Danielle Lerner

Love seeing Dana Evans make an impact off the bench for the Aces in the Finals. Reminds me of her breakout sophomore season at Louisville, which made her a starter for her last two years of college and which I was fortunate to cover: www.courier-journal.com/story/sports...

Rockets' forward Jae'Sean Tate hopes to be ready for opener after ankle surgery The Rockets are temporarily down another player with Jae'Sean Tate sidelined, joining wing Dorian Finney-Smith and point guard Fred VanVleet.

Rockets forward Jae'Sean Tate can't wait to get back on the court after an ankle injury that he said felt like being, "on a leg and a half the last couple of years."

Tate spoke about his recovery timeline and expectations for his role this season: www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rocke...

Jae’Sean Tate is still ramping up after his ankle injury last postseason and won’t play for the Rockets in preseason. Tate is doing non-contact but is ahead of Dorian Finney-Smith in his recovery.

Ime Udoka said he hopes Tate will be ready for the regular-season opener.

Reed Sheppard on his backcourt chemistry with Amen Thompson: “Amen’s obviously a tremendous defender and super quick and fast and athletic with the ball get to the rim. So I think just him doing that will draw defenders and, I think, (makes us) a really good duo.”

Here's what NBA general managers really think about the Rockets In NBA's annual survey, general managers were high on Houston's Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant but less sure of Rockets' overall potential

Will Amen Thompson have a breakout season? NBA GMs think so.

More Rockets predictions from the league's annual general managers survey: www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rocke...

'It just felt normal.' How Kevin Durant fared in Rockets' debut in win over Jazz Kevin Durant scores 20 points in his first game with the Rockets and shows how smoothly he fits with new team.

Kevin Durant looked right at home in his Rockets debut, scoring a team-high 20 points in a preseason win over the Jazz.

“It felt normal,” he said.

On Houston’s new normal: www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rocke...

Rockets are 2-0 in preseason after beating the Jazz, 140-127, in Kevin Durant's debut.

The Rockets finish preseason on the road with two games next week against the Pelicans (in Birmingham) and Hawks.

Reed Sheppard is still out there (he's played 24 min), but I'd assume the rest of the Rockets starters are done for the night.

In his Rockets debut, Kevin Durant scored 20 points in 23 minutes on 7-of-10 shooting (5-5 FT), with two rebounds and one assist.

Two minutes into the second half, after a pair of quarterback passes, Alperen Sengun has a double-double (11 points, 11 assists).

HALFTIME: Rockets 67, Jazz 61. Amen Thompson has been a monster in transition with game-highs of 19 points (9-of-13 FG) and 6 rebounds. Kevin Durant has 8 points on 3-of-6 FG in 15 minutes.

Kevin Durant has made use of a couple good screens from Alperen Sengun tonight. That will be an important partnership for the Rockets this season.

The Rockets trail the Jazz 25-23 after the first quarter, pretty good considering a disjointed halfcourt offense. Houston's starting lineup was outscored 13-9 and hampered by early turnovers.

Meet the man who can stop time, Rockets' clock operator Robert Copley Robert Copley has been operating the clock at Rockets games for 43 seasons and is the...

Rockets holding a moment of silence for stats crew member Robert Copley, who died earlier this week.

More on Robert, who worked for the Rockets since 1981: www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports...

With Kevin Durant now in the lineup, Ime Udoka said he doesn’t have a desired hierarchy in mind for the Rockets’ shot frequency.

He did say that he planned for Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun and Reed Sheppard to increase their usage this season so it’ll be about finding balance.

Reed Sheppard will start for the Rockets tonight along with Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Şengün.

Tari Eason will be available tonight. Steven Adams out.

Rockets guards Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson warming up ahead of preseason game 2 vs. the Utah Jazz. We’ll find out shortly whether Sheppard will start again tonight.

Ted Segal in talks to sell Houston Dash to RHC Group for $120M, report says Ted Segal is reportedly in advanced talks to sell the Houston Dash to a group run by a 24-year-old.

www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/dynam...

Per Ime Udoka: Steven Adams will be out for the Rockets on Wednesday. Tari Eason is a maybe (depending how his body feels). Udoka expects everyone else to be available.

Good vibes at the practice after the first preseason win. Kevin Durant will debut on Wednesday vs Utah.

The Rockets won their first preseason game. Here's what we learned Kevin Durant watched from the bench as his new team showed how it will play without Fred VanVleet in preseason win over Atlanta

Early thoughts on the Rockets’ point guard situation, synergy in the double-big lineup and Jabari Smith Jr.’s ball handling: www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rocke...

Rockets win their preseason opener against the Hawks. Starters were all sitting by the end of the third quarter.

More takeaways to come in my story, but thought Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun were terrific. Rockets' offense also ran smoothly through multiple initiators.

FYI there seem to be some issues with the stats feed here at Toyota Center, so not sure we'll have a reliable box score (not that it matters that much for preseason).

Back with the Rockets after 5 years away, Clint Capela wants to rule West again Five years after leaving via trade, Clint Capela returns to Houston as the Rockets are Western Conference contenders again.

Nice connection between Sengun and Capela there resulting in a Capela dunk. Clint was excited to play alongside Alpi when we spoke earlier this week, and I can see why. Rockets' offense with double bigs has looked great. www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rocke...

Meet the man who can stop time, Rockets' clock operator Robert Copley Robert Copley has been operating the clock at Rockets games for 43 seasons and is the...

Longtime Rockets clock operator Robert Copley passed away yesterday.

Robert was the sweetest soul. I loved getting to know him for this piece in 2022. At every game since, Robert always said hello to me and joked about our shared love of a halftime cookie. www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports...

Rockets go to their double-big pairing in the first quarter but I can't imagine this is the optimal lineup they want out there: Holiday, Davison, Okogie, Şengün, Adams.

Kevin Durant received a nice ovation from the crowd during a timeout after a video of him played on the big screen, which then switched to a live feed showing Durant on the bench.

Available never meant they would play. I also reported that Udoka said the main rotation guys would only play in one of the first two games, but it wasn't decided until today.

It is extremely common for teams not to play stars in preseason (see: Lakers with LeBron and Luka).

KD not playing tonight but still getting reps in pregame

Asked Ime Udoka what he wants to see from Reed Sheppard tonight.

"More of what he's done in the offseason and at times last year. Confident, aggressive on both ends, hunting his shots, making the right reads in pick-and-rolls, and him and Amen kind of manning the point guard together."