The Rockets’ 9-3 start has a lot to do with Fred VanVleet being back where Houston needs him most: running the show.
VanVleet missed all of last season with a torn ACL, and after Wednesday’s win over Golden State, he talked to the NBA on ESPN crew about what it meant to get back on the floor. He said, “ The game was taken away from me for a full year, I think 500 days or something between games, so I’m appreciating every minute, ” VanVleet said (YouTube video link).
“ … You just don’t realize how much you take for granted. There’s no stakes, there’s no consequences when you don’t play.
You don’t get to feel the hurt of a loss the same, getting that energy out, being able to get the escape of being on that court for the night, so you miss all those things.”
He also said he feels like he hasn’t lost anything in his return, and the numbers back that up. VanVleet is averaging 13.7 points and 5.6 assists with just 1.1 turnovers while shooting 38.7% from three, production that looks a lot like what Houston had before the injury.
That steadiness has helped the Rockets settle into a cleaner offensive flow, and that showed up in the Warriors game, where six Houston players finished with at least 13 points. Durant put it simply: “ You don’t know whose day it is as a defense,” said Durant.
“ When you get hit with waves like that, you don’t know. You might have to double somebody else tonight.
You might have to show a different coverage or a different scheme because one guy got hot. When you’ve got five or six guys in double figures, then the next team that’s scouting us, they can’t have just one thing to stand on, they’ve got to be able to switch it up throughout the game.”
That kind of balance is a big change from last season, when the offense often boiled down to getting the ball to Durant and clearing out. Now the ball is moving, the load is shared, and Houston looks harder to pin down possession by possession.
The Durant-Alperen Sengun pairing has been a major part of that. In Monday’s 110-100 win over the Nuggets, Sengun and Durant worked through a two-man game that kept Denver guessing.
Sengun said Durant told him to slip his screens into open space when the Nuggets blitzed Durant off the pick, and that created four-on-three chances that Sengun could attack. Durant praised his big man’s feel for the game, saying, “ He’s a smart player.
He sees everything,” Durant said of Şengün. “ When he catches the ball, he sees both corners.
He sees the lob. He sees his shot.
So now it’s on him to make the right decision every time. And to be honest, I feel like ever since I’ve been playing with him, about 95-96% of the time, he makes a solid decision.”
Amen Thompson is still sorting through his role, but he gave Houston one of his most complete games of the season as well. Stephen Curry left that matchup early with an abdominal injury, so Thompson didn’t get the full defensive test the Rockets expected, but the broader point remained: Houston wants him involved, and Thompson wants to be ready when his number is called.
“ You can’t just decide you’re going to be dunker for the whole game. They throw me so many different matchups.
I got a big on me, sometimes I got a small guy,” Thompson said. “ So I feel like just getting better at being intentional, depending on what lineup is in, doing what I need to do.”
In Other News...
Rockets Face One Big Dejounte Murray Question At 9-3
Dejounte Murrays name has started to surface in Houston conversations again, and it is easy to see why. He has a past connection with Ime Udoka from their Spurs days, and Murray recently revisited the respect Udoka earned as an assistant in San Antonio. With Murray now in New Orleans and reportedly wanting out, the idea of a reunion in Houston has enough logic to keep circulating, especially for a Rockets team off to a strong 9-3 start.
The bigger issue is what Houston would be willing to put on the table if the front office ever decided to push in. Fred VanVleet has been one of the reasons the Rockets have looked so steady early, and his presence has mattered as much for what he brings in the locker room as for what he does on the floor. Even with the assets to chase a deal, Houstons hesitation around moving him leaves the Murray question hanging over the team without an obvious answer. [Read more 🡒]
Jabari Smith Jr. Is Giving The Rockets A New Reason To Dream
Jabari Smith Jr. has given the Rockets a real lift in the early going, providing steady production alongside Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun as Houston has found its footing. At 16.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, he has looked more efficient and more comfortable, the kind of development that can change the shape of a roster when a young forward starts to look like more than just a promising piece.
The bigger question now is how all of that holds up when the games get tighter and the margins shrink. Smiths value has already shown up in the regular season, but Houston will be watching closely to see whether his scoring, rebounding, and defensive versatility can carry over when the pressure rises and the Rockets need him to keep making winning plays. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Offense Suddenly Looks Real In A Way Fans Havent Seen
The offense has taken on a very different look in Houston, and the early results are impossible to ignore. The Rockets are sitting third in offensive efficiency, a sharp change for a group that has spent recent seasons trying to find a cleaner, more reliable way to score. The ball is moving more, the possessions look less cramped, and Alperen Sengun has become a central part of that shift with a career-best season as a passer.
What makes the whole thing feel real is how the supporting details are starting to line up around him. Houston is getting more from beyond the arc, both in volume and accuracy, while leaning less on isolation-heavy basketball that too often stalled the attack before. For a team that has been searching for an identity on that end, the question now is not whether the offense can look better in stretches, but how sustainable this new version can be over a longer run. [Read more 🡒]