The Houston Rockets despatched a message with their Friday night time 0 win over the San Antonio Spurs. The Rockets had already n their season opener on Wednesday. However in an indication of how far expectations had fallen for Houston this season, that matchup was in opposition to the lowly Dallas Mavericks. Simply two video games in, expectations are already on the rise.
Rockets-Spurs Was the Rockets’ First Actual Take a look at
a and the Spurs had been a group that seemed like that they had Houston’s quantity final season. That they had loads of groups’ quantity, therefore winding up because the second-last group standing, making all of it the best way to the NBA Finals.
Specifically, although, the Rockets seemed like that they had an n drawback in a.
That matchup seemed much less problematic for the Rockets on Friday night time, because the signature second of it was Thompson swatting Wembanyama’s last-second shot try and tie. The block, which was on a post-up with Thompson as Wembanyama’s major defender, sealed the sport for Houston.
Thompson additionally scored 20 factors on 9-of-15 taking pictures, pulled in 10 rebounds, and added 4 assists and two steals to go together with his two blocks. He even made 1-of-2 three-pointers.
Caveats to Thompson’s Nice Evening
There are some caveats to Thompson’s revenge sport versus the Spurs, although. For one factor, Thompson was the one Rockets starter with a damaging plus/minus. In 36 minutes of playtime, the Rockets had been outscored by 12 factors.
That’s regardless of the Spurs declining to deploy their “secret” weapon in opposition to him. Wembanyama spent a lot of the sport defending n, somewhat than Thompson.
Lastly, Wembanyama is off to a bumpy begin to 2026-27 generally. The seven-foot-“4” Frenchman went 9-of-21 from the sphere in opposition to the Rockets, which was a significant enchancment on the 1-of-13 he managed within the Spurs’ opener.
Wembanyama’s affect isn’t restricted to only his scoring. He has eight blocks already, two video games into the season. However he didn’t appear fairly ready for simply how exhausting opponents had been going to lock in on shutting down his offense in 2026-27. The m simply but.
Why Houston’s Offense Seems Higher
None of that ought to be overly regarding to Rockets followers. Proper now, the group is wholesome and firing on all cylinders.
t‘s return has made the Rockets’ offense look really purposeful. His 14 factors on 4-of-10 taking pictures to go along with 5 assists in opposition to the Spurs undersells the affect he’s already having in contrast together with his absence final season.
Şengün led all scorers within the sport with 29 factors on 10-of-20 taking pictures from the ground in opposition to the most effective defender within the NBA. He even went 6 within the fourth quarter, bamboozling San Antonio’s protection. Not solely are s trying robust early, however, to date, the work of the Rockets’ new taking pictures coach seems to be paying dividends as effectively.
Thompson and Şengün Are Taking pictures Threes
Taking pictures coach Chris Engelland labored extensively with g this offseason. Both of them changing into non-liabilities from deep can be a legitimately era-defining improvement for the Rockets.
Effectively, within the win versus the Spurs, Şengün shot 2-of-4 from three, together with scoring the primary three factors of the sport. He shot 2-of-2 in opposition to the Mavericks as effectively.
Şengün began robust from three in 2025-26 earlier than really fizzling out. One encouraging distinction this time round is that Thompson can be already 2-for-4 from three on the season.
The low quantity makes the numbers themselves imply little or no, nevertheless it’s doubtless a degree of emphasis for neither participant to power three-pointers. The shot isn’t going to be what their sport is constructed round, but when they’ve the boldness to shoot them when extensive open, defenses must rethink their method to Houston’s offense.
Add to the excellent news that . dropped a near-career-high 30 factors within the Rockets opener, VanVleet grabbing at his leg throughout Friday night time’s sport turned out to be nothing, and t at 38 predictably nonetheless appears to be like like Kevin Durant at 37.
The Final Phrase
The Rockets will play once more on Saturday night time versus the Atlanta Hawks of their first back-to-back of the season. Hopefully the group will take the cautious method and relaxation returning gamers like VanVleet and s. If d can return from his beforehand day-to-day listed knee harm, even higher. Busy within the midst of a back-to-back, the Rockets are again in enterprise as a potential contender for the NBA title.
Featured Picture: Scott Wachter-Imagn Pictures
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