The Houston Rockets have been perfect through three games, and they enter Monday’s visit to Atlanta as one of just two undefeated teams in the league. That kind of start may have been expected with a healthy, reinforced roster, but the way the pieces have snapped together has still outpaced the optimism.
Houston has looked every bit like a team ready to crash the top of the West conversation, especially after the Jalen Williams injury in Oklahoma City. The Rockets have already handled the Spurs, and the offense has been rolling behind Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith, Jr., and Alperen Sengun, all of whom have put up big numbers. Fred VanVleet’s return has helped settle everyone back into their normal jobs, and the ball movement has followed.
That showed up in the previous meeting with Atlanta, when Durant scored 22 and Reed Sheppard added 19 while knocking down 5-of-11 from three. Sheppard has carved out an energizer role, giving Houston another burst of scoring and shot-making.
The Hawks, though, have made this a more interesting early test than their record might suggest. They’ve looked sharp offensively themselves, and they’ve been better than the winless Heat and Knicks in the East.
Atlanta ranks fourth in the NBA in offensive rating, while Houston sits third. In the last matchup, that attack helped the Hawks claw all the way back from a 20-point hole to within five before the Rockets finished them off.
Monday brings the rematch in Atlanta, and the Hawks will be looking to flip the result at home. Jalen Johnson will again be a key piece after he posted 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the first meeting. Atlanta also strengthened its depth in the offseason, with Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins arriving from the Thunder, and Wiggins in particular gave them useful minutes and finished with 16 points on Saturday.
Houston, meanwhile, will be missing Marcus Smart, who is expected to sit with a left forearm strain. VanVleet is back, but the Rockets are easing him in after last season’s torn ACL, which is why he did not play Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back.
Even without him, Houston went 14-35 from three in the last game, and the expectation is that the Rockets could find even cleaner looks with their “general” back on the floor. A win would move Houston to 4-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 season, when a roster featuring James Harden, Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley finished 56-26.
For Atlanta and Houston, this is another useful early measuring stick. The Rockets still have softer stops ahead on the road trip, with Milwaukee and Dallas next.
In Other News...
Thunder Injury News Just Reopened A Painful Memory For Hawks Fans
The Thunders injury situation has turned into a familiar kind of bad news for Hawks fans, because it brings back memories of the kind of setback that can quietly alter a season. Oklahoma City has already lost Jalen Williams after a severe injury in a recent game, and now another starter is headed to the sideline for the rest of the year, leaving the team to absorb a major hit at a point when depth suddenly matters a lot more.
For Atlanta supporters, the most jarring part is the resemblance to what happened with Jalen Johnson during the Hawks 2024-25 season. The overlap in recovery time is hard to miss, and it is the sort of detail that makes an otherwise unrelated Thunder update feel uncomfortably close to home for a fan base that has already lived through the grind of watching a key piece disappear from the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Suddenly Have One Fixable Problem They Must Solve Vs Rockets
Houstons 121-114 win over Atlanta on Oct. 24 did more than hand the Hawks their first loss of the season. It also exposed a problem the Hawks can actually get their arms around: perimeter defense that slipped just enough for the Rockets to stay comfortable from deep while Atlantas own offense never found a steady answer, finishing 13 of 49 from 3-point range.
Quin Snyder sounded focused on the details afterward, and for good reason, because the margin in a game like this often comes down to a handful of possessions. The Hawks will need cleaner coverage on Houstons outside threats and better resistance when the Rockets put pressure on the paint, especially if they want to avoid letting one rough night from beyond the arc turn into a larger trend. [Read more 🡒]
Atlanta Arena Mess Puts The Dream In A Brutal Finals Spot
The WNBA Finals have hit an awkward pause in Atlanta, where the venue and timing for Game 6 still have not been sorted out because of scheduling issues at State Farm Arena. The building is the Dreams usual home court and also houses the Hawks, which has created a calendar jam at exactly the wrong moment with the series tied 2-2 and Game 5 set for Monday in San Francisco.
League officials, the teams and arena staff are still trying to work through the options, but no final decision has been announced. For now, the uncertainty hangs over a series that should be building toward its finish, with Atlanta waiting to learn whether the next Finals game gets shifted to a different site or pushed to a later date. [Read more 🡒]