The NBA has released the complete [2025-2026 schedule](https://www.nba.com/rockets/schedule?utm_campaign=unknown&utm_source=rockets&utm_medium=web), and as we get closer and closer to seeing our Houston Rockets playing actual games, combing through the schedule for matchups Rockets fans can’t wait to see is a great way to pass the time. Here are some of the matchups I’m most looking forward to.
If there is one thing the NBA deserves credit for, it’s knowing how to add drama to the stakes. The newly acquired superstar of the Houston Rockets, Kevin Durant, will be present to watch his former team hang their very first championship banner in the rafters when the season begins on Oct 21. Something he was unable to do in the nine seasons he played for the Thunder. As much as I’d love to believe that this will motivate him to play well, I just don’t think that’s in Durant’s DNA. I think he’s going to hoop, because that’s what he does. I think he will treat it as just another game.
You better believe that for Rockets fans, this won’t be “just another game”. This will be an instant measuring stick game. Will the Rockets be able to keep up with the Thunder offensively now that they have a bonafide scoring machine? Will the Rockets defense be as good as last season, will it be even better, or will it take a step back? These are all the things we as fans will want answered right away and win or lose, we will likely be overreacting to whatever the result.
The Rockets will play on Christmas for the first time since 2019 when they lost to the Golden State Warriors 116-104. This time they will be facing a different California team, the Los Angeles Lakers. If you can’t get hype about the Rockets on Christmas, and the opportunity to see KD vs LeBron, Amen vs Luka, Sengun vs Ayton, then you probably just don’t like Rockets basketball and if that’s the case what are you doing here? With the exception of my mother, who reads my material just cause… come on, it doesn’t get any better than that in the regular season, with one exception.
The Rockets find themselves in West Group C along with the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, and the Denver Nuggets. With the exception of the Trail Blazers, all of the teams in this bracket have aspirations of a deep post-season run, and as we have seen, the competitiveness of the in-season tournament reaches a different level than other regular season games. After getting to Vegas last season and getting embarrassed by the Thunder, the Rockets would love to win this years in-season tournament as a litmus test to whether or not they are true championship contenders.
The Rockets will start group play against the Spurs on November 7 in San Antonio, followed by a home game versus the Trail Blazers on November 14, home vs the Nuggets on November 21, and they will wrap up group play versus the Warriors in San Francisco on November 26. I imagine going 3-1 would be enough to advance them to the elimination round, which is very doable, especially if the Rockets are the team we all hope they are. Winning an NBA Cup would go a long way to building team confidence and the confidence of the fans.
That may seem like a silly question, but the Rockets did not give up their 23-year-old leading scorer for a 36-year-old future Hall of Fame player so that they can celebrate a first round series win. The Rockets expect themselves to make a deep run. I expect them to make a deep run, and likely so do you. I don’t know if it’s championship or bust, but the pressure is on. There are expectations on this team now. No more sneaking up. There is as reason the team will have 28 nationally televised games this season, more than doubling what they had last season. This ties them with the Timberwolves for the second most national games, behind only the Thunder, Knicks, Lakers, and Warriors who each have 34. This ain’t your ex-girlfriend / ex-boyfriend’s Houston Rockets, and I know TDS is fired up!
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