This could be a special year

FVV looks healthy. Team looks so much better with an actual point guard starting. KD, Amen and Sengun were all asked to play offense roles they were not comfortable with last year. KD can now just be a finisher. Amen can be an amazing cutter. Sengun doesn’t have to post up 30 feet from the basket. If Smith takes another leap this starting lineup is scary.

The bench is DEEP.

Tari, Adams and Smart could start for a dozens team. Boggy was a former starter. Reed’s offense is starter quality. Capela looks more in shape. Even Thorton and Crawford look solid enough to play spot minutes.

Houston is a legit DARKHOURSE to make the Finals. OKC and Spurs are the clear favorites. But Houston has players that will give both of those teams fits.

I've watched all of the games. He is a better J'Sean Tate he was really solid on first Dallas game and he was really good rest of the games too. He is better in everyway than Tate and he just went off from threes last game. He is better defender. Has better bb iq. Really good offensive end. I think he should get more minutes from Tate

Criteria: Incoming salary of $2–8 million, with Houston willing to offer up to its tradable 2027 first-round pick.

Kevin Durant is going to score less and defend more. The Rockets could finish third in the West, trade a 2027 first-round pick and resist a Kyrie Irving reunion. Here are 10 bold predictions for Houston's season, including what could happen with Reed Sheppard. Read for free.

Article: https://lastwordonsports.com/basketball/2026/10/16/rockets-new-guard-early/

I imagine most fans here would rather see Bruce get the lion's share of deep-bench opportunities over Bogdan. Do you think Udoka will see it the same way or not so much? Thornton is experienced for a rookie and plays hard on defense, but the rookie whistle is brutal.

He’s looking better than ever in his third season. He’s shouting confidently and looking for his shot. He looks bigger and stronger. Good hands on defense and very active. These three new guards are ahead of him in the rotation as Udoka plays them. I’m worried that Reed doesn’t get his deserved minutes plays so little that he doesn’t get to get into the flow of the game and just chucks up shots from deep and even though he makes those bombs and they’re fun to watch. It seems like his teammates are hesitant to pass to him because he more than likely will just shoot it.

In preseason, it felt like Marcus Smart has been ahead of Reed Sheppard in the guard rotation. I asked Udoka if that will be the case in the regular season?

Ime: "It's hard to say that because of Marcus not playing the first game so he got a lot more ... in the second game."

Said they complement each other and will play together often.

For the late night crew:

- Showed Tari Eason a couple plays in the locker room and asked for his perspective.

- Also wrote about Houston's more aggressive defense, whether I think they can actually win the title and more!

Free to read:

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rockets/article/houston-oklahoma-city-preseason-score-22478186.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vc3BvcnRzL3JvY2tldHMvYXJ0aWNsZS9ob3VzdG9uLW9rbGFob21hLWNpdHktcHJlc2Vhc29uLXNjb3JlLTIyNDc4MTg2LnBocA%3D%3D&time=MTc5MjEyNzUxNzk2Mg%3D%3D&rid=MWM0ZTM0OTQtYTE2OS00ZTc1LTlkZjctYTdjMDBlZTdmMjcy&sharecount=Ng%3D%3D

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All of my Rockets player previews ahead of the 2026-27 season, all gift links in one place. For each player I previewed I looked at:

- An overview of last season+previewing their role

- What to watch in first 20 games

- Nerd stat

- How to define success

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I82BoHLiVKB6pr4ljo64fBwrfqIXSlVvAj5fwsZqb0w/edit?usp=sharing

Let's go Rockets! And SpaceX!

Please god don’t be the trend

Can’t make the game tonight and looking to move my pair of Lower Bowl seats for cheap:

$50 total for both. Instant transfer via AXS app. I accept Zelle, Apple Pay, or Cash.

SOLD!

article looks at what a realistic Kyrie trade could cost Houston.

VanVleet would make sense as the main salary piece, but the real issue is Reed Sheppard. Amen, Sengun and KD are basically off limits, so it probably comes down to how much Houston values Sheppard versus going all-in right now. still weird IMO

It wasn't perfect, but Reed Sheppard took massive jumps last season. In Year Three, he'll have to do more to prove himself as the #Rockets point guard of the future.

Latest in the Houston Chronicle's player previews, free to read: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rockets/article/reed-sheppard-rockets-point-guard-22474683.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vc3BvcnRzL3JvY2tldHMvYXJ0aWNsZS9yZWVkLXNoZXBwYXJkLXJvY2tldHMtcG9pbnQtZ3VhcmQtMjI0NzQ2ODMucGhw&time=MTc5MTk5OTMzMDUwOA%3D%3D&rid=MWM0ZTM0OTQtYTE2OS00ZTc1LTlkZjctYTdjMDBlZTdmMjcy&sharecount=Mw%3D%3D

My mates and I have run an NBA pick’em on a shared spreadsheet for years, picking the winner of every game. One point each and whoever’s ahead at the end of the season gets the bragging rights. It's worked fine but was super manual.

So I built a proper version. You can do the whole league or just one team. Picks lock automatically 30 minutes before each tip-off, scores update themselves, the leaderboard sorts itself out.

It's free, no betting, no money anywhere in it, no ads. Just guessing the games. I built it for my own group and figured other people may also wanna do it.

lockedin82.com

Happy to answer anything and keen for any suggestions as well to make it better.

Ask away and you might get an answer in this week's Rockets Insider newsletter:

Sign up for free here: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/newsletters/rocketsinsider/