It’s the best time of the year! Game 1 of 82.

Last season, the Houston Rockets jumped from 22 to 41 wins. While another 19-win surge would be huge, most Rockets fans would be happy with playoff basketball. The Western Conference is once again stacked and every win counts. Last season they finished sixth in the West with 49 wins and 10th with 46. That’s what Houston’s young core and second-year coaching staff are staring at.

The Charlotte Hornets were Houston’s first win last season. The Rockets started 0-3 before making 21 triples against the Hornets and winning a shootout. That ended up being the exact opposite of that team’s identity, and with all of the core retained from last season, tonight’s numbers look more like the defensive slugfests that Ime Udoka and the Rockets favored.

Charlotte struggled with injuries last year and finished 21-61. LaMelo Ball played in just 22 games. They traded Terry Rozier and PJ Washington. Miles Bridges started the year suspended. The player who played in the most games last season was Brandon Miller, their high draft pick. The Hornets think they have a little more stability this season and that could make them a tougher team to play. And remember, no one knows if they are good or bad in the first month of the season. There are always a few bad results that look wild in April.

Further adding to the chaos is Charlotte’s new head coach, Charles Lee, who comes over from the Boston Celtics. You know, the same Celtics who basically lived by the three and tu-well, they won the title, so they didn’t really die by the three. You got it. Ball and Miller took about 70% of their preseason shots from deep. That could be a result of preseason and players not wanting to drive a ton and make contact in meaningless games. Or it could be their coach’s new directive.

If Houston is serious about making the postseason, that journey must start tonight. The newly extended Jalen Green will have even more pressure to show that March Jalen can emerge in October and November, and Alperen Sengun will have to show he can be “The Guy” on a playoff team.

Xiane and I will be at Playback again for this. Don’t forget, we can give out 20 passes to watch the game even if you don’t have League Pass or access to Rockets games. Don’t look for an illegal stream when you can just drop in, watch legally for free and hang out with other Rockets fans. It will be fun!

Tip off

7pm CT

How to watch

Space City home network

Injury report

Missiles

Steven Adams: GTD (pain)

Hornets

Mark Williams: OUT (foot)

The Line (from this post)

HOU -7

Looking ahead because you can

Friday night in Houston against the Memphis Grizzlies