NBA Power Rankings: Rockets Lifting Off After Impressive Wins?

The Houston Rockets have caught the attention of the league after wins against contenders this week. But where does that put them in the latest power rankings?

Jeremy Brener | Dec 12, 2022

The Houston Rockets are celebrating one of their best wins of the season against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

That win, coupled with a double overtime victory against the Philadelphia 76ers earlier in the week, has given the Rockets some hope and a slight jump in this week's power rankings from Sports Illustrated. The team moved up from No. 27 to 26.

"The Rockets beat two of the best teams in the East last week and lost to one of the worst in the West," SI writes. "First, they outlasted the 76ers in double-overtime and held Harden to a poor shooting performance in his return to Houston. Then they lost to, of all teams, the Spurs, which gave San Antonio its first win in weeks. They beat the Bucks over the weekend and limited Antetokounmpo to a season-low 16 points in the process. It was an impressive showing for the Rockets, who scored 132 points to put away Philadelphia and grinded one out against the Bucks, despite finishing with just 97 points."

The Rockets probably could have seen a larger jump had they beaten the San Antonio Spurs, but the impressive wins outweigh the bad loss.

Houston continues its homestand this week against the Phoenix Suns (Tue.), Miami Heat (Thu.) and Portland Trail Blazers (Sat.).

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Published Dec 12, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.