On Thursday, January 15, the Houston Rockets will face the Oklahoma City Thunder at home for the first time since an epic double-overtime Opening Night faceoff that kicked off the 2025-2026 season- an omen of the Wild Wild West showdown this year has already become.
When: Thursday, January 15 @ 6:30 PM CT
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Where: Toyota Center, Houston
Where to watch:
Amazon Prime Video (with subscription)
Fubo (with subscription)
Subject to local blackouts
Rockets vs. Thunder Injury Report:
Bookmark this one. These absences will show up on the floor.
Houston:
Out: Forward – Tari Eason (ankle)
Out: Forward – Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle)
Out: Guard – Fred VanVleet (ACL)
Oklahoma City:
Questionable: Guard – Luguentz Dort (foot)
Out: Guard – Nikola Topic (groin)
Out: Center – Isaiah Hartenstein (calf)
Out For Season: Center – Thomas Sorber (knee)
Betting Odds:
Spread: Oklahoma City -5 (-108), Houston +5 (-112)
Moneyline: Oklahoma City -176, Houston +148
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Total Points: 221.5
Over/Under: -110
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Odds subject to change
On Houston’s side, Tari Eason has been ruled out as he continues to manage a right ankle sprain. That’s a real loss on the wing- Eason is one of Houston’s more annoying defenders, and he also creates extra possessions with activity and rebounding from the perimeter.
Josh Okogie is the most likely candidate to soak up those minutes, and while he isn’t a one-to-one swap for Eason, he brings the right skillset for this matchup: on-ball pressure, physicality, and sprint-to-the-play energy that can disrupt Oklahoma City’s timing.
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Dorian Finney-Smith sitting with a left ankle sprain further trims Houston’s wing depth. Without him, the rotation gets tighter and the margin on the perimeter gets thinner. That said, Houston was short Finney-Smith last time they faced the Thunder, and for much of the season.
Fred VanVleet remains out, and at this point Houston has already built a working identity without a traditional floor-general. They’ve leaned into shared creation, slower possessions when they need them, and winning stretches with defense and rebounding rather than constant shot volume.
For Oklahoma City, Isaiah Hartenstein sidelined takes their interior anchor out of the equation. His screening, paint physicality, and rebounding presence will need to be soaked up by a creative center rotation, especially up against an engine like Alperen Sengun tasked with controlling the paint.
Luguentz Dort’s questionable status is also something to monitor. If he’s limited or sits, Oklahoma City loses one of its most important point-of-attack defenders. Without him, the Thunder might be forced to send early help to Kevin Durant, and with Hartenstein sidelined, the extra attention becomes harder to clean up- either leaving Sengun with space inside or opening kickouts to the perimeter.
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Tonight’s formula is pretty clean: if Houston takes care of the ball and keeps Oklahoma City out of transition, they’ll give themselves a real shot to control tempo at home- even shorthanded on the wing.
