Turnovers Will Be a Work in Progress All Season for the Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets open the 2025-26 season in Oklahoma City, taking on the defending champion on the night they received their championship ring. The game was Kevin Durant's debut with the Rockets, the team's most significant acquisition in over a decade.

The season opener was also the debut of the Rockets' jumbo lineup featuring Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith, Steven Adams, and Durant. The Rockets used this lineup once in preseason and saw success, especially from Smith, who had his best game of the preseason with this lineup.

The Rockets controlled the boards for most of the game and led the defending champions for much of it. However, the Thunder were able to make a run at the end of regulation to force overtime and then double overtime before taking the lead for good on two Shai Gilgeous Alexander free throws. Despite the loss, the Rockets performed well in some areas.

The Rockets shot 27-31 from the free throw line, a significant improvement over last season's season average, when they ranked last in free throw shooting. The Rockets also won the rebounding battle, finishing plus-14 in the loss. Individually, Alperen Sengun was the best player on the court, finishing with 39 points and 11 rebounds.

One area in particular, however, the Rockets struggled all game long in their loss was ball handling. The Rockets knew coming into the season that would be a major area of concern, and it manifested itself on opening night

Turnovers will be an issue all season long for the Houston Rockets

Before the start of training camp the Rockets received news they did not want to hear at any point but defintely not before the start of the season. Fred VanVleet, the Rockets' leader, had suffered a potential season ending injury. VanVleet was working out in the Bahamas in preparation for training camp and suffered a torn ACL. The injury will more than likely cause VanVleet to miss the entire season.

That is significant because VanVleet has been the steady force on offense, getting the Rockets into their sets and handling full-court pressure. VanVleet is not a flashy passer or one who shows up on highlights, but his calming demeanor and consistency have been invaluable for the Rockets.

The two seasons prior to VanVleet joining the Rockets, they finished last in the league in turnovers, averaging over 16 per game in 2021-22 and 2022-23. In VanVleet's first season, the Rockets set a franchise-best mark in turnovers for an 82-game season. The Rockets set a new low in turnovers, and it was directly due to VanVleet's decision-making and leadership.

Coming off a 25-turnover game the Rockets will be looking to improve their mark in their home opener against the Detroit Pistons. They are hoping players like Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard will eventually step up as playmakers as taking care of the basketball will be a work in progress all season.

Thompson finished with four turnovers and five assists, and Sheppard, in 28 minutes off the bench, had two turnovers and four assists. More than anything, the Rockets will need both players to help them get into the correct set and get the ball into play sooner in the shot clock, as teams will test the Rockets' ball-handling all season. The Rockets have their next opportunity Friday night as they host the Detroit Pistons.