After the sky was falling on the 0-2 Houston Rockets, they have rattled off three straight wins (mostly in blowout fashion though Toronto hung around) and sport the league’s best point differential.
They welcome a Dallas Mavericks team to Toyota Center tonight. There was definitely a not-so-quiet contingent of the NBA media that were and sure that the Mavs are a playoff team, even with Kyrie Irving out for all or most of the season. At 2-4 and already dealing with injuries, the “no one thought this team would be good” discourse has picked up, and it’s ridiculous. There was a lot of positive feelings about Dallas’s offseason. Picking up a can’t-miss product at the top of the draft played a major factor.
Six games in, Cooper Flagg is learning NBA offense and running point for Dallas. He’s averaging 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game on 37% syhooting from the field and 29% from deep. He’s going to make most of his mark early in his career on the defensive end, where he’s got good instincts and has the athleticism to hang with all five positions.
Houston has cruised to the top offense and net rating in the league. Defensively, they’re still a work in progress but with Ime Udoka coaching the team, I’d expect them to end up in the top 10 soon. Dorian Finney-Smith’s return should help on that end as will Reed Sheppard getting more experience defending one-on-one in the NBA.
Jabari Smith Jr.: GTD (ankle)
Dorian Finney-Smith: OUT (ankle)
The Line (as of this post)
Looking ahead because we can
Wednesday night at Memphis Grizzlies
