Takeaways: Magic stifle Rockets as Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. struggle in opener
In Wednesday night’s opener from Orlando, the Rockets began their 2023-24 campaign with a disheartening 116-86 loss (box score) to the Magic. It was Houston’s first regular-season game under Ime Udoka, who replaced Stephen Silas as head coach this offseason.
Houston trailed by as much as 17 points in the first half before cutting the margin to a single point early in the third quarter. Then, led by Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony, Orlando broke the game open a second time and never looked back in what ultimately became a rout.
Anthony led the Magic in 24 reserve minutes with 20 points and 8 rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting (66.7%). Wagner added 17 points in 27 minutes while making 3-of-7 from 3-point range (42.9%).
Playing against Orlando long, athletic, and physical defense made it a rough night for many younger Rockets. The poor showings included:
Jalen Green: 10 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists in 30 minutes; 2-of-10 shooting (20.0%)
Jabari Smith Jr.: 7 points, 5 rebounds, 6 fouls in 26 minutes; 3-of-9 shooting (33.3%), 0-of-4 on 3-pointers
Amen Thompson: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 2 assists in 21 minutes; 3-of-10 (30.0%), 1-of-7 on 3-pointers (14.3%)
Orlando outrebounded Houston by a commanding 63-37 margin.
Dillon Brooks was a standout in his first game with the Rockets, posting 14 points and 4 rebounds in 26 minutes while making 4-of-6 from 3-point range (66.7%). Veteran floor general Fred VanVleet had 14 points and 5 assists while also connecting on 4-of-6 from deep, though he missed six of his seven shots inside the arc.
Third-year center Alperen Sengun had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, shooting 6-of-11 from the field (54.5%). However, like many of his teammates, he struggled to score after a 6-of-6 start.
Here are highlights and interviews from Wednesday, along with reaction by media members and fans. Next up for Houston is a visit to San Antonio on Friday night, with tipoff at 7:00 p.m. Central.
Oct. 25 Rockets-Magic reaction
This was as bad an opening season performance as I’ve seen in a while.
Team was thinking too much, not playing.
Thankfully they can’t get worse. But the schedule can.
Will be brutal through Christmas.
— StanfordKP (@stanfordkp) October 26, 2023
Jalen Green looks like a rookie.
— Itamar (@Itamar_17_10) October 26, 2023
They were within 1 and the Rockets basically hit the off switch again, the wheels exploded off and this looks a lot like last seasons team, just really bad basketball on both ends
— Abel (@AbelGe87) October 26, 2023
Amen Thompson has just been a jump shooter tonight. That handle is an issue because it also affects his confidence
— Itamar (@Itamar_17_10) October 26, 2023
Jalen getting outplayed by Cole Anthony was not something even the basketball Gods saw coming
— Abel (@AbelGe87) October 26, 2023
Playing small-ball doesn’t work if you can’t shoot. The #Rockets are getting out-rebounded by 18. Lots of holes and question marks early on.
— Roosh (@RooshWilliams) October 26, 2023
It's 1 game, but it really hurts because of how awful all the top picks looked, it wasn't just bad, it was extremely bad
— Abel (@AbelGe87) October 26, 2023
This effort on the glass is miserable. No one finding a body just looking up
— Kyle Chilek (@Kchile22) October 26, 2023
Poorly built roster , the rockets will have very tight margins on a nightly game.. the needs will remain the same for me, shooting and another big man to play next to, ahead of, or behind sengun depending on who it is .
— Apathetic (@ftank58) October 26, 2023
Putting Dillon Brooks on Franz Wagner to start this half has helped a lot defensively.
Four threes helps a lot, too.
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 26, 2023
Franz Wagner is in Jalens draft class by the way.. lol
— Apathetic (@ftank58) October 26, 2023
Amen Thompson has had some brutal turnovers tonight.
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 26, 2023
The most disappointing part of this lost is that the rockets are bad at the fundamentals of basketball.. boxing out, ball security, effort
— Apathetic (@ftank58) October 26, 2023
I can be patient with development, but not with soft
— Madison Moore (@MadManLeaks) October 26, 2023
Back-to-back threes and just drew an offensive foul on Franz Wagner. https://t.co/h72sUfrf1K
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 26, 2023
Halfcourt defense was actually good, offense and turnovers have absolutely killed us. Team doesn’t look prepared. Do they not know the plays?
— Madison Moore (@MadManLeaks) October 26, 2023
Positives — Alperen Sengun & Jae'Sean Tate
Negatives — Everyone else
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 26, 2023
Not a single one stood out as a top four talent tonight. Very discouraging. #Rockets #HTownHoops https://t.co/Jid2tkyqu7
— B. Scott (@brandonkscott) October 26, 2023
Bruh pic.twitter.com/x6kJAb4X8e
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 26, 2023
Then the Magic promptly went on a 20-5 lead to close the third quarter. 🤦🏾♂️ #Rockets #HTownHoops https://t.co/lrFMYgVBZP
— B. Scott (@brandonkscott) October 26, 2023
The second unit for the Rockets are not getting it done…#Sarge
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) October 26, 2023
The #Rockets don’t have a bench player nearly as good as Cole Anthony. #HTownHoops
— B. Scott (@brandonkscott) October 26, 2023
We’re going to look back and laugh at Amen Thompson’s debut two years from now.
— Chancellor Johnson (@ChancellorTV) October 26, 2023
This is why it pays to have vets who won’t panic if they get down early pic.twitter.com/45imyzjs6T
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) October 26, 2023
Dillon Brooks is a hell of a defender man. Franz was cooking until they switched Brooks into him
— Kyle Chilek (@Kchile22) October 26, 2023
It appears that it is Dillon Brooks time. pic.twitter.com/y8mgMdcXj4
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) October 26, 2023
Ime Udoka said he told the team: "That was the worst game we've played individually and collectively."
Ime felt toughness was an issue. The Rockets were getting moved out of the way physically for offensive rebounds often.
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) October 26, 2023
Me too. Objectively, this was not how we looked in preseason. But people regress to their bad habits. Takes a while to unlearn.
Issue is that if we lose a ton of games upfront, spirits will be broken. Have to get some early momentum. https://t.co/U3Ca7FrtFf
— StanfordKP (@stanfordkp) October 26, 2023
Just awful, awful games from Jalen, Jabari and Amen.
Other than that, team rebounding has been shit, communication on defense has been shit. A lot to fix.
Just one game though, lets see where they go from here. #Rockets
— Paulo Alves (@PauloAlvesNBA) October 26, 2023
It took an experienced Celtics team half a season under Udoka before everything clicked. Just keep that in mind. #Rockets
— Chris A. White 🐻 (@fyrebear) October 26, 2023
Gotta give it at least 30 games before passing judgment. No way in hell we suck that badly. I think…
— RedNinetyFour (@RedNinetyFour) October 26, 2023
