Jabari Smith Jr. gave Houston exactly the kind of opening-night burst that makes you stop and take notice.
In the Rockets’ 128-110 home-opening win over the Dallas Mavericks, Smith was the player who popped off the page. He finished with 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting, added four three-pointers, and logged 36 minutes in a performance that had a familiar look to it: smooth, composed and eerily comfortable.
Watching Smith work against Dallas, it was hard not to see hints of a young Kevin Durant. That is not to suggest Smith is about to become Durant - one of the greatest scorers the NBA has ever seen - but the way he got to his spots and the ease with which he rose into his shots brought Durant to mind.
What stood out most was how little effort he seemed to use. Smith never looked hurried, never forced the action and never seemed to be fighting the game. There were stretches when he almost looked like he was running through shooting drills instead of battling in an NBA opener.
That confidence was the real separator. At 6-foot-11, Smith has the size, length and shooting touch that make him such an intriguing offensive player, but against the Mavericks it was his poise that jumped out. He caught the ball ready to shoot, whether it was a pull-up from midrange or a three-pointer, and there was hardly any hesitation.
He also did a better job of hunting his own offense. Rather than just hanging around for open looks from deep, he moved with purpose and looked for favorable matchups.
When he found one, he attacked it. That’s the kind of shift that separates a gifted young forward from someone who is really starting to understand NBA offense.
The Durant connection makes even more sense when you zoom out and think about the situation Smith is in. Playing alongside Durant gives him a chance to soak up lessons from one of the best in the business at getting to his spots and making difficult shots look routine.
The similarities weren’t about Smith suddenly becoming Durant. They were about the polish: the smooth jumper, the patience, the way he rose over defenders. Durant’s footprint was all over those details, and Smith has the chance to absorb that over the course of a full season.
Houston has plenty of talent, and Smith is part of what makes that group so interesting. With Durant, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, the Rockets already have a strong foundation, and their defense gives them another layer. But Smith may be the swing piece that changes how high this team can climb in the Western Conference.
If he’s hitting shots and showing the ability to create a little offense on top of that, it puts defenses in a tough spot. With Durant and Sengun drawing so much attention, a confident Smith makes the Rockets even harder to account for.
Still, one game is one game. Smith is not going to look like this every night, and Houston’s depth means there will be stretches when the ball doesn’t find him enough for big scoring totals.
The bigger question is whether he can keep that same aggression and self-assurance going as the season unfolds. That will tell the real story of whether this was a hot night or the start of a true leap.
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Houston is also dealing with the timing of the matchup itself, since it lands on a nationally televised stage and comes with both teams carrying injury questions into the night. San Antonio has its own issues, with Tobias Harris out and Keldon Johnson and DeAaron Fox both listed as questionable, so the final look at the lineups could shift late and change the way this game is played from the opening tip. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Already Face One Big Question About Going All In
The Rockets opened their season by putting a formidable group on the floor against the Mavericks, rolling out Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun. It was the kind of lineup that naturally invites bigger-picture talk, especially for a team that already looks more competitive than it did a year ago and now has to decide how aggressively it wants to chase a championship window.
Zach Lowe added to that conversation by suggesting Houston should at least think about a major trade if it believes this roster is ready to go all in. The logic is simple enough: the Rockets have a mix of veterans, young talent and draft capital that could matter in a star pursuit, with names like Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason available as possible trade pieces. The hard part is finding the right fit, and figuring out how far the front office is willing to push its chips toward the center. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Durant Just Framed Houston's Next Test As A Reality Check
The Rockets opened their season with a double-digit win over the Mavericks, but Kevin Durant was already talking about the next stop on the schedule. After putting up 30 points in the opener, Durant pointed to San Antonio as a different kind of early test, one that will ask Houston to match up with a team built around Victor Wembanyama and a rotation that can keep coming at you.
The Spurs dropped their season opener to the Thunder, with Wembanyama finishing on 12 points, but that hardly makes Friday night any softer for Houston. The Rockets head to Austin for a meeting at the Moody Center, and the matchup now has the feel of an early reality check for a team that got a strong first answer but is about to see a different question. [Read more 🡒]