The Houston Rockets began their 2026 campaign with a dominant 128-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks which showed lots of great signs for the Rockets and could mean that this team is ready for a great showing this season.

On that note, let's take a look at the top takeaways from this game and what truly could be sustainable for Houston moving forward.

Starting off, the Rockets got an excellent game on the offensive end from forwards Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. and center Alperen Sengun as the trio combined for 83 points. Durant had 30 points, Smith also had 30 points, and Sengun added 23 points with each of them also hitting at least two threes which is a great sign and could help Houston to space the floor very well in 2026.

Heading into opening night, many knew that Durant and Sengun were capable, but there were questions as to how Smith would perform this season and on opening night he proved that he can be a great scorer as well as a defender and rebounder as he added five boards and two steals on the night.

With that said, getting these contributions from Durant, Smith, and Sengun is a great sign to start the season and once this whole team gets going, it is possible that the Rockets could be one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA.

Next, veteran guard Fred VanVleet made his return, and it was felt in a major way as he provided great playmaking and was solid on both ends of the floor, which is exactly what the Rockets needed out of him.

For the game, VanVleet totaled six points, two rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, and one block which demonstrated his ability make great contributions on offense and defense. The playmaking specifically was incredible as he not only tallied 11 assists, but he had zero turnovers in doing so which shows he has the ability to initiate offense and get everyone going while also taking care of the ball.

Moving forward, if VanVleet can continue to take care of the ball and stay healthy this season, it is very likely that he could help put this Rockets team in a position to be very effective on the offensive end which could be game changing in a very deep Western Conference.

Lastly, the Rockets were able to pick right back up where they left off when it came to offensive rebounding as they had 17 offensive rebounds for the night and they were able to hold the Mavericks to nine.

As far as the leaders go on the offensive glass for the Rockets, most of the damage was done by Sengun as well as guard Amen Thompson, as Sengun totaled five offensive rebounds and Thompson had six. What is even more interesting about this is the fact that center Steven Adams did not play in this game with a calf injury and Houston was able to dominate the offensive despite being down their best offensive rebounder.

Based on that, it does appear that the Rockets do not just rely on a single player when it comes to the rebounding, this is a team effort and once Adams does come back it is very possible that Houston could be the best rebounding team in the NBA and continue to give themselves extra opportunities on the offensive end which could be huge over the course of the 2026 season.

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