The Houston Rockets put up a dominant performance in the opening game, as they defeated the Dallas Mavericks 128 to 110
Houston impressed in many categories, but the ball movement and spacing on the court were a huge step-up from last season. The return of Fred VanVleet was the catalyst, as he put on an elite ball-handling and playmaking performance. He dished out 11 assists without committing a single turnover.
The Rockets’ three-point shooting also showed solid signs of improvement, as the team connected on 16 out of the 36 three-point shots attempted. This statistic is even more impressive when considering that Reed Sheppard went 1-of-6 from deep.
Kevin Durant continued to prove he is one of the best scorers of all time, as he dropped 30 points across 37 minutes. In doing so, Durant surpassed Michael Jordan for points scored in the opening game of the NBA. Durant now has 458 points scored in season openers and has claimed the third-highest total in this category, behind only Karl Malone and LeBron James.
I was slightly surprised that Durant played 37 minutes, as the Rockets had a 24-point lead entering the fourth quarter. Despite having a large lead, Durant played the majority of the fourth quarter, as he was subbed out with only 2:42 remaining. This might be due to this being the opening game of the season, but I would expect his minutes to be managed more cautiously moving forward.
Houston’s second unit displayed how effective it can be, even though Tari Eason was ejected for committing a flagrant 2 in the first quarter, after only being on the court for approximately three minutes.
Marcus Smart was the leader of the second unit, recording 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists across 26 minutes, with an impressive +14. Surprisingly, Sheppard only played 16 minutes and dished out 4 assists while committing 3 turnovers. I was expecting him to play off the ball more often, but he was given a lot of responsibilities as an on-the-ball playmaker.
For the Mavericks, Cooper Flagg was by far the team’s best player, and he looks set to have another huge season ahead of him on a struggling Dallas team. Flagg put up 33 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.
Flagg will certainly need his teammates to take some weight off of his shoulders if Dallas is to have a chance of making the playoffs this season.
Houston has earned some confidence in this dominant performance, which they will need if they are to beat the San Antonio Spurs in their next game on Friday, October 23.