The Rockets opened the season with a convincing 128-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks at the Toyota Center, and Jabari Smith Jr. made sure his name sat near the top of the box score. In 36 minutes, he poured in 30 points and grabbed 5 rebounds while shooting 11-for-17 from the field and 4-for-8 from three.
It was the kind of night that fits neatly with what Houston needs from him this year. Smith is in the first season of his 5-year, $122 million contract, and early on he looks like a player ready to justify it.
With the Rockets looking for more 3-point shooting, he answered the call. He also looked stronger after the offseason, and that showed up in the way he carried himself on the floor.
The spacing around him helped too. Fred VanVleet being back made the offense run much more smoothly than it did last season, and Marcus Smart’s presence was noticeable after just one game. Good point guard play changes everything, and it clearly opened the floor for Smith in this one.
Dallas did bring some fight by the end of last season after finishing 26-56, but this was still a strong statement for Houston. And the picture gets even more interesting if Cooper Flagg keeps making his leap into stardom.
With Flagg and P.J. Washington on him, Smith scored freely, giving Rockets fans a clearer look at what he can be.
Somehow, this is already season five for Smith, but a 30-point opener can still move the conversation. His career high is 34, set back in 2023, and this game raised the possibility that his scoring ceiling could look different this season. Kevin Durant also scored 30 tonight, and that combination hints at something dangerous.
Smith being the other half of a duo with Durant would not have been the expectation when the season began, especially with Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson projected to be ahead of him in the offensive hierarchy. But if Smith makes a real leap, that changes the shape of Houston’s attack in a hurry.
It would also be a big win for head coach Ime Udoka, who took plenty of criticism in recent months for the Rockets’ offense last season. If he can keep putting Smith in favorable spots on offense while the defense holds up, Houston could be a dangerous team.
In Other News...
Rockets Opening Week Plan Sends An Early Message About Two Veterans
The Rockets are wasting no time making their opening-week priorities clear. Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams will both sit the first back-to-back of the season, a move that says plenty about how Houston wants to handle two veterans it expects to lean on over the long haul. VanVleet gives the offense structure, while Adams brings the kind of interior presence the team needs when he is available, but the Rockets are already choosing caution over pushing either player too early.
What makes the decision even more interesting is how Houston plans to cover the minutes when VanVleet is sidelined. Marcus Smart is set to start at point guard in those games, giving the Rockets a different look than the one Reed Sheppard would provide. It is an early reminder that the rotation is going to be managed carefully, especially with Adams injury history and the teams clear intent to keep him on a controlled workload from the start. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Opener Took A Heated Turn That Changed The Night
Tari Easons night took a sharp turn just minutes into Houstons first regular season game, the kind of early-game chaos that can alter the mood of an opener in a hurry. Fresh off signing a contract extension, Eason got tangled up with P.J. Washington in a physical sequence that quickly escalated, and the result was a flagrant foul and an ejection before the Rockets had even settled in.
Even with Eason gone, Houston kept control of the game and had built a sizeable cushion by halftime, which made the early flashpoint feel even more jarring in hindsight. For a team trying to establish its tone right away, the incident was the kind of reminder that the Rockets can be at their most volatile when the stakes are still low and the emotions are already high. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Could Be Watching One Huge Mavericks Decision Closely
Kyrie Irving has made it clear he wants to stay with the Mavericks, even as trade chatter continues to swirl around him. For Houston, the noise matters because any major shift in Dallas could send ripple effects through the Western Conference, and the Rockets are among the teams that would be watching closely if the situation ever moved past speculation.
Some analysts have already kicked around Houston as a theoretical landing spot if Irving ever changed course, which would instantly make the story relevant for a Rockets team always monitoring the next big move. For now, though, it remains a hypothetical layered on top of a rumor, with no official trade talk and plenty left unresolved about whether Dallas would even go that route. [Read more 🡒]