Houston dominates at home after slow start, finish Preseason with 3-1 record.
The Houston Rockets have had quite the interesting preseason to say the least. There’s been a lot of positives to look forward to, but also a few things that need some cleaning up before the season officially begins. Tonight however, Houston dominated, giving a slight glimpse into what to possibly expect for the upcoming season. Defeating the Spurs 129-107, in what was a “dress rehearsal” game for the Rockets, I think it’s fair to say all the guys showed up to perform.
With everyone active and available for the Rockets, they were expected to beat a weak, mostly starter-less Spurs team, and they did. Led by Jalen Green’s game-high 30 points and seven three pointers, Houston offensively looked more than just solid. In an all around winning effort, the Rockets had six guys in double digits scoring wise with Sengun and Amen trailing Jalen. Sengun, having his best preseason outing yet, had a double double with 21 points and ten rebounds on 75% shooting in just 25 minutes. Amen Thompson played excellent as well, even hitting a three pointer in his 18 point outing.
As for the rest of the squad, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Dillon Brooks continued his solid preseason, starting off 4/4 from the field in the first half before dipping down to just a mere 1/6 in the second, but playing great defense. Fred VanVleet led the offense at point guard, making excellent reads and passes, but struggled on the defensive end and shooting the ball, tallying up 15 points and five assists. For the final starter in Jabari Smith Jr., he looked really good out on the court, a near double double for him and as usual, great hustle, defending, and crashing the glass rebound wise.
The rotation also looked about as close to what it may be come opening night, a ten man rotation resulting in Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Steven Adams, and Tari Eason to be the first guys off the bench. Cam Whitmore did play as well, but didn’t get on the court until the second quarter, also playing the least amount of minutes from the true rotational guys with only 13.
Struggling early on in the first quarter, the Rockets defense looked shaky, allowing 31 points, but luckily scoring 31 back offensively themselves. However, the second quarter was all Houston, outscoring the Spurs 37-18 which was highlighted by a 19-0 run. A factor in this, and one that remained all game long when together was Amen Thompson and Tari Eason being the reason for the offensive run, and tremendously improved defense. Even knocking down a three in the second quarter, it was clear Amen’s impact was highly appreciated and noticed even if the box score doesn’t show it.
The bench for the Rockets was also very pivotal in the win. With aforementioned Amen Thompson and Tari Eason leading the defensive charge, other contributors included the elite screen setting of Steven Adams, and the offensive rebounding of Reed Sheppard. Eight of the ten players for Houston, counting three from the bench, played at least 15 minutes in just the first three quarters alone, showing off the depth.
While San Antonio rested most their starters, a Rockets win is always a good sign, especially as when the real rotational players were on, the lead stayed on their side. It wasn’t the prettiest, nor greatest of victories, but nevertheless to end the preseason on a high note is a nice way to go out.
The game was fun, and a 3-1 record to finish the NBA preseason brings some much wanted momentum heading into the official NBA season. The Rockets season tips off next Wednesday, October 23, at home against the Charlotte Hornets. We’ll get to see then what to expect from Houston possibly for the rest of the year. The game will begin at 7:00 PM CST and as usual on be on Space City Home Network, KBME Sports Talk 790, and 93.3 FM.