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Suns got absolutely demolished by the Blazers last night. They look BAD despite how GREAT they claim their culture is 😂

They scored 83 points. That is almost impossible in the modern NBA.

Their starting lineup doesn’t have a point guard. None of their starters are good 3 point shooters. They really got lucky last year by playing really hard.

The Suns pick could easily end up being a top 3 pick. Maybe even #1 because this team is so bad they might not even make the play-in.

The Suns also have no way to improve. They have no 1st round picks to trade nor young players with value. They are stuck. I think they end up the 11th seed.

all of last season, I had to hear our fans complain about the team and request trading for everyone. and outsiders talking crap on Kevin Durant and the team but now with a healthy squad this team IS a contender! everyone is finally where they need to be and playing the role they need to PRASIE STONE!

Incredible what a difference a replacement-level starting point guard makes. Literally everyone plays better when an actual point guard plays.

Still blows my mind the front office and ownership basically threw away last year and didn’t even attempt to sign a decent PG.

Even yesterday when FVV/Smart were on the bench the offense went back to being crap. Reed just doesn’t have it. Guy is a shooting guard not a point guard.

I literally think Thornton is the better option at PG than Reed. Hopefully Ime adjusts and makes sure either FVV or Smart is on the court. The Reed PG minutes are a disaster.

And why is KD playing 40 minutes?

- What KD thinks of the #Rocket being underdogs

- Steven Adams with details about recovery

- Udoka's thoughts on Amen being guarded by bigs

Plus a mailbag answer + film clip.

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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/newsletters/rocketsinsider/

It’s just one game, but just about every stylistic change the Rockets talked about in the preseason showed up in an impressive opening win.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rockets/article/houston-fred-vanvleet-faster-offense-22486963.php

Dude looked completely different. Looks like he may have grown into the guy we hoped for. Dude looked strong and confident. Smooth inside and outside (pause). Really dig that KD and him had similar stats. Fun game and everyone looked in sync. See ya next game.

1. Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
2. Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
3. Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks
4. Joel Embiid, Sixers
5. Bam Adebayo, Heat
6. Jalen Duren, Pistons
7. Alperen Sengun, Rockets
8. Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves
9. Ivica Zubac, Pacers
10. Domantas Sabonis, Kings

Putting Alpi at #7 feels like lazy legacy voting at best.
Bam didn't even make the All-Star team last year, yet he gets grandfathered in ahead of him. And don't even get me started on Jalen Duren being ranked higher—Duren’s a solid young big, but he put up 10.2 points on 51% shooting in the playoffs. How on earth does that put him over Alpi?

The Rockets looked like a completely different team in their season-opening win over Dallas. With Fred VanVleet pushing the pace and Kevin Durant scoring 30 points, Houston racked up 29 fast-break points after ranking among the NBA’s slowest offenses last season. Read for free.

New season, new hope and we win game one. First win in game one since 2017! I like what I saw but it was only the Mavs. Tomorrow vs the Spurs will tell a lot more.

Five Takeaways.

1. The vets will play in crunch time. When the Mavs made a run to close to within 17 and it looked like last year when they gave up so many last quarter leads, who was on the floor? VanVleet, Durant and Smart. I think we'll be seeing a lot of this when those late runs by opposing teams come. It's not Reed on the floor. When we need defense and have Jabari, Eason, Amen and Smart on the floor together, I feel safe.

2. VanVleet will get his shooting legs under him but his 11 assists and zero turnovers, combined with his poise when things get hectic is worth so much to these still young Rocket players. It was awesome to see him do his thing. Hopefully he can stay healthy. It's nice to see Amen playing off ball offense again.

3. If Reed isn't hitting a high percentage, he'll be on the bench with Smart and Bogdanovich as options. Reed still is getting a lot of on ball pressure when he's handling the ball and he's going to have to show improvement in his turnovers to stay in, regardless how many steals he can get. Dude's got to shoot a high percentage each night to stay in the game. Maybe shave the cop stache!

4. Is this Jabari's year to have a breakout? Can he shoot a higher percentage and step into being an all star? If he can, the Rockets are going to be a monster offensively. It's too early to tell but my hopes are high that this is the year that our youngsters smash the ceiling.

5. On the other hand Alpie looks like he's still going to have his shooting challenges with gimmes and close to the bucket looks. He's got to increase his percentage on shots close to the rim. He shot a high percentage last night and hit both of his three's but he missed some easy ones as well. Let's see some dunks and more force around the hoop. Let's hope Adam's calf isn't too serious and we can see our double bigs in action soon.

What questions do you have about the Rockets?

Title

Houston controlled the offensive glass and turned those extra chances into buckets. This is basically a part of the team's dna.
https://possessionimpact.com/?team=hou#/

I’ve been a fan since T-Mac in 05 but don’t feel great about tonight’s game versus the spurs as don’t know how we’re going to match up with Wemby.

When he was younger Sengun use to man handle him, then he went to meet those monks in Tibet and he’s a new man.

Additionally Wemby had one of the wrist offense games of his career opening night so now he will be back with vengeance.

Is Adams going to play? Otherwise we’re cooked even with our improved offense

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