On Friday October 30th, the Houston Rockets are set to play their first Emirates NBA Cup Game of this season. This is already their fourth time facing up against the Dallas Mavericks this month, although the first two meetings were only preseason games.

When: Friday, October 30th @ 7:00 PM CT 

Where: American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas  

Where to watch: Local Broadcasting, NBA League Pass (with subscription)

Since there were too many core players missing on both sides, it’s hard to put much stock into the NBA China Games. The season-opener is a completely different story, though. 

Hometown fans were treated with a dominant 18-point blowout in Houston’s first game of the year, and this team hasn’t looked back since. After taking care of the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, the Rockets easily moved to 5-0. 

The Mavericks, on the other hand, still have a very respectable 3-2 record, given their circumstances. They’ve been without two big-men who are both viable starters in this league, yet still won their last two games against the OKC Thunder and Miami Heat. 

Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving are set to host Kevin Durant and the undefeated Rockets in Dallas, but there will be some notable absences. 

Out: Quadir Copeland (G League - Two-Way Assignment) 

Out: Julian Phillips (G League - Two-Way Assignment)

Out: Steven Adams (Right Soleus Strain) 

Out: Reed Sheppard (Low Back Soreness) 

Questionable: Alperen Şengün (Low Back Soreness) 

Questionable: Marcus Smart (Left Forearm Strain) 

Available: Caleb Martin (Right Thumb Splint) 

Questionable: Naji Marshall (Illness) 

Doubtful: Santi Aldama (Right Knee Surgery) 

Doubtful: Tarik Biberovic (Right Heel Bursitis)  

Out: Dereck Lively II (Right Foot Surgery)  

Out: Sergio de Larrea (Right Knee Sprain)

Both teams are likely to have a starting big-man, as well as a backup big sidelined. While Şengün is the star for Houston, I’m more concerned about Steven Adams.

He hasn’t played in a week, since the October 23rd thriller against the San Antonio Spurs. Before that, he sat out for two whole weeks after the October 9th preseason-opener.

Despite their 5-0 start, this team still needs Adams to be available for more than two games in every three week span. To some extent the same could be said about Reed Sheppard. 

While it’s less concerning, I’m still not happy to see him missing his second game by Houston’s sixth outing. Particularly due to it being two different injuries. He was a pillar of good health, playing all 82 last season, and we love to see that. 

This will be a good test for the Rockets, though. They already won once without Şengün, plus multiple times without Adams, Sheppard, and Smart. This is exactly why Rafael Stone built a deep team this offseason.