The Houston Rockets have not won an opening game since 2017.
That game came against the Golden State Warriors. Kevin Durant hit a shot that was correctly ruled just a beat too late, and Houston escaped with a 122-121 win. Houston is 0-8 in openers since then, and haven’t won a home opener since 2013, which came against the Charlotte…Bobcats.
Yeah, it’s been a minute.
Tonight, the Rockets welcome the Dallas Mavericks to town. These teams are of course quite familiar with each other since they’re fellow Southwest Division foes. The teams split the four contests last season with the home team winning each game. The Mavericks didn’t have Kyrie Irving last season, but Houston had more than enough trouble with Cooper Flagg and Max Christie. Oh, and of course Anthony Davis played in those games.
The Mavericks will feature three number one overall picks this year, as they added Zaccharie Risacher. Dereck Lively II only played in seven games last season before needing foot surgery. Combined with Irving’s return, the Mavs will need some time to gel and get into game shape. In the meantime, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, and Daniel Gafford will provide solid veteran play. Dallas’s exciting rookie is Morez Johnson Jr., who was drafted out of Michigan. Speaking of the Wolverines, Dallas poached Michigan’s head coach, Dusty May. So there’s a lot of interesting aspects to this squad that will take time to integrate.
The Rockets will also be integrating a few pieces. Fred VanVleet missed all of last season. Steven Adams played in 32 games total. Dorian Finney-Smith never got healthy so he’s gone. Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic are in.
It’s weird to say that an opening game is important, but with Houston heading to San Antonio after this one to start a road back-to-back, the Rockets could really use a 1-0 record for the first time in 9 years.
Tip-off
7:30pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network
Injury Report
Rockets
N/A
Mavericks
Santi Aldama: GTD
Dereck Lively II: GTD
Jett Howard: GTD
The Line (as of this post)
HOU -8.5
Check here for updates
Looking ahead because we can
Friday night in San Antonio againt the Spurs
