fluid. The league's worst teams now may have win streaks later.

Take the Mavericks. They spent much of the season teaching a rookie to play a new position for the first time. Once Cooper Flagg adjusts, they could be dangerous.

How about the Clippers? They didn't expect to struggle so mightily this season. If Kawhi Leonard can get right, they could still right the ship.

More generally, the point is that it's a long season. The Rockets need to stay focused. This team needs to be prepared for a deep playoff run, but it's nice that their remaining strength of schedule gives them some room to breathe.

When the postseason comes, the schedule gets significantly more difficult.