Houston's identity runs through Sengun's passing and a defense that ranked fifth in the league last season, not through its $43.9 million forward. But the one Lakers series that mattered came down to minutes Durant did and didn't play, and this preseason rematch with Dallas is the clearest early test of how that tension gets resolved in 2026-27.
Last season
Houston went 52-30, outscoring opponents by 5.4 points per hundred possessions on a defense that ranked fifth in the league. Durant, acquired from Phoenix for Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks before the season, averaged 26.0 points on 41.3 percent shooting from three — a number built on Sengun's 6.2 assists and Thompson's two-way play underneath him.
April 29, 2026
Down 3-0 to the Lakers, Houston won two straight games with Durant sidelined for both, becoming just the sixth team in NBA history to force a Game 6 from that hole. Los Angeles took Game 6 anyway, ending the series and leaving the comeback as proof without a payoff.
This summer
The roster thinned to eighteen: Jeff Green and Aaron Holiday left Sept. 21, and two-way big man Rafael Castro was waived Oct. 1. Payroll stands at $205.5 million, above the $200.4 million tax line, led by Durant's $43.9 million and Sengun's $35.6 million — the cost of trying to answer the Lakers question again.
Oct. 9
Houston opened the preseason 135-117 at Dallas. Sengun posted a triple-double — 16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists — and Fred VanVleet scored 17 points on 5-for-12 shooting from three, in what The Athletic reported was his return from an ACL injury. Durant stayed quieter at 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
Oct. 11
The rematch with Dallas is preseason, but it tests the same question: can Houston's non-Durant group protect a lead the way it did for two games against the Lakers. Durant is held out, listed for reasons unrelated to injury, with an expected return Oct. 15 against the Thunder — Sengun and VanVleet have to answer alone.
Is Kevin Durant playing in the Rockets' Oct. 11 rematch with Dallas?
No. Durant is out for reasons unrelated to injury, with an expected return Oct. 15 against the Thunder.
Did the Rockets beat the Lakers in last season's playoffs?
No. Houston forced a Game 6 after trailing 3-0, but Los Angeles won that game and the series.
