NBA Power Rankings Week 11: All-Star break edition

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169. . 11-23. Previous: 28th. Houston Rockets. 29. team

Last Week: Lost to Memphis Grizzlies 133-84, Lost to Cleveland Cavaliers 101-90, Lost to Brooklyn Nets 132-114

This Week: 3/11 at Sacramento Kings, 3/12 at Utah Jazz

Just after the Houston Rockets traded away James Harden, they transformed into one of the best defensive teams in the league and looked to be a feel-good story chugging along toward a play-in scenario. Then Christian Wood got hurt and the wheels proceeded to fall off.

At one point, the Rockets were 11-10. They have lost 13 games straight since that point and have entered a rebuild whether or not they were fully ready for it. Christian Wood (averaging 22.0 points and 10.2 rebounds a night) has not played since the losing streak started. There is no point in waiting until he comes back to choose a direction.

PJ Tucker has been drawing interest from teams all season. While he has looked disinterested at best in Houston, it stands to reason that once he finds himself in a winning situation he will be back to his old form (see Nicolas Batum). If any team wanted to take a similar chance on Eric Gordon (who has cooled off notably) or John Wall (not happening), even better.

The rest of the season needs to be about giving first-year coach Stephen Silas a chance to get the most out of guys like Wood and Jae’Sean Tate. Justin Patton recently joined the team on a two-way contract and has scored 10 points twice in six games. The next era of Rockets basketball starts in earnest.