Danuel House Jr. made his return to the starting lineup for the Houston Rockets on Friday night and the results were everything he and the team could have hoped for.
The versatile forward played just over 35 minutes in the win over Phoenix, tying his career high with 18 points while going 6 for 11 from the floor 4 for 8 from three while throwing in 4 rebounds with an assist and a steal. He also had what ultimately proved to be a decisive play in the final minutes, preventing Josh Jackson from scoring after stealing the ball from James Harden.
The Rocket announcers and fans all instantly reacted to the foul, believing it to be clean. While I myself was prepared to call it an awful foul call, House shared with Dave Hardisty after the game that he believed he made a little contact with Jackson on the follow-through and doesn’t blame the refs at all for making that call. Block or no block, the play proved huge for the Rockets as Jackson would miss both free throws and essentially end the game.
Clutch and the media caught up with House following the game:
After the impressive performance, fans are once again abuzz about what House means for this year’s team. Is he a starter? Will he come off the bench? Will he steal minutes from the thus-far-underperforming Iman Shumpert?
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The Rockets will get answers to those questions over the final leg of the season as they head for the playoffs, but it seems pretty clear that House will play an important role in the Rockets title chase this season. His skill in shooting the three, combined with his ability to put the ball on the floor when his defender closes on him, is something sorely missing from this team. He demonstrated the combo repeatedly Friday night, attacking the rim and showing off his athleticism as Suns defenders tried to close him out on the three-point line.
Will they lose the House this summer?
Despite the excitement, you can’t help but let your mind wander to the offseason. Regardless of what happens to end this year, the Rockets are going to be in an interesting spot financially. After winning his stare down with Rockets management, House was converted to a standard NBA contract for the remainder of this season that will allow him to become a Restricted Free Agent heading into the 2019-20 NBA season. Gauging the market for House is extremely difficult right now and could fluctuate with his performance from here on out, but this much is clear; keeping House for next season will be complicated.
By virtue of his restricted free agency, the Rockets will have the right to match offers for House this offseason, but it comes with a catch. With the Rockets set to be over the salary cap, they can only match contract offers up to the mid-level exception. As a likely tax payer team next season (more on that in the offseason) that number will further be reduced to the tax-payer version of the MLE. Any contract for House above his qualifying offer ($1.88M) or Non-Bird rights (just north of $2M) would require the Rockets to pay him using those MLE dollars.
David Weiner (a must follow for any Rockets fan!) does a great job of breaking these options down on twitter. Basically, the Rockets could offer House up to 4 years and around $8.65 million in total dollars without using the MLE. That gives the Rockets three options to retain House next season:
he plays on his qualifying offer ($1.88 million)
he signs for a Non-Bird contract ($2+ million)
he signs for all or a portion of the tax payer MLE ($5.6 million)
Assuming House plays well between now and the season’s end (hopefully sometime in June) the first two options seem unlikely.
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Complicating matters for the Rockets is that beyond House, they will likely need that tax payer MLE to have a shot at keeping Austin Rivers and Kenneth Faried, both significant additions following buyouts this season. If one or both would accept their one year Non-Bird offer for a modest salary increase next year, it would certainly makes things easier, but even then the MLE would be the only avenue the team would have for adding talent in free agency this offseason (aside from the minimum).
Despite a perceived snub picked up on by Bill Worrell and Clyde Drexler, House has said he hopes to remain with the Rockets and went so far as to say “I trust Daryl” in an interview with Jonathan Feigen. House’s agent, Raymond Brothers, said that their priority was for House to remain with the Rockets in that same interview.
By converting House now instead of waiting until the end of the G-League season, the Rockets did ensure House earns $200k+ more than he would have otherwise, so perhaps that will create some goodwill heading into offseason negotiations. Still, with House and his agent so steadfast in their desire to hit RFA this season, you have to wonder if they have reason to feel confident that there is an offer out there already from another team.
It’s not impossible to imagine plausible scenarios where everything works out for the Rockets, both during this season and in the offseason. Could one of House or Rivers take their Non-Bird right contracts with the other taking the MLE? Absolutely. No matter what happens between now and the end of this Rockets season, keeping Danuel House for the 2019-20 NBA season will be an interesting challenge. Rockets fans can only hope that the decision has to be made following a strong showing from House throughout a deep playoff run.
There’s no question that the Rockets have title hopes once again this year and Danuel House, a player who went unclaimed on waivers twice this season, has managed to make himself an integral part of those hopes.
A Rockets fan since birth, Justtxyank lives in an alternate timeline where Hakeem Olajuwon only played for the Rockets and there are STILL only three Star Wars films.
For a second straight season, the Houston Rockets will be part of the eight-team Western Conference playoffs. Their seed, however, remains unknown.
With wins in their last four games, the Rockets (47-29) clinched a top-six spot in the West standings when the Suns lost at Charlotte on Thursday night. Phoenix (42-35) is currently at No. 7, and Houston owns any tiebreaker after winning the head-to-head series.
In each conference, teams seeded sixth and above advance directly to the playoffs without having to go through the NBA’s play-in tournament. Since the Rockets have only six games left in their 2025-26 regular season, it is no longer mathematically possible to fall below the Suns.
As a franchise, Houston’s playoff berths in 2025 and 2026 are a welcome turn of events after a multi-year rebuilding project at the start of the decade. From 2021 through 2024, the Rockets missed the playoffs each spring.
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With a loss by the Suns, the Houston Rockets have clinched a spot in the playoffs 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Z2zAqa2hdC
Led by the All-Star duo of Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun and a pair of rising stars in Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard, the Rockets are currently seeded fifth in the West. As the regular season winds down, that ranks just ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves (46-30) and narrowly behind the Los Angeles Lakers (50-26) and Denver Nuggets (49-28).
Each team is well behind the West’s No. 2 seed, the San Antonio Spurs (58-18), so it’s a certainty that those four will be the No. 3 through No. 6 seeds, in some order. The teams seeded third and fourth will own home-court advantage (Game 1, Game 2, Game 5, and Game 7) in the resulting best-of-seven, first-round series.
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Since the Rockets will be in either the No. 3 versus No. 6 or No. 4 versus No. 5 series, it guarantees that either the Lakers, Nuggets, or Timberwolves will be their eventual first-round opponent. For the Rockets, playoffstatus.com currently lists the Nuggets at a 66% probability; the Lakers at 29%; and the Timberwolves at 4%.
As of Thursday, PlayoffStatus.com gave Houston only a 20% chance at securing a top-four seed and home-court advantage in the first round. Then again, fans learned one year ago that having home-court advantage does not guarantee success.
Houston might have an opportunity to make amends as a lower seed in 2026, though its first-round matchup won’t be against Golden State.
Furthermore, there’s this fun fact to consider: Houston’s most recent NBA championship came as a No. 6 seed, in 1995.
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Whether in Houston or away, Game 1 of the 2026 first-round series will be played on Saturday, April 18 or Sunday, April 19. A complete schedule will be announced shortly after the regular season concludes on Sunday, April 12.
With Phoenix's loss tonight, the Rockets have officially locked in a top-6 seed in the West. Houston is guaranteed a first-round best-of-seven series.
In the first two weeks of January, fourth-year forward Jabari Smith Jr. went through a brutal eight-game shooting slump, and the Rockets were 3-5 over that span.
But since mid-January, Smith’s fortunes have changed in a big way — and so, too, have those of the Rockets as a team.
In 17 games since Jan. 18, the Auburn product is averaging 17.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 51.0% overall, 42.6% on 3-pointers, and 81.4% on free throws.
Smith’s true-shooting clip is a robust 64.8% over that period, and the Rockets are 11-6 (.647) during those 17 games — second-best among all Western Conference teams. In their previous 22 games, Houston had gone 11-11.
“The last month or so I think Jabari has been catching his rhythm, understanding more his role,” All-Star forward Kevin Durant said postgame. “I know guys have been here for a while but it’s still a different team from last year, so guys have got to understand their roles a bit more. I think Bari has just stepped into his position and been great for us the last month.”
For Smith, it was his first time since February 2024 to score 20+ points in consecutive games.
Yet, it wasn’t just about the scoring, as Smith also finished with 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 steals against the Jazz. In postgame comments from Toyota Center, the versatile 6-foot-11 forward said he believes those types of defensive contributions often fuel his offense.
“I think it was about my mindset going into the games,” Smith said of his recent improvements. “Like I always say, if I do the other things, I usually play well.”
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”I’m not going into the game worrying about when my shot is going to come, or when I’m going to get the ball. I’m just trying to focus on crashing, and doing other things. Playing defense, rebounding. Usually, when I focus on those things, the game just comes more naturally to me. I’m not thinking about it, and I just feel like I’m in a better flow.”
And at just 22 years old, Houston’s No. 3 overall pick from the 2022 draft still has plenty of time to get even better. Asked Monday whether he feels he’s emerging as one of the better two-way players in the NBA, Smith didn’t mince words.
“For sure,” Smith told Kelly Iko of Yahoo! Sports.
“As I keep focusing on the defensive end and on the little things, I think I’m only going to keep getting better. The game is slowing down for me this year, and teammates are helping me. I feel like I’m in a good flow right now.”
“To answer your question, yes, for sure.”
For the 2025-26 season overall, Smith is now averaging career-highs in points (15.6 per game), 3-point shooting (37.0%), and true shooting (57.1%), and his combination of size and shooting allows him to space the floor and impact games without being ball dominant.
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Defensively, Smith ranks in the 88th percentile in blocks and 78th percentile in defensive rebounding among NBA forwards, per Cleaning the Glass.
As a team source recently told ClutchFans, “He’s Mr. Reliable.”
For more insight on Smith’s recent play, check out the ClutchFans YouTube channel for live postgame reaction to each game! Monday’s late episode features Dave Hardisty and Jeff Balke.
Will Kevin Durant’s alleged social media “burner” comments affect the Rockets?
At least through one game — Thursday’s impressive road win at Charlotte, led by a dominant showing from Durant — the answer appears to be no. (At least not negatively!)
With that victory and a Denver loss, Houston (34-20) climbed to No. 3 in the tightly packed Western Conference standings. Next up is Saturday’s showdown at Madison Square Garden, where tipoff versus the New York Knicks is at 7:30 p.m. Central on ABC.
In recent days, we had a pair of YouTube live streams reacting to the latest developments. Wednesday’s show with ClutchFans’ Dave Hardisty and Ben DuBose broke down Durant’s interview comments related to the scandal, while Thursday’s show with Hardisty, DuBose, and Chron.com’s Michael Shapiro offers key takeaways from an important win over the Hornets.
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You can watch those shows below, and if you haven’t seen the alleged Durant commentary regarding at least two of his teammates, you can read those messages here. Judge for yourself.
Houston didn’t make a move at Thursday’s in-season trade deadline, but the Rockets did get a much-needed victory in Saturday’s 112-106 win at Oklahoma City.
For the Rockets, it’s their first win of 2025-26 against the defending NBA champs. Houston (32-19) remains at No. 4 in the Western Conference standings, while the top-seeded Thunder (40-13) continue to own the league’s best record.
Featuring Ben DuBose, Paulo Alves, and ClutchFans’ Dave Hardisty, Saturday’s postgame show reacts to both the trade deadline and that nationally televised Rockets-Thunder showdown.
Topics include offensive growth by Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr.; an apparent step forward for Alperen Sengun on defense; what general manager Rafael Stone considered at the deadline; and potential buyout options and trade targets over the coming weeks and months.
The Rockets began January with a 3-5 record in their first eight games, and that included a winless road trip in Portland (twice) and Sacramento.
But after finishing with seven wins in nine games, Houston (30-17) enters February at No. 4 in the Western Conference standings.
Late Saturday, ClutchFans Editor Dave Hardisty teamed up with Ben DuBose (USA TODAY’s Rockets Wire) to recap the ABC primetime showdown. That video is available to watch here, as are postgame notes issued by the team.
Topics on the show include recent improvements from both Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr., with the latter on a clearly upward trajectory in late January.
— With the win, the Rockets split the season series versus the Mavs, 2-2. Houston closed out January by winning seven of its final nine games, while Dallas has lost a season-high tying four straight. The Mavericks had previously won a season-high four in a row.
— Houston held Dallas to 107 points and improved to 21-1 when allowing fewer than 110 points this season. The Rockets held opponents to 106.4 points per game in 17 January games, down from 112.0 points in the first 30 games of the season.
— The Rockets won despite shooting 41.7% from the floor. Houston has won three of its past four games while shooting below 45.0%, all after having just three previous wins (in 2025-26) when doing so. The Rockets had 108 shot attempts, tying for their second-highest total in a non-overtime game going back to 1986-87.
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— Houston had a season-high tying 33 assists with a season-low 6 turnovers. The Rockets are averaging 27.3 assists over the past seven games after averaging 20.8 the eight games prior. Houston has recorded 12 or fewer turnovers in consecutive games for the second time this season (Nov. 12-Nov. 14).
— Six Rockets scored in double-figures, including all five starters. The last time Houston’s entire starting lineup scored 10+ points was in Brooklyn on Jan. 1.
— Amen Thompson had 21 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. He has scored 20+ points in two of the past three games and 20 times overall this season, all after doing so 18 times in his first two seasons, combined. For the month of January, Thompson averaged 18.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.71 steals per game. [Video Highlights]
— Tari Eason had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals while shooting 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He has scored 15+ points in five of his 10 games played this month after doing so five times his first 16 games played this season (the Rockets went 7-3 in those games). Eason has recorded 2+ steals in each of his past four games played, marking his longest streak since a five-game span in November 2024. [Video Highlights]
— Josh Okogie had 13 points, 5 rebounds, a steal, and a block off the bench while shooting 3-of-6 from 3-point range. He has scored in double-figures in each of the past two games after not scoring 10+ in any of the 21 previous games. From 3-point range, Okogie has hit 10 treys on 47.6% shooting over the past seven games, and he is shooting a career-high 39.3% this season. [Video Highlights]
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— Cooper Flagg had a game-high 34 points along with a career-high 12 rebounds and 5 assists. He scored a career-high 49 points in the Mavs’ last game versus Charlotte on Jan. 29. Dating back to 1996-97, Flagg’s 83 points is the third-highest two-game total by a rookie. He is the fourth different Dallas rookie to have scored 30+ points in consecutive games (Mark Aguirre, Luka Dončić, Jay Vincent).
Houston resumes play Monday at Indiana (13-36), and our ClutchFans Live postgame show will react to both that night’s action and the in-season trade deadline of Thursday, February 5. Chron.com’s Michael Shapiro will be our featured guest, so tune in!
