Our NBA Tuesday miniseries goes south to Texas today to look at the Houston Rockets, a franchise that originated in San Diego for four seasons (1967-1971) before moving east to Gulf Coast. This organization has been to the NBA Finals four times, winning it twice (1994, 1995) and losing it twice (1981, 1986). None of these four teams made this list; heck, that 1981 team was downright garbage, sabermetrically speaking.

But in 56 seasons overall now, the Rockets have taken postseason flight 34 times with 8 division titles overall. That’s a pretty good track record, and the team’s .515 all-time winning percentage is solid as well. But yeah, the big surprise on this list is the lack of deep playoff penetration represented below. Poor Houston just hit a lot of bad luck in the NBA postseason with its best sabermetric squads.

No. 5: 2018-19 Houston Rockets

This team posted a 53-29 record to win the Southwest Division, with the No. 11 offense and the No. 10 defense. That combo elevated Houston to the No. 5 spot in the overall SRS rankings. In the first round, the Rockets waltzed all over the Utah Jazz in five games, but then Houston had to face the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the second round. That did not go well for the Rockets, as they lost in six games.

Houston featured shooting guard James Harden (15.2 Win Shares), center Clint Capela (10.8), and injured point guard Chris Paul (6.6). We actually gave Harden our MVP nod this year. Against the Jazz, the Rockets lost Game 4 on the road, but overall, they outscored Utah by 9.2 ppg. The Warriors presented a different challenge, however: Golden State won Games 5 and 6 by a combined 10 points to cement the series victory.

No. 4: 2006-07 Houston Rockets

A third-place finish in the Southwest Division with a 52-30 record didn’t stop this group from reaching sabermetric heights as the No. 4 team in the overall SRS rankings. Houston featured the No. 17 offense and the No. 3 defense, which was quite a disparity. As the fifth seed in the Western Conference, though, the Rockets got to host the Jazz—and the series went the full seven, with Utah winning on the road by 4 points.

This team had eight players finish with 4.9 WS or more, led by small forward Shane Battier (9.0 WS), SG Tracy McGrady (8.6), and C Yao Ming (7.4). Guess which one of those three is not in the Hall of Fame?! In the playoff matchup, the home team won every game until the last one, with Houston winning its three games by a combined 21 points—and losing its four games by a combined 43 points. Utah earned this.

No. 3: 2013-14 Houston Rockets

A 54-28 record meant second place in the Southwest. These Rockets were No. 5, though, in the overall SRS rankings, with the No. 2 offense and the No. 23rd defense … even more a vast gap between than the team above! But with home-court advantage against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, Houston crashed and burned. The Blazers actually won the first two games on the road and clinched in six.

Harden (12.8 WS) and C Dwight Howard (8.0) led this team, which just stunk in the postseason. The biggest moment in playoff series was Game 4 after the Rockets won Game 3 on the road in overtime to get back into it. Houston blew a fourth-quarter lead in Portland and then lost it in OT. After all, it was just a matter of time for the Trail Blazers to close up shop on the Rockets, who actually outscored Portland in this series.

No. 2: 2016-17 Houston Rockets

Posting a 55-27 record to earn second in the Southwest, these guys finished No. 3 in the overall SRS rankings. Houston had the No. 2 offense and the No. 26 defense—notice a trend here at all?! The Rockets opened the postseason with a five-game series win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and in the second round, Houston got to face interstate rival San Antonio … and the Spurs won the matchup in six games.

This team was all Harden (15.0 WS) all the time, as no one else even topped 6.0 WS on the roster. We’re not sure how that’s even possible? Houston won Game 1 against OKC by 31 points, but the next four games were close, decided by a combined 16 points. The Spurs, though, outscored the Rockets by 5.0 ppg overall despite losing Game 1 at home by 27 points. San Antonio’s Game 5 win by 3 points at home was the only close game.

No. 1: 2017-18 Houston Rockets

The best team in franchise history—sabermetrically, at least—won 65 games to end up as the only Rockets team ever to post more than 58 victories in a season. Houston finished No. 1 in the SRS rankings, with the No. 2 offense and the No. 7 defense. The Rockets beat Minnesota and Utah, respectively, in five games each before facing the defending champs from Golden State. Houston had home court and the lead, but … lost.

Harden (15.4 WS), Capela (10.2), and Paul (10.2) were a dominant trio this time out, even though they missed a combined 42 games during the year. The Rockets outscored the Timberwolves by 8.8 ppg and the Jazz by 10.0 ppg. But when Houston took a 3-2 series lead against the Warriors, they lost CP3 to injury—and lost Games 6 and 7 by a combined 38 points. It was bad luck for the Rockets as the Warriors got the other kind.