Adam Spolane

Dillon Brooks played with Zach Edey on the Canadian National Team during the 2023 FIBA World Cup when Edey was in college. Brooks was impressed by what Edey had done in three seasons at Purdue, but his admiration grew after playing with him.

The Rockets started the 2024-25 season by going 1-1 in home games against Charlotte and Memphis and then splitting a pair in San Antonio. Here are four observations from what we’ve seen thus far from a team trying to end a four-year playoff drought.

Expectations were high this season for Alperen Sengun after flirting with an All-Star bid and finishing second in Most Improved Player voting in 2024, but the results have fallen short through six games.

In a matchup the Rockets felt was favorable, Alperen Sengun played his best game of the season on Monday, finishing with 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting and 14 rebounds in leading the Rockets to a 109-97 win over the New York Knicks

In order to win a third straight game, the Rockets will have to put together another full 48-minute performance when they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.

Rockets guard Fred VanVleet is day-to-day with left hamstring soreness, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said before Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards.

Alperen Sengun scored 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting through the game’s first three quarters, but when Kyle Kuzma’s finger roll with 7:26 left to play whittled the Rockets 16-point lead down to six, Sengun took over.

With the Rockets trailing by three in the waning seconds on Saturday night, Fred VanVleet tried to draw foul from Blazers forward Toumani Camara while attempting a game-tying three, only to be denied by all three officials.

The Rockets and Thunder will meet for a second time this season on Sunday inside Toyota Center, in a game that will feature the top two teams in the Western Conference through the end of November.

Behind Fred VanVleet’s 38 points, the Rockets beat the Thunder 119-116 Sunday night at Toyota. A little more than a quarter of the way through the season, the Rockets are 15-6, just a half game back of Oklahoma City for first place in the West.