Houston Rockets vs Oklahoma City Thunder Opening Night Preview

Houston announced its starting lineup Monday afternoon and it is currently listed as the tallest starting lineup in NBA history.

Oklahoma City will be without starting guard Jalen Williams, presenting veteran Alex Caruso or rising star Cason Wallace with an opportunity to start for the reigning champions on opening night.

Here are a few things to watch for in this evening's Rockets-Thunder matchup:

Who Facilitates the Houston Offense?

During the preseason, All-Star center Alperen Sengun carried over his FIBA playmaking to the Rockets' offense, which did wonders for the scoring of both Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson.

Thompson, who is essentially the starting lineup's point guard in positional terms, will also be expected to facilitate for Houston, especially after a solid preseason of playmaking from the All-Defensive wing.

This underlying question will continue to linger for the Rockets until it is truly established who the offense will run through aside from scoring. Still, with a big matchup against the reigning champions then answers could be on the horizon.

Kevin Durant's Scoring Impact

In Kevin Durant's lone preseason game, where he logged 20 points in 23 minutes of play, the sharpshooting veteran proved to be still one of the league's most lethal weapons, tallying a 70% field goal completion during this game.

Of course, Durant is expected to be the Rockets' No. 1 scoring option and closer in late games, but just how much scoring will the future Hall of Famer be doing alongside some of the league's top rising stars?

Luckily for the Houston Rockets, each young star has been smitten with the idea of playing with one of the game's best in Durant, so it is unlikely his teammates will be irate if we get a vintage scoring performance out of the NBA's Slim Reaper.

Can the Rockets Contain SGA?

He isn't the reigning MVP for no reason. Houston will have their hands full trying to contain Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who last season averaged 32.7 points per game en route to the Thunder's capturing of the NBA title.

Gilgeous-Alexander needs to be on his A-game against not only a lengthy Houston Rockets team, but also against one of the best on-ball defenders in the league in Amen Thompson.

Thompson, who is coming off an All-Defensive year, can continue to show the NBA why he is at the top of the list when we talk about best defenders in the league if the young wing can shut down the Thunder's spark SGA.

Game Information
Date: Tues, Oct. 21
Time: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Oklahoma City, OK - Paycom Center
TV: NBC / Peacock

Scoring Prediction: Houston Rockets: 114 - Oklahoma City Thunder: 102