休斯敦火箭为何将在11月打出统治级表现

Nov 1, 2026 7:00 PMPublished Nov 1, 2026 7:00 PM

After their best start in more than a decade, Houston faces a grueling 14-game slate. Success hinges on home-court dominance and surviving a dense schedule to maintain elite status.

It’s safe to say that there’s a lot of excitement for the return of the NBA, and few teams are enjoying themselves more than the Houston Rockets. Ime Udoka and his squad got out to a hot start in their 2026-2027 campaign, winning five straight games right out of the gate. 

This was actually Houston’s best opening to a season in over a decade, when they stayed undefeated through their first six outings in 2014. They finished with 56 wins that time around, and there’s reason to believe they can have a similar record a dozen years later. 

In order to continue with their winning ways, this next 30 days of basketball can be huge for the team. Not only do they literally need the victories to maintain a 56-win pace, but the chemistry and confidence that comes along with wins will also help them down the line. 

That will undoubtedly be needed because the guys in ketchup and mustard jerseys will have to suit up and perform nearly every other night. There’s a total of 14 games in 30 days throughout November. Mental toughness and resilience will be a big factor in determining whether or not they keep winning at this high of a rate. 

While there’s 14 games, Houston got a bit lucky with more than half of those scheduled to take place in their home arena. There’s nine home games, compared to five matchups away from the Toyota Center. That’s great news for a team that only won 22 out of their 41 games on the road last year, as discussed on Roundtable.

The Rockets also struggled in back-to-back scenarios last season, as previously covered on Roundtable. Somehow Houston managed to get lucky with only one of those in the entire month of November, after already having two in the first two weekends. 

This is a blessing, considering they didn’t get a sweep until All-Star Weekend. That means the Rockets were virtually guaranteed to lose one game in every back-to-back last year. Aside from that, it also gives them more rest. 

Both Steven Adams and Fred VanVleet are scheduled to miss one half of every back-to-back, which can throw off the team’s continuity. This was a major concern of mine since there’s six of those occasion before we reach 2027. 

Now, we’ve already got through two of them, and will be halfway done by mid-November. There’s even a chance both veterans will be healthy enough to play in back-to-backs by the end of the month. 

While competition is still hard to judge this early in the season, Houston will have a favorable schedule regardless of who they face up against. If everything goes well, they’ll be at the top of the league by December first. 

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