On Sunday, the Golden State Warriors travel to the great state of Texas to take on the Houston Rockets in a Western Conference matchup. The Warriors are 1-1 on the season, losing their opener to the Suns before bouncing back with a road win over the Sacramento Kings. The rebuilding Rockets are 0-2 under new head coach Ime Udoka to start the season.

Championship Trio is Back

The Golden State Warriors will welcome back the third member of the trio behind all four of the team’s recent titles when Draymond Green returns from injury on Sunday in Houston. Without Green, the Warriors split their first two games, losing to the Suns at home, 108-104, before bouncing back with a 122-114 victory over the Kings in Sacramento. Steph Curry continued his recent torture of the Sacramento Kings with 41 points including a 16-point third quarter that helped the Warriors open up a 12-point lead. Curry and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson will now welcome back Green to the league’s most successful franchise in the last 15 years.

“I got goals,” Green said. “Not exactly sure what they are yet, but I got to play in 65 games.”

The Warriors haven’t been as fluid as they can be offensively thus far on the season. The team is shooting under 35% from 3-point range despite having two of the greatest long-distance shooters in league history, Curry and Thompson. The absence of Green has been felt primarily on the glass thus far. After averaging over 54 rebounds per game last year, the Warriors are averaging just 44 through the first two games. Green’s ability to clear out space both for himself and his teammates in the paint will be critical upon his return. Newcomer Chris Paul has fit in nicely as a ball distributor, another of Green’s strengths, with an average of 10.5 APG through the first two games.

Key Injuries: G Steph Curry (foot) is being listed as questionable.

Rebuild is On

The Houston Rockets have started the season 0-2 under new coach Ime Udoka but the organization has to be excited about the addition of the coach who led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first-ever season as an NBA head coach. He now gets to work with one of the league’s youngest rosters with potential future stars in guard Jalen Green and center Alperen Sengun. The Rockets also added a few quality veterans to help supplement the young roster like former Raptor Fred VanVleet, former Rocket Dillon Brooks, and the well-traveled Victor Oladipo. After being blown out in the opener, the Rockets nearly picked up their first win of the season vs. the Spurs before falling in overtime, 126-122. Sengun led the way with 25 points VanVleet had 24 points, and Green chipped in with 22 points. It still wasn’t enough for the young Rockets who held the lead with 20 seconds to go in regulation. The Rockets tied the game on a jumper from #1 pick Victor Wembanyama.

“It’s tough,” Rockets forward Jabari Smith said. “He’s tall, athletic. Just try to do what you can, stay in front, try not to foul.”

The Rockets defended the ball much better in game two after an embarrassing 40-point loss to the Magic in the opener. The Rockets were better particularly at defending the 3-point shot, holding San Antonio to just 31% from long range. As a team, the Rockets shot 52% from the floor but hurt themselves by shooting just 50% from the free-throw line. They will need to find the Warriors’ shooters early to keep them from getting comfortable from long range.

Key Injuries: C Jock Landale is out.