Houston Rockets Mettle Will be Tested in Next Five Games

After an easier start to the season, the Houston Rockets will be thoroughly tested in the next five games.

Oct 25, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) drives with the ball during the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

To begin the season, the Houston Rockets had one of the easier schedules league-wide, and were hoping to use it to propel itself to another better-than-before season.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it’s shaken out. 

The Rockets are 2-2 so far, having dropped extremely winnable games to the Charlotte Hornets in its season opener, and one of two against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

The 82-game season is a long one, and Houston will have plenty of chances to make up wins down the road. But a 4-0 start — or 3-1 at a minimum — was fairly pivotal with the team’s upcoming five-game stretch, one of the hardest in the league.

To begin, the Rockets will take on another in-state rival in the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, Oct. 31. With superstar Luka Doncic still leading the charge, Dereck Lively seeing some offseason improvement and the long-heralded Klay Thompson now signed on, it won’t be an easy game, even if just down the road.

Next, the Rockets take on the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, who could be without Steph Curry due to another ankle injury suffered just days ago. He’ll be reevaluated Friday, and will be an obviously big domino to the difficulty in that matchup.

On Monday, Nov. 4, Houston takes on new Eastern Conference titan New York, who despite owning a 1-2 record right now, are still a much-feared team with Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.

Houston will quickly see its third matchup of the season against the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 6, before turning around and playing the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 8 — likely the toughest game in the next five in terms of matchups.

Coming away with more wins than losses over the next five, in any capacity, would be massive for Houston. Winning four or five could propel the team to a strong run, and down performances could snowball deeper into the season.

For now, they’ll focus on teams one at a time in rolling out their 2024-25 product.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Rockets on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Rockets news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.