The Rockets Have One Final Chance To Tune Up For Opening Night

As the Houston Rockets take an undefeated preseason record into their final preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks, the team is mentally preparing for beyond the preseason. They have one final game of full-speed action before the season begins against the reigning champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder are champions for a reason, and the Rockets are hoping they can use this final tune-up and a little less than a week of practice to prepare for a difficult matchup to start the season.

While the preseason isn't always the source of the highest level of competition, the Rockets have gotten some good results from their key rotation players. The competition will take a drastic increase as the Rockets take on a Thunder team amped up to win on their ring ceremony night. Despite the lower competition level, Houston was actually able to take away a few key lessons from its preseason run.

For one, the combination of Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant looks like a legitimate threat on offense. As predicted, Sengun has much of the playmaking responsibility after the injury to Fred VanVleet. Durant seamlessly fits into Sengun's game, playing around screens for mid-range shots and floaters.

There is still further improvement necessary for the pick-and-roll between the team's top duo. Without VanVleet, there is more importance on taking care of the ball and not giving it away on difficult or lazy pocket passes to the All-Star big man.

However, Durant was added to the team to score, and he has proven that he's still doing that at a high level. The rest of the team should be able to benefit from his scoring gravity.

One player who has already shown some results of that benefit is Jabari Smith Jr. While the preseason is a small sample size, he's shown some ability with the ball in his hands, and he's knocking down shots at a high rate. The shooting is the most important development, as he was drafted as a stretch big and won't often have ball-handling opportunities.

Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, and, to a lesser extent, Tari Eason will be receiving some ball-handling duties throughout the season.

Thompson had a rough game to start, displaying some of his old habits that led to untimely turnovers. He has gotten more efficient with the ball throughout the preseason, but the Thunder also cause turnovers at one of the highest rates in the league.

Sheppard had some spotty ball security issues as well, but his development is a major storyline for the Rockets this season. Houston needs his production with VanVleet out, so Sheppard must find ways to score and pass the ball efficiently.

The Rockets will learn more about their team once the regular season begins, and they'll have a major test against the Thunder in the season's opening game. With one more preseason game and a limited number of practices until then, Houston doesn't have much longer to prepare before the games begin to matter.