Houston opens Wednesday on five days of rest against a Dallas team that went 26-56 last season and split the preseason series with the Rockets. Steven Adams and Julian Phillips are the only names on the injury list, and both are projected to be available for the opener.
Last season
The baseline is 52-30, an offensive rating of 117.5, a defensive rating of 112.1 and a net of 5.4 at a 97.0 pace. Kevin Durant averaged 26.0 points with a 41.3 three-point percentage, Alperen Sengun went 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists, and Reed Sheppard shot 39.4 from deep across 82 games. Amen Thompson's 21.6 from three is the number the growth curve still has to fix.
This preseason
Three games, a split with Dallas and a rout of Oklahoma City. Houston won 135-117 in Dallas on October 9, lost 115-132 at home on October 11, then beat the Thunder 116-89 on October 15 with Bogdan Bogdanovic scoring 15 and Sengun 14. Durant, Sengun, Fred VanVleet and Tari Eason all cleared the injury list that day, and Adams cleared on October 17 before his calf came up again.
October 20
The roster sits at 17 names after Sean Pedulla's exit today. RealGM reported that Julian Phillips and Oscar Tshiebwe were converted to two-way contracts. Phillips is listed with an illness and Adams with a right calf issue, and both are projected back for Wednesday. The Dream Shake wrote about Houston's rotation plans for VanVleet and Adams, which makes the center minutes behind Sengun the first thing to watch.
October 21
Dallas arrives on four days of rest, Houston on five. Dusty May's Mavericks finished 26-56 last season with a 110.3 offense, a 115.5 defense and a 102.6 pace against Houston's 97.0, so the tempo question is settled early. Cooper Flagg led them at 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 70 games. Dereck Lively II, Santi Aldama, Tarik Biberovic and Jett Howard are all on the Dallas injury list, which thins the frontcourt Sengun will see.
October 23 to 28
The travel starts fast: San Antonio on Prime Video Friday, then Atlanta Saturday for the lone back-to-back of the stretch, both away. The Hawks come to Houston Monday for the return leg, and the week closes in Milwaukee on October 28. Three of the five are away, with no rest between the second and third, the first real test of a rotation Ime Udoka has not shown yet.
Who is on the Rockets injury list for the opener against Dallas?
Steven Adams (right calf) and Julian Phillips (illness) are the only two listed, and both are projected to be available on October 21.
When is the Rockets' first back-to-back of the 2026-27 season?
October 23 at San Antonio and October 24 at Atlanta, both road games, with the Hawks visiting Houston two days later on October 26.
