With veterans healthy and a clearer pecking order established, Houston must trade last year’s double-overtime sloppiness for disciplined execution to prove their 52-win season wasn't a fluke.
The Houston Rockets gave everyone five extra minutes of basketball on opening night last season, then five more, only to leave Oklahoma City with a 125-124 loss and a headache that lasted much longer.
Alperen Şengün delivered 39 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Houston won the rebounding battle 52-38 and held the Thunder to 25-percent from three. None of it survived 22 turnovers, several wasted opportunities and two Shai Gilgeous-Alexander free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining.
The Rockets proved they could stay with the defending champions. They also showed exactly how quickly good basketball can unravel without enough control.
So what’s changed since that exhausting night in Oklahoma City?
Plenty, starting with Fred VanVleet. Houston played last year’s opener without its primary organizer and committed that inexcusable amount of turnovers, a problem his return should directly address. Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanović add two more veterans capable of settling a possession before it turns into an adventure.
Adams already gave the Rockets 13 rebounds in last year’s opener. His return from the ankle injury he suffered in January also restores a frontcourt partnership Houston lost midway through the season.
That added stability should, in theory, make Kevin Durant’s second season in Houston less exhausting. The Rockets relied on him to rescue too many possessions last year, and a clearer offensive pecking order should allow him to finish plays without repairing every broken one. Şengün can remain involved, Amen Thompson can attack and VanVleet can keep everyone moving in the same direction.
Dallas will have a different opening-night challenge. Kyrie Irving is expected back after entering training camp without restrictions following knee surgery, Cooper Flagg enters his second season and Dusty May takes over a reshaped team. The Mavericks should improve considerably from last year’s brutal 26-win season, although a new coach and several new contributors may need time to settle.
Houston has fewer acceptable excuses. This group won 52 games despite major injuries, then suffered another first-round playoff exit. With VanVleet and Adams back, Durant entering Year 2 and the bench carrying more experience, simply looking competitive would feel underwhelming.
Opening night obviously won’t tell us whether the Rockets are contenders, but it should expose how much this team has actually grown. Protect the ball and control the pace, and they’ll make Dallas spend the night chasing instead of believing. My advice? This time, keep the drama short and send the Mavericks home early.
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