Star power flows from backcourt matchup
Six months after the Rockets ended their season against the Atlanta Hawks, they open their season against ... the Atlanta Hawks.
They hope for the game and expect the season to go better.
The Rockets’ most significant changes since then were to trade center Christian Wood and draft Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason. But they expect other differences to come from within with the growth and improvement that they believe will come with time and experience.
The Hawks should provide the first test of that with an offense that gave the Rockets fits last season, averaging 128 games in the two meetings, and a defense that should be bolstered by adding Dejounte Murray to the backcourt.
The Rockets won in their previous trip to Atlanta last December but that was with scoring led by veterans Eric Gordon, D.J. Augustin and David Nwaba. Only Gordon remains. But the Rockets believe they are ready for the core of their rebuilding to take the next step, starting with the season opener, leading to several areas to watch.
Backcourt battle
When the Rockets met the Hawks in April, Jalen Green completed his rookie season with a career-high 41 points while Kevin Porter Jr. added 26. The Rockets believed their simultaneous seven-game scoring surge to finish last season indicated how well they mesh and can work together.
They open the season against a backcourt that could be among the NBA’s best with Murray, the former Spur, joining Trae Young. Murray could match up with Green, rather than Porter, who views Murray, his Seattle high school teammate, as his mentor. But the greater challenge could be in slowing the Hawks’ high-scoring duo and the potent pickand-roll game of the Hawks.
Green and Porter have never played in Atlanta, but the test will be from who they are facing rather than where.
A happy homecoming?
Jabari Smith Jr. will make his NBA debut in his hometown, which is enough to make the third pick of the draft worth watching. But there is more to the challenge than just coming home.
Smith excelled in the preseason opener, a performance that he said gave him confidence. But he has not played since because of a sprained ankle and has had only a few practices. He will likely return to his starting position, especially with the Rockets’ starter at power forward last season, Jae’Sean Tate, out with a sore ankle. But it is questionable how many minutes Smith will be prepared to play or if he can be considered sharp after missing so much time.
He also will be in a challenging matchup with John Collins.
And though Smith appears to be adept at switching defensively, the pick-and-roll screens the Hawks set for Trae Young will test that.
The Rockets’ lone teenager, Smith said he was nervous through the summer league games. Though his play in his preseason debut might have taken care of that, playing his first NBA game in his hometown will test that.
Centers of discussion
Alperen Sengun was expected to be moved to the starting role with the trade of Christian Wood and still might be. The Rockets will need to determine if he fits better with the second unit with Bruno Fernando starting or whether to stick with the preseason lineup that had Sengun starting.
Both are certain to play, with Fernando facing his first NBA team and bringing a rim-running style the Rockets have not had since they traded center Clint Capela to the Hawks. Playing a significant role, whether starting or not, would represent a momentous turnaround for Fernando, who did not play when the Rockets met the Hawks to end the season.
Sengun might get more touches with the second unit, but the Rockets may want all the offense they could get to start the game, especially after the high-scoring shootouts they had against the Hawks last season.
Don’t overlook Gordon
It can be easy to look past the Rockets’ most experienced player to focus on the highscoring backcourt, the rookie forwards or the center rotation. Eric Gordon remains crucial to the Rockets’ chances, as is especially evident against the Hawks.
He had his season-high scoring game in Atlanta last season, scoring 32 points in the Rockets’ win, making 10 of 16 shots including 5 of 8 3-pointers. The Rockets went 13-11 last season when he scored 15 points or more, 6-27 when he didn’t and 1-25 when he did not play.
It starts with defense
The Rockets are well aware that they ranked last in the NBA defensively last season, results that were greatly impacted by their turnover and defensive rebounding issues. They improved markedly after the All-Star break but still had a long way to go.
They have reworked the defense and expect to improve on the boards, but few teams will offer a tougher test of that than the Hawks.
The Hawks were the secondranked offensive team in the NBA last season, less than a point per 100 possessions behind the Utah Jazz. No team was as prolific offensively against the Rockets as was Atlanta in last season’s two games and it was not close.
The Rockets knew they needed to improve defensively. They will quickly see if they have.