Ben DuBose

So the longer we take to get this out, the more time there is for something we say to get outdated.

And even if it's not that, there's just less time for our audience to find and listen to the episode before the deadline if we wait.

Also, I'm traveling this week, so I can't guarantee that my hotel Wi-Fi connection is as good as it usually is at home.

I hope it is, but no promises.

I will promise that we will have better production value in future episodes once I'm back in Houston and things are less time sensitive.

And then one last disclaimer, Paolo and I are going to have a three-way postgame show with Dave Hardesty of Clutch Fans on Saturday afternoon once that nationally televised Rockets Thunder game is completed.

We'll post that episode here on this podcast channel, but you can also listen live on the Clutch Fans YouTube page.

And then on that show, beyond just reaction to that game, we'll also have reaction to the trade deadline since it will have officially passed only about 48 hours before.

So we're going to try and be a bit quicker today in this preview show, and then we can follow up with some more analysis after the fact to try and add more context as to what does or doesn't happen.

All right, with disclaimers out of the way, let's get into today's show.

The good news is what's happening on the basketball court.

The Rockets, they've won their last three games over Atlanta, Dallas, and Indiana.

That's improved them to 31-17 on the year, and they're actually 8-2 in their last 10 games.

If you look at the top eight seeds in the West as of Tuesday, that 8-2 mark from the Rockets is at least two games better than every other team in the top eight over that span.

So Houston's definitely making up some ground in the standings.

They are still number four in the West, but they're now tied in the loss column with the Nuggets and only a game back of the Spurs.

Houston has fewer games played than most teams, but that is going to change in the near future.

The Rockets have a home back-to-back this week against the Celtics and Hornets on Wednesday and Thursday, and then they bet another one next week against the Clippers.

So, for better or for worse, the total of overall games, that's about to catch up.

But as far as the key takeaways from their recent play, on the balance, you shouldn't ever complain about winning 80% of your games in a decent-sized sample.