The Rockets are heading into the 2026-27 season with championship ambitions, and the defense may be where Marcus Smart makes his biggest imprint.
At Houston’s media availability for NBA China Games 2026 in Macao, head coach Ime Udoka pointed to the veteran guard as someone who can immediately shape the tone of the team on that end of the floor. Udoka, who coached Smart in Boston, didn’t sound like someone guessing at what the guard can provide.
“Yeah, I would say that setting that tone every night, having that mindset that he’s had throughout his career. The experience would be great for us as well, the secondary ball-handler as well. So he’s played in big moments on and off the ball, and just the leadership and him being vocal has already helped us.”
“But he’s a quarterback there on defense. Like I said, he’s hung his hat on that, and one of the smartest in the league.”
That reunion matters because the last time Udoka and Smart worked together was in the 2021-22 season, when Smart won Defensive Player of the Year and helped push the Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals. Back then, Smart was already known as one of the league’s best perimeter defenders. Four years later, he’s back with Udoka in Houston after signing a two-year deal worth approximately $13 million this offseason following the 2025-26 season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Smart’s stat line from last season was steady: 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.4 steals in 62 games. The numbers only tell part of the story, though. The value is in the instincts, the timing, and the way he reads a possession before it fully unfolds.
That came up when Smart was asked about drawing charges, especially after finishing second in the NBA last season with 20 total charges drawn.
“It’s just kind of the placement, right? If I’m there early enough, my feet are set, probably want to take a charge.
But if I’m kind of, you know, late in rotation, the charge is probably not going to be the idea. Probably call the foul on me, so probably contest at the rim.
But if I’m there early enough, that’s probably what I’m going to do.”
That kind of awareness is exactly why Houston brought him in. Smart’s physical edge matters, but so does the way he communicates and organizes everything around him. For a Rockets group trying to measure up against the best teams in the West, that kind of voice can be just as important as any steal or stop.
The roster around him gives Houston plenty to work with. Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith Jr. give Udoka a mix of established talent and young pieces with room to grow.
Smith, for his part, didn’t hesitate when asked how Houston compares with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and the rest of the Western Conference’s top tier.
“I think we stack up with anybody in the league. I think we have the depth.
We have the team. We have the skill.
We have the coaching. We have everything.
You know what I’m saying? It’s just on us to put it together.”
That kind of confidence fits the mood around the Rockets entering the season. They have scoring, playmaking, and defensive versatility in place, with Durant, Sengun, and VanVleet leading the offense and Thompson, Smith, and Smart supplying the kind of defensive range that can hold up against elite opponents.
The bigger question now is whether all of that talent turns into real chemistry, discipline, and consistency. Smart’s return to Udoka’s system gives Houston a proven defensive organizer, and Smith’s belief suggests the group sees itself as capable of matching anyone.
For the Rockets, the pieces are there. The task is putting them together.
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