The Rockets’ opening-night formula was simple: get moving before the defense can load up, and life gets a lot easier.
Houston did exactly that in Wednesday’s 128-110 win over the Mavericks, piling up 29 fast-break points. According to William Guillory of The Athletic, the Rockets only reached that mark twice all of last season. Jabari Smith Jr. and Kevin Durant both poured in 30 points, and the pace clearly fed into their production.
“When we do that, when we get into it fast, it looks good,” Smith said. “That starts on the defensive end with finishing possessions with rebounds and getting out and not having to run sets and plays. Just playing freely.”
Fred VanVleet’s return gave Houston a steadier hand to go with the speed. After missing all of last season, he posted six points and 11 assists in nearly 30 minutes without a turnover. Marcus Smart added another experienced presence in the backcourt, finishing with one turnover in 26 minutes.
Durant said VanVleet’s influence goes beyond the box score.
“It’s just his calming force. I’m one of those players that’s on edge a lot.
I’m ready to go all the time. He comes out and settles the game down,” Durant said of VanVleet.
That balance matters for a Rockets offense that spent too much time last season working deep into the clock. Guillory notes that Durant and Alperen Sengun ranked third and fourth in the NBA last season in shots attempted during the final five seconds of the shot clock. If Houston can create cleaner looks earlier in possessions, it should not have to rely as often on late-clock shot making.
“All scorers want the easy ones like that to get them going,” Durant said. “Then, when you get a few isos, it feels good when you touch the ball.”
In Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s relationship with Sam Presti has been built on patience from the start. Tim MacMahon of ESPN wrote that early in their partnership, Presti gave the guard a children’s copy of The Tortoise and the Hare to explain the organization’s approach.
That trust remained intact even as the Thunder made difficult moves this summer. MacMahon reports that Gilgeous-Alexander privately pushed to keep Luguentz Dort, but understood the financial reality when Oklahoma City traded Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins.
“It feels like a partnership,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I don’t work for him.
He doesn’t work for me. We’re in this thing together.”
Brooklyn’s own direction is far less subtle. Julius Randle said the message since he arrived has been all about winning.
“It’s not like we’re putting development at the forefront,” Randle said, via Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “Obviously we’re all trying to get better and develop, but it’s what does it take every single day to come in and do the right things to win basketball games.”
That challenge only gets steeper after Wednesday’s home loss to the Hornets, with six straight games against projected Eastern Conference playoff teams up next. Houston also holds swap rights on Brooklyn’s 2027 first-round pick, which cuts into the incentive for another losing season.
Moritz Wagner said the next step is making preseason work show up when the games count.
“You’ve worked so hard the last two, three weeks, you want to execute the things you worked on,” he said.
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Brooklyn did briefly surge after the break, with Porter Jr. sparking the third quarter and giving the crowd a reminder of how quickly the game can tilt when his shot is falling. The bigger concern, though, was less about any one scoring burst and more about whether the Nets can hold up physically against teams that attack inside and extend possessions, which is the kind of problem that tends to linger beyond one opening-night loss. [Read more 🡒]
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Even in a loss to Charlotte, the Nets got a glimpse of a more competitive ceiling with Randle on the floor, the kind of impact that can change the tone of a season before it really settles in. The question now is how quickly Brooklyn can turn one strong debut into something more sustainable, especially with a roster still trying to find its shape around him. [Read more 🡒]
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