NBA Power Rankings: Rockets Rising with 5-Game Win Streak?

The Houston Rockets have won five in a row. Where does that put them in this week's power rankings?

Jeremy Brener | Mar 19, 2024

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Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets have won their last five games and seven of their last eight.

It's a sign of a team that's hoping to cling on to any small hopes of reaching the Play-In Tournament.

Rockets Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr. — Rockets Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr / Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Even with the win streak, the team still sits three games back of the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. The Rockets have also only made a slight move up in CBS Sports' latest power rankings. Houston now sits at No. 19 after being No. 20 last week.

"Credit to the Rockets for at least making the Warriors and Lakers sweat in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament race," CBS Sports writes. "Seizing the 10th spot still seems a bit far-fetched, but winning seven of eight games is a great start."

If the Rockets can keep their win streak going this week, their chances of catching their rivals will certainly grow. But with only 15 games left for each team on the schedule, the margin for error is razor thin.

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That means the Rockets will likely have to win each game they play this week against the Washington Wizards (Tue.), Chicago Bulls (Thu.), Utah Jazz (Sat.) and Portland Trail Blazers (Mon.). All of these games are winnable, so if the Rockets have a nine-game win streak at this time next week, then they should rise up the power rankings and standings once again, applying even more pressure to the teams directly above them.

Published Mar 19, 2024

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.