By the Numbers: Houston's 10.2 Net Rating Needs More Than…

By the Rockets Nightly Desk · Monday, October 26

Houston is 3-0 and first in the West, with a net rating of 10.2 through three games. Every number below comes with a limit, because the sample is small and the rotation is thinner than the record suggests.

Rockets Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Last season

Houston went 52-30 with a net rating of 5.4, sixth in the league, on the eighth-ranked offense and fifth-ranked defense. The Lakers then beat them in the first round, though Houston forced a game 6 after trailing 3-0. That 5.4 is the baseline for everything below. It describes a full year, which three games cannot.

This summer

Payroll sits at $205.5 million, $5.1 million above the $200.4 million luxury tax mark. Kevin Durant is the largest figure at $43.9 million, with Alperen Sengun at $35.6 million. The number shows ownership is paying for this core. It does not show the spending buys a playoff series win.

Oct. 21 to 24

Through three games, Houston's net rating is 10.2: 122.6 on offense, 112.5 on defense, at a pace of 98.8. The wins came by 18, 4 and 7, with the two road wins decided by four and seven. That is nearly double last year's rating. It is also three games, two of them close, so it proves little about where the number lands.

Oct. 24

Durant is averaging 24.0 points and shooting 53.8 percent on threes. Sengun is at 23.0 points and 62.5 percent on threes. Those are the shot profile of a team that spaces the floor well, but both rates sit on small attempt totals. Neither is a stable estimate yet, and the brief's three-point leaders will cool.

Tonight

Atlanta is 2-1 with its own 14.8 net rating, built on a 105.8 defense at a pace of 103.2. Houston won in Atlanta 121-114 on Saturday. Steven Adams is out, with an estimated return of Oct. 28. Marcus Smart is day-to-day with an estimated return today. Fred VanVleet was cleared Sunday. Atlanta lists Henri Veesaar and Mouhamed Gueye out.

Next Houston plays at Milwaukee on Oct. 28, the date Adams is estimated to return, then at Dallas on Oct. 30 in Emirates NBA Cup play.

What is the Houston Rockets' record in 2026-27?

Houston is 3-0 and first in the West, on a three-game winning streak. The wins came against Dallas, at San Antonio and at Atlanta.

Are the Rockets over the luxury tax?

Yes. Payroll is $205.5 million against a luxury tax mark of $200.4 million, which is $5.1 million over.

By the Rockets Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.