Wednesday night wasn't just the season opener for the Houston Rockets. It was also Fred VanVleet's first regular season game back in 535 days. Which also means it was the first regular season game where both VanVleet and Kevin Durant were on the floor together. The guard had surgery after tearing his ACL and meniscus during an off season in the Bahamas last September, which forced him to miss all of last year.
Despite all that, VanVleet made the most of his night back on the floor for regular season basketball. His first points came from a step back three that electrified the team - and everyone inside Houston's Toyota Center. The showdown against the Dallas Mavericks resulted in him not needing to do much except find his teammates as Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. each had 30 points and the Rockets were up by as many as 37 points at one point.
So while the stat sheet may not look like much, there were several positives to take away from VanVleet's first game back in action. First up: he seemed to have no problems with his movement. There was no sign of any hesitation on his part on any of those step-backs, crossovers and quick changes of direction that made him the reputation he's had in this league before the injury.
The next big take away: Ime Udoka's promise that there would not be any in-game minutes restriction on the Rocket's starter held true. VanVleet played 30 minutes, which was the same amount of time that Apleren Segun put up. None of the Rockets' starting five played less than 30, with Kevin Durant leading the team at 37.
VanVleet ended up with 6 points on a 2-8 shooting night. He took 6 three's and made two of them resulting in the 6 points he had for the game. But he made the most impact creating plays for his teammates who seemingly could not miss all night. VanVleet's 11 assists were the most by any player on the court for either team.
After the Rockets' big win over their in-state rivals Dallas, Kevin Durant was asked by the Rocket's team reporter, how it felt to finally play basketball on the floor with VanVleet. (Durant's first year in Houston was last season, which of course VanVleet did not play in.) The all-star forward said VanVleet "can settle the waters down on the floor can shoot the basketball, get into the paint just pretty much do everything".
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