The Rockets, Mavericks, and Yang Hansen each have their own unique challenges to face.

During the Rockets' home opener, even Yao Ming was in attendance, but they lost to the Pistons, suffering their second consecutive defeat of the season. If the previous double-overtime loss to the Thunder could be considered an honorable defeat, today revealed some deep-rooted problems within the Rockets organization.

Durant played 36 minutes, putting up 37 points on 9-for-18 shooting, including a flawless 3-for-3 from three-point range, embodying the essence of a 50% shooting percentage and redeeming his previous game's 0-for-4 three-point performance. This is the version of Durant we expect from the Rockets — focused on scoring and maximizing his strengths.

In contrast, Sengun’s 5-for-18 shooting was clearly poor. As an interior player who only attempted two three-pointers, his finishing around the basket was disappointing. Particularly in the final moments, his layup attempt to tie the game was directly blocked, squandering the last chance.

Trading Durant for Jalen Green and Dillon was undoubtedly a safe bet, but VanVleet’s torn ACL has completely altered the Rockets’ fate this season. Shepard, who was originally supposed to learn behind VanVleet, now has to bear heavier responsibilities, yet he has posted a disappointing 3-for-11 shooting across two games, along with 5 assists and 5 turnovers.

Starting point guard Amen has also been disappointing overall, going 0-for-8 from three over two games. It’s unclear whether he practiced shooting during the offseason. Neither Amen nor Shepard appears capable of fulfilling the starting point guard role effectively.

The Rockets’ potent pick-and-roll between Sengun and VanVleet from last season has completely vanished. Durant and Sengun ran some pick-and-roll plays late in today’s game, but the results were underwhelming. Although two straight losses are not yet a cause for despair, the Rockets must find a solution to their point guard issues soon.

The Mavericks face similar problems at the point guard position. During the preseason, Kidd’s experiment with Flagg as the point guard was mediocre; while the five-man lineup looked impressive on paper, the offense was actually sluggish.

Flagg is nominally the point guard, but whenever Davis is on the floor, the Mavericks’ offense revolves around him. Lakers fans know well what kind of impact Davis has. He’s the type of big man who needs a point guard to feed him the ball; although he can create on his own, it’s inconsistent. His off-ball contributions far outweigh his on-ball play.

Kidd’s decision to start Flagg at point guard hasn’t produced chemistry with Davis. The last loss could be blamed on the godlike performance of Wembanyama, but today’s defeat against the Wizards leaves no excuses — the Mavericks simply played poorly.

With Irving back, Flagg naturally won’t be playing point guard anymore. But before Irving’s return, should Kidd consider promoting Russell to the starting lineup? After all, Russell has some chemistry with Davis. It’s clear that Flagg, as a top draft pick, has potential, but whether he is suited to the point guard role still needs time to prove.

The Trail Blazers dominated the Warriors today in a thrilling, fast-paced game. The Warriors, playing back-to-back, were exhausted by the Trail Blazers’ relentless pace in the second quarter — if memory serves, the Blazers hit nine three-pointers in that quarter alone. The game went into garbage time early in the fourth quarter, where Yang Hansen got valuable minutes on the court at 3:43 remaining.

In fact, Yang Hansen entered the game in the first quarter as well. After Klingen picked up two fouls, new head coach Splitt put Yang on the floor for about three minutes. Honestly, those three minutes in the first quarter were very tough for Yang.

Curry’s strategy was to exploit Yang’s inability to get out on defense. In three consecutive possessions, Curry nailed three three-pointers. During the three minutes Yang was on the court, Curry scored 11 points, repeatedly punishing Yang’s retreating defense.

For Yang Hansen, there was no way to stop Curry’s shooting. Even Jokic struggled with Curry yesterday, so Yang had no chance. Defending Curry isn’t just about a center stepping up; if you do, you leave open space behind you, and Curry can easily get past in one step. Although Yang was badly beaten by Curry, he did not commit any major mistakes.

Big centers being targeted by Curry is unavoidable; centers across the league struggle against him. Yang was subbed out as Curry also left the court. Objectively, Splitt’s decision to put Yang on the floor was definitely a mistake.

After that, Yang did not get any more playing time during regular rotations. The Trail Blazers switched to a high-speed style, running the Warriors into exhaustion. Even when Klingen was on the court, most of his time was spent running back and forth, though he has better stamina and physicality.

The Blazers’ forwards can defend, run, and shoot; when they get hot, they are tough to handle. But for Yang Hansen, this style means his playing time will be limited, which is not good news for him personally.

However, during garbage time, Yang showed his capabilities by receiving a pass under the basket and finishing with a dunk — his first career field goal in live play. He then blocked two shots in a row on defense, demonstrating his rim protection skills.

One dunk and two blocks — Yang Hansen capped off the Blazers’ victory perfectly. But his disconnect from the team’s overall pace has put his career start into a challenging mode.

Especially after the first game, Billups was arrested. Although new coach Splitt has coached Yang multiple times before, his priority now is winning games, so Yang’s minutes may be limited.

Yang Hansen still has a long way to go before he can secure a spot in the Blazers’ rotation.