I was looking for a site to put a grand on the over of 24.5, but after seeing the schedule, I am out on it. The Rockets have the worst schedule up to a few games before the all-star break. That will put the tank in full mode. If we were able to do better in the first half, the Rockets would have probably tried to go for a play-in or at least not try to lose. As bad as their record is going to be that 1st half, they will pull out all stops again to be the worst or close to the worst record in the league.
I think it is the better to start with the play off Teams before they find their rhythm and before the players see that they are a losing team. Many playoff teams will have slow starts. The road trip is bad though.