Ime Udoka said the quiet part out loud at Rockets media day: "We're not here to make the first round. We want to make some real noise."
It was the kind of line that sounds good in September, especially with Houston getting a preseason game in Cotai, Macau that lets the team open training camp a week early. But if the Rockets are going to make that kind of noise, they’re going to have to get through a Spurs team that has already shown it can turn Houston’s plans into background static.
For a while, the Rockets were the matchup that gave San Antonio fits. In Victor Wembanyama’s rookie season, the Spurs went 1-3 against Houston.
They did it again in year two, leaving San Antonio 2-6 over those two seasons. Some of those losses were rough ones, too - a 127-100 loss in November 2024 and a 118-106 defeat in Houston that February.
Houston was built like the kind of big, physical team a young Spurs group had trouble handling.
Then last season flipped the script.
San Antonio won the season series 3-1, and the margins told the story. The Spurs beat Houston 121-110 in November, 111-99 in Houston in January, and then blew the doors off in March with a 145-120 rout.
Houston’s lone win was a 111-106 result in January, a five-point game during what was described as the Spurs’ worst month of the season. That one had more to do with San Antonio’s own midseason issues than anything Houston did.
The Spurs finished 62-20, got out of the West, and eventually lost to the Knicks in the Finals. Houston, meanwhile, finished 52-30 and was sent home in the first round again.
The Rockets have made changes, and on paper there are reasons for optimism. Fred VanVleet is back after an early injury cost him the season, giving Houston a point guard again.
But that only goes so far. VanVleet is a solid starter - solid - not the kind of player who forces the rest of the West to redraw its scouting reports.
Before the injury, he averaged 14 points and 6 assists while shooting 38% from the field and 35% from 3-point range. And after a full season away, there’s no guarantee the 30-year-old guard is immediately all the way back.
The offense still runs through Kevin Durant, who turns 38 next week. Reed Sheppard is expected to take on more, but he still isn’t someone who can handle the other end by himself.
Amen Thompson is working on his jumper with new hire Chip Engelland, which Houston views as the smartest move it made all summer. But even with Engelland in the building, a jump shot doesn’t just show up because you need one.
He’s the best in the business, not a magician.
Alperen Sengun also showed up at media day talking big, saying he wants to be the best player in the league. That’s nice to hear, but it’s not a projection anyone should rush to buy.
Udoka didn’t say anything wrong. Coaches are supposed to sound ambitious in September, not resigned.
Nobody walks into media day and says they’re aiming for a decent first-round exit. Still, once the optimism wears off, the picture gets clearer.
The Rockets won’t beat OKC, and they’re not good enough to get past the Spurs.
Maybe Houston finally wins a series for the first time since 2020. Fine.
But there isn’t a Spurs-style run to the Finals hiding in this roster. Their run ends somewhere, and when Houston last met a San Antonio team built to contend for championships like this one in the postseason, the Spurs closed the door in six games and won the final game by 39.
That’s the kind of ending Spurs fans know well. And it’s one they’d be more than happy to see again.
In Other News...
Spurs Title Plans Could Hinge On A Fight Beyond The Roster
Adam Silver has been making the leagues case for the NBAs current second apron rules, casting them as a tougher, more NFL-like system and pointing to the recent spread of championships around the league. For teams like the Spurs, that stance matters because the new cap landscape is no longer just a background issue. It shapes how aggressively a front office can think about building around a young core, and whether patience and flexibility are still enough in a league that keeps tightening the screws on spending.
The bigger wrinkle is that the current collective bargaining agreement still has another negotiation cycle ahead, and any future changes would have to satisfy both the league and the players association. For San Antonio, that leaves the long-term picture tied to something beyond player development and draft picks: the rules themselves. The Spurs can map out a roster path today, but the real question is whether the environment around those plans looks the same when their next wave of decisions comes due. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Star Is Becoming Team USAs Biggest 2028 Olympic Problem
The early conversation around the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics already has Team USA looking like the favorite, but the frontcourt picture is where the questions start. A lot of the veteran American names that help define the current core figure to be gone by then, and that leaves a familiar issue for the Americans as they look ahead to a field that could also feature Nikola Jokic, Alperen Sengun and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
For the Spurs, though, the looming headache is much more personal. Victor Wembanyama is expected to be front and center for France after his breakout Olympic run, and his presence alone could turn the gold-medal path into a problem for the U.S. Team USA can still talk about depth and talent, but against a player like that, the conversation is really about whether it will have enough size and stability to answer when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Can't Waste Wembanyama By Making Him Create Everything Alone
Victor Wembanyama has already shown why the Spurs can build around him on one end of the floor, but the next step is making life easier on the other. Kevin OConnors latest look at Wembanyamas playoff scoring efficiency pointed to a simple truth for San Antonio: the young star is too gifted, and too important, to spend too many possessions trying to manufacture everything for himself against set defenses.
The Spurs still have room to grow his offensive package, and thats part of what makes the long view so encouraging. But if San Antonio wants to get the most out of Wembanyama right now, the emphasis has to be on helping him attack from more comfortable spots rather than asking him to solve every problem alone. The talent is obvious, the ceiling is enormous, and the challenge is matching that with an offense that keeps creating cleaner chances for him. [Read more 🡒]