The Houston Rockets are back on the floor tonight for their third and final preseason game, a last tune-up before the games start to count. Across from them are the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are playing their fifth preseason game and still have room to sort through their lineup.
That difference matters now because Houston is nearly done with the exhibition slate while Oklahoma City is still using extra games to work in new pieces and settle things after offseason changes. Marcus Smart is new to the Rockets, and Bogdan Bogdanovic is another addition, a 34-year-old scorer whose fit will be watched closely as the team tries to settle its rotation before Wednesday night’s opener in Houston against the Dallas Mavericks.
Houston’s preseason has already taken it across the Pacific Ocean for a pair of games with the Dallas Mavericks, so this is the last chance to see how the group looks before the games count in the standings. The Rockets appear to have a decent idea of what their rotation will look like, which gives this game a different feel from Oklahoma City’s side, where the Thunder are still juggling roster and financial questions while keeping their core from last season intact.
That is also why Nikola Topic is part of the story even though he is not expected to play. He has missed all of preseason with a back injury, leaving the Thunder without a full look at one of the players they wanted to integrate before opening night. Oklahoma City has also been working rookies Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz into the mix, and it has had a full offseason with Jared McCain and Topic, even if Topic’s injury has kept him sidelined through all of it.
The Thunder’s longer runway comes with a practical edge: they can still make mistakes and adjust. Houston does not have that luxury now. By Wednesday night, the Rockets will need answers, not auditions, and this final preseason game is their last clean look at whether the pieces around Smart and Bogdanovic are ready to hold together when the regular season begins.
