The Houston Rockets are betting that Marcus Smart can bring back some of the edge they lost when Dillon Brooks walked out the door.
That’s the task in front of Smart after Houston signed the veteran defensive specialist, and head coach Ime Udoka is already sounding optimistic about what he can provide. In an interview with Space City Home Network’s Vanessa Richardson, Udoka pointed to Smart’s versatility, toughness and basketball IQ as traits the Rockets have been missing at times.
“He’s obviously a great player, and one that checks a lot of boxes for what we lacked at times last year. The defensive versatility that he brings is huge for us, and playing with a lot of different lineups.
It kind of sets a tone, a lot of what we were missing with Dillon (Brooks) leaving. He’s one of those guys that, every night, brings a certain amount of toughness and physicality.
And then he’s another point guard out there. A cerebral, high IQ guy that can make big shots and make big plays.”
That comparison matters because Houston has spent the past year trying to patch over the losses from the 2025 offseason deal that brought Kevin Durant to town. Durant was an All-NBA Second Team selection in 2025-26, so the Rockets clearly didn’t regret adding him. But the move also cost them two starters from the 52-30 team that finished No. 2 in the Western Conference: Brooks and Jalen Green.
The original plan was simple enough. Durant would raise Houston’s scoring efficiency, while Brooks’ defense and leadership would be offset by another free-agent addition, Dorian Finney-Smith.
That part never really got off the ground. Finney-Smith was never close to healthy, and he’s no longer on the roster.
Houston’s 2025-26 team ended up matching the previous season’s record, with Durant’s impact balanced out by injuries and drop-offs elsewhere.
So now the Rockets are making a second run at replacing what Brooks brought to the table.
Smart gives them a very different body type - Brooks is 6-foot-7, Smart is 6-foot-3 - but Udoka’s point is that size isn’t the whole story. Smart has built his reputation on the kind of “toughness and physicality” that lets him handle bigger matchups and help stabilize a defense.
There are offensive differences, too. Brooks is the better perimeter shooter, while Smart brings more in the way of ball-handling and passing. With Durant on the roster and Fred VanVleet returning from a serious knee injury, that secondary playmaking may end up being more valuable than it looks at first glance.
Smart also has a history with Udoka. He was the NBA’s 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year when he played for Udoka with the Boston Celtics, and the 32-year-old is believed to be fully healthy now. That’s a notable contrast to Finney-Smith, who underwent ankle surgery before signing with Houston a year ago.
At the end of the day, the Rockets’ identity still runs through defense under Udoka. After a season of inconsistency on that side of the ball, Houston is hoping Smart can give the 2026-27 group the same kind of jolt Brooks once gave the 2024-25 team.
In Other News...
Rockets Face A Tough Question About Life Without Dillon Brooks
Houstons defense has been a lot easier to talk about than to pin down since Dillon Brooks became part of the conversation, because the Rockets have looked good enough on that end to make the numbers feel almost too tidy. Their defensive rating was slightly better in 2024-25, but the broader question is not whether the team can survive without him so much as how much of his value shows up in places the stat sheet does not capture.
Brooks has mattered as a wing defender who takes the toughest assignments and lets others slide into cleaner matchups, and the ripple effect has been part of the story for Amen Thompson and the rest of the rotation. Even with Brooks recent performance changes and his new extension in place, Houston may be confronting a version of him it no longer gets every night, which leaves the Rockets weighing how much of that edge they can replace if his old style of play is gone for good. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Face A Delicate Amen Thompson Extension Decision
Amen Thompsons breakout season has put Houston in a familiar front-office bind: reward a young cornerstone early, but do it in a way that keeps enough room to build around him. The Rockets are expected to make a significant extension offer, one that reflects how much Thompson already matters on both ends of the floor after a season of strong defensive work and growing offensive impact.
The tricky part is the price point, because Houston is trying to balance immediate certainty with long-term flexibility while still treating Thompson as a player it does not want to move. His future value is obvious, but the one lingering question around the extension is the same one that shadows a lot of young perimeter stars in the league: how much faith can a team place in the shot continuing to develop? [Read more 🡒]