It took just one game for the Rockets ' starting lineup gamble to pay off

As the Houston Rockets earned their first win of the season, 137-109 against the Brooklyn Nets, in dominant fashion, they were finally able to cobble together an offensive flow on the shoulders of Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun, taking full advantage of the active but weak Nets defensive front.

Most notably, however, the team's decision to start small, giving offseason signing Josh Okogie the nod over Steven Adams, provided them with the spacing and the movement that they needed to get the offense going, and the Rockets' gamble paid quick dividends.

Although the double-big lineup, featuring both Sengun and Adams, paid huge dividends last season, its limitations were exposed in the team's first two games, and the decision to start Okogie instead helped the team immensely on both ends of the court.

Starting Josh Okogie was the right decision, and we should look to see more of it in the future

As Houston went 0-2 in their first two games, the flaws in their roster in the absence of starting point guard Fred VanVleet were crystal clear.

Both Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard struggled to facilitate the offense, and, with head coach Ime Udoka leaning into the team's size, they looked slow to the ball on defense and sluggish in their movement on offense.

The result was a Rockets team that looked much like last season's, minus the elite defensive front.

Yet, against Brooklyn, the team finally found its groove. Sengun had 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. Durant had 19 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Even Sheppard, who had struggled offensively through the team's first two games, had 15 points, four rebounds and eight assists, shooting 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.

However, while Okogie's numbers don't pop off the stat sheet (he totaled 10 points, zero rebounds and one assist), his impact on the game was immeasurable.

After struggling from 3-point range through their first two games, the Rockets excelled against the Nets, going 16-of-32 from beyond the arc and capitalizing upon the additional dose of spacing that having Okogie in the lineup provides.

Moreover, leaving Adams on the bench unit allowed Udoka to stagger him, Sengun and Clint Capela throughout the game, giving Adams the energy and the rest he needed to stay active on both ends of the floor.

As a result, Houston earned their first win of the season and, moreover, put away an inferior team as early as they possibly could given their opponents' 3-point luck.

While the Nets don't necessarily present a formidable defensive front, this performance is a highly encouraging sign for the team's ability to overcome their early warts, and Okogie, realistically, should be in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future.