Breaking Down Rockets' Starting 5 Ahead of Halloween Matchup

Houston has a scary good young corps, but Dallas has the upper hand in experience.

Apr 7, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) shoots a three-point basket with Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) defending during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

Coming into the Halloween night matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets are sitting at 2-2 on the season after splitting with the Spurs, beating the Grizzlies by 20, and losing to a Brandon-Miller-less Hornets team in a game where they led by as many as 18 points. Safe to say, it's been a strange, up-and-down season for Houston in 2024-25, but they have a talented young corps of players and a proven head coach in Ime Udoka.

Conversely, the Mavericks are 3-1 with wins over the Spurs, Jazz, and Timberwolves. Doncic worked his particular brand of magic once again versus Minnesota on Tuesday night by hitting a three-point dagger with 1:04 left in the final period, reminiscent of his shot against the same squad in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

READ MORE: Mavericks vs. Rockets: How to Watch, TV, Time, & Odds

Houston has more or less struggled so far this season, especially on the offensive end, where they are, on average, scoring 111.3 points per game, good for 23rd in the NBA. They also rank 29th in field goal percentage as a team at an abysmal 40.7% overall. Despite this, they are managing a solid defensive effort, ranking fifth overall in points allowed per game at 107.0, keeping them in games and maintaining a .500 record. This will come into play on Halloween when they travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks and their blazing-hot offense.

Starting at point guard for the Houston Rockets will be Fred VanVleet, who has had his issues with efficiency so far in 2024-25. Scoring 14.8 per game, he's shooting just 34.0% from the field on 13 attempts, though he is adding 6.3 assists and 2.0 steals. Last season, VanVleet connected on nearly 42% of his shots and scored 17.4 per game. While it's much too short of a stretch to be truly concerned, his dip in productivity scoring-wise is something of which to take note going forward.

READ MORE: New Mavericks Acquisition Proving His Worth on Defense

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there's shooting guard Jalen Green, who has, despite the Rocket's offensive struggles, been a huge bright spot, playing his best basketball to date by averaging 28.8 points per game on a blistering 41.3% from deep on real volume. Helping to manufacture this offense is Alperen Sengun, who uses the dribble handoff on the perimeter to lead to threes and driving opportunities for Green. He's also used screens to his advantage and been very good on the catch-and-shoot. He should be the focal point for the Mavericks' defense on Thursday night.

At the wing spot is Dillon Brooks, a defensive-minded agitator whose game mostly revolves around shutting down the opposing team's best perimeter player. Though he is not known particularly for his scoring, he managed 12.7 points per game last season on 42.8% from the field. This year, his production is down a tad, scoring 10.8 points on 35.9% from the field and 35% from three. He will likely be one of the players assigned to guard Luka Doncic, along with bench players like Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, and Cam Whitmore.

READ MORE: Kyrie Irving 'Expected' Luka Doncic's Timberwolves Dagger to Go In

Jabari Smith Jr. will hold down the power forward position for Houston, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound floor spacing big who has also had his issues shooting the ball this season, especially from deep, where he's averaging 31.3%. However, he had his best showing of the season against San Antonio last game, scoring 17 points on 5-for-8 from the field and grabbing eight rebounds. Due to his ability to step out and hit from the perimeter, it may make more sense to have Dereck Lively II play increased minutes due to his mobility on the defensive end.

The center spot is home to the most intriguing player on Houston's team in the aforementioned Alperen Sengun, a jack-of-all-trades center who can pass, rebound, and score on the interior. Though he, like many of his teammates, has had a tough start offensively to the season, his rebounding has been impressive, as he currently ranks fourth in the NBA in boards per game at 12.5. His efficiency has been lacking, however, and he was even benched in the Saturday loss to San Antonio after posting six points on 2-for-8 shooting and five boards in 22 minutes.

Spurs center Victor Wembanyama gave Sengun trouble in their first game against each other this season – is there any way that Lively II and Daniel Gafford can replicate that? If so, Houston might be in for a tough night. The main concern is who will guard Jalen Green for Dallas – it could be Naji Marshall; it could be Quentin Grimes. For the start of the game, however, Klay Thompson will likely have the assignment of defending one of the hottest guards in the game currently.

While the Mavericks have a better roster than the Rockets do, Houston still has enough firepower, despite their slow start, to make things interesting.

READ MORE: Mavs, Dereck Lively II Affirm Summer Slander of Rudy Gobert

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