The Rockets went 1-2 last week, falling to sixth in the Western Conference. On Monday, they lost to the Chicago Bulls, 132-124. Then on Wednesday, in what was a monumental collapse in overtime, the Rockets fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 110-108. They licked their wounds on Friday, beating the tanking Memphis Grizzlies, 119-109.

Houston has four games on the slate this upcoming week, starting with a visit to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. They come home to host the New York Knicks on Tuesday and then the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. Finally, they’ll wrap up the week against the Utah Jazz on Friday.

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After occupying the third seed recently, the Rockets have fallen all the way to sixth in the West, but just a half game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves. Houston has gone just 5-5 in its last ten games while the Lakers have gone 9-1.

The Rockets’ most used lineup, by number of possessions, remains the quintet of Amen Thompson, Josh Okogie, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun. Those five players have shared the court for 695 possessions and yielded a net rating of +8.0. The team’s current starting lineup, featuring the quintet of Reed Sheppard, Thompson, Durant, Smith, and Sengun, has shared the court for 439 possessions, resulting in a net rating of -7.0.

After playing below his standards, Sengun has been surging after taking the week of March 13 off to rest. Since returning, over six games, Sengun has averaged 23 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 7.2 assists on 64.5% from the floor, including 67.4% on two-pointers. That’s a more than welcome development for a Rockets team looking for positive signs heading into next season. Sengun was named to his second straight All-Star game this season. Rumors continue to swirl about Houston’s interest in Milwaukee Bucks center Giannis Antetokounmpo and Sengun would almost surely be in any hypothetical trade with the Bucks.

The Rockets have just nine games left on their schedule as they fine tune towards the postseason. Per head coach Ime Udoka, they will be without starting point guard Fred VanVleet. (It was believed that the veteran guard might possibly make an early comeback).