Houston Rockets Injury Report: Latest update on Dorian Finney-Smith’s franchise debut for opening night (Oct. 21)

The Houston Rockets tip off their 2025-26 NBA season on Tuesday when they travel to Paycom Center from the Southwest to face the defending champions, the OKC Thunder.

There’s a mix of uncertainty and excitement looming over the Rockets going into the new season. It’s been the biggest summer of change for them since 2017-18, when Chris Paul pushed for a trade from Los Angeles to team up with James Harden.

The front office has strengthened the squad with the blockbuster signing of Kevin Durant in the offseason, showing serious ambition to fight for their long-awaited championship.

They also added a few more new names, such as Josh Okogie, Dorian Finney-Smith, JD Davison, and Clint Capela, who is already being seen as a game-changer for the Rockets’ increasingly youthful roster.

They will be looking to hit the ground running, but a meeting with the reigning champions, the Thunder, makes this a tough task.

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Houston Rockets Injury Report: Latest on Isaiah Crawford and Dorian Finney-Smith’s franchise debut for opening night

The H-Town team enters the new campaign without one of their starting guards, Fred VanVleet, who suffered a devastating ACL tear late in the offseason. VanVleet is expected to miss the entire season.

Dorian Finney-Smith and Jae’Sean Tate are still recovering from ankle injuries, which will keep them out of action on opening night.

Meanwhile, Isaiah Crawford faces a race against time to be fit but is expected to feature. The 23-year-old forward is listed as questionable with an ankle sprain and will be assessed before the tip-off.

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What to expect from new-look Houston Rockets this season?

The new-look Rockets showed a glimpse of what’s to come as they went unbeaten in the preseason. They dispatched the Atlanta Hawks twice, as well as the Utah Jazz and the New Orleans Pelicans. Even more impressively, the boys in red won all four games by an average of 10.5 points, scoring a total of 131.3 per game.

It’s no surprise that expectations are high this season. While the primary goal is a championship, making a deeper playoff run is equally important, especially with a 15-time NBA All-Star at their disposal.

Following a second-place finish in the regular season, Houston’s first-round exit at the hands of the Golden State Warriors left a sour taste and a feeling of hopefully progressing past that stage as a minimum this time around.

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How to watch Houston Rockets vs OKC Thunder?

The opening night game between the Rockets and Thunder is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will also feature the Thunder hoisting a championship banner.

The game also comes with added spice, with former Thunder star Kevin Durant expected to line up against his former team.

The game will be broadcast on NBC, which marks its return after decades.