3 studs and 1 dud from Rockets' tough loss to Jazz in preseason opener

That was not the Houston Rockets game you were excited for.

It almost was. The Rockets utterly dominated the Jazz in the first half of last night's preseason contest. In the third quarter, the Jazz sparked a furious comeback. They'd walk away with a 122-113 victory.

Granted, there's a lot of context here. Ime Udoka committed to a back-of-the-bench rotation in the second half. That's practically customary in the preseason. In a game without stakes, why risk the health of your best players?

Still, it was a disappointing viewing experience for a Rockets fan. This win could have galvanized the fanbase ahead of the 2024-25 season, and at least several Rockets turned in outstanding performances.

Here are 3 studs and 1 dud from last night's action.

Stud: Jalen Green

If we were basing this on the first quarter alone, Green would have earned himself a "dud" distinction. He turned the ball over four times in that frame.

Luckily, he exploded in the second quarter. Green was getting whatever he wanted. Ultimately, he finished the contest with 21 points on 7/14 shooting in just 20 minutes.

Oh, and that fourth turnover was his last.

This was the Green we saw in March of 2023-24. Yes, this was a preseason game against one of last season's worst defensive clubs. Still, it was hard not to be encouraged by Green's performance.

Stud: Amen Thompson

Thompson busted a tire during a fastbreak in the second quarter. It was a terrifying moment. Thompson appeared as if he could have torn his ACL:

And up to that point, he'd been sensational.

Luckily, the young man bounced back quickly. Thompson turned in a fine game statistically with 13 points on 6/8 shooting and 2 steals. Still, you wanted to watch this one to get a full picture of his performance.

Defensively, he was the same Thompson. He suffocated ball-handlers, covered multiple assignments throughout possessions, and created events. Still, it was his offensive growth that was most encouraging. Thompson's handle looked much improved from 2023-24, and he was more confident going to the rim than ever before.

Stud: Alperen Sengun

By contrast, Sengun didn't do much of anything that we didn't see from him in 2023-24. That's what was encouraging about his performance. After an injury, Sengun quickly returned to his previous star form.

He finished with a well-rounded 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. That last mark is significant. Sengun looked more comfortable hedging and recovering by defending at the level. If he flashed improvement last night, it was on the defensive end.

That's where the most growth is needed. Still, it's mostly a relief to see that Sengun hasn't regressed after an injury. With his increased mobility, it's obvious that he put in a lot of work this summer.

NBA teams should be concerned. Sengun was already a stud.

Dud: Ime Udoka

We're (kind of?) joking.

This is the preseason. We won't fault Udoka for running experimental lineups featuring players who won't crack the regular season rotation. Again - that's what happens in the preseason.

Still, if we're judging this game in a vacuum, it's hard to pin the loss on anyone else. Imagine if this was a regular season game, Green had scored 21 on 50% shooting in the first half, and Udoka benched him for Nate Hinton.

You'd call that a dud of a performance.