Portland Trail Blazers vs Houston Rockets 2023 NBA Summer League: Preview, prediction, players to watch, rosters and more

The Houston Rockets will open their 2023 NBA Summer League campaign with a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday evening in Las Vegas.

The game will take place inside the Thomas & Mack Center and will mark the first of five games for the Rockets and the Blazers in the 2023 NBA Summer League.

Following their opening night contest against the Trail Blazers, the Rockets will then take on the Detroit Pistons (July 9), Oklahoma City Thunder (July 11), and Golden State Warriors (July 13).

The Blazers, meanwhile, will face San Antonio on Sunday (July 9), Charlotte on Tuesday (July 11) and Orland on Thursday (July 13).

The Rockets' Summer League roster features Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. The second-year prospects will be joined by Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore, the two players Houston acquired in the 2023 NBA draft.

Players to watch: No.3 (Scoot Henderson) and No.4 pick (Amen Thompson) to face each other for the first time

Portland will counter with No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson. As both Henderson and Thompson are point guards, they should spend considerable time in head-to-head matchups in their first appearance for their respective teams.

Portland will also have Kris Murray (No. 23 in 2023) and Shaedon Sharpe (No. 7 in 2022) on its roster, along with Keon Johnson and Rayan Rupert.

Houston Rockets 2023 NBA Summer League roster

PLAYER	#	POS	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	BIRTHDATE	AGE	EXP	SCHOOL	HOW ACQUIRED
Amen Thompson	1	G	6-7	215 lbs	JAN 30, 2003	20	R	Overtime Elite	#4 Pick In 2023 Draft
Darius Days	5	F	6-7	240 lbs	OCT 20, 1999	23	1	Louisiana State	Awarded On Waivers On 10/11/22
Cam Whitmore	7	F	6-7	235 lbs	JUL 08, 2004	18	R	Villanova	#20 Pick In 2023 Draft
Jabari Smith Jr.	10	F	6-11	213 lbs	MAY 13, 2003	20	1	Auburn	#3 Pick In 2022 Draft
Trevor Hudgins	12	G	6-0	198 lbs	MAR 23, 1999	24	1	Northwest Missouri State	Signed On 07/01/22
Tari Eason	17	F	6-8	217 lbs	MAY 10, 2001	22	1	Louisiana State	#17 Pick In 2022 Draft
Chris Brandon	54	F	6-8	220 lbs	FEB 21, 2000	23	R	Northern Kentucky
Fletcher Magee	55	G	6-4	200 lbs	NOV 13, 1996	26	R	Wofford
Jalen Lecque	56	G	6-4	185 lbs	JUN 13, 2000	23	2	Brewster Academy
Jermaine Samuels Jr.	57	F	6-7	230 lbs	NOV 13, 1998	24	R	Villanova
Jhonathan Dunn	58	G	6-4	180 lbs	FEB 17, 1998	25	R	Southern Nazarene
Justin Johnson	59	G-F	6-6	185 lbs	AUG 11, 1999	23	R	Texas Rio Grande Valley
Matthew Mayer	60	F	6-9	225 lbs	SEP 23, 1999	23	R	Illinois
Myles Powell	61	G	6-2	195 lbs	JUL 07, 1997	25	1	Seton Hall
Nate Hinton	62	G-F	6-5	210 lbs	JUN 08, 1999	24	2	Houston
Tijohn Rodde	63	G	6-3	180 lbs	OCT 05, 1998	24	R	Bellevue College
Trhae Mitchell	64	F	6-6	195 lbs	AUG 19, 1997	25	R	South Alabama
Jay Huff	65	C	7-1	240 lbs	AUG 25, 1997	25	2	Virginia

Portland Trail Blazers 2023 NBA Summer League roster

PLAYER	#	POS	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	BIRTHDATE	AGE	EXP	SCHOOL	HOW ACQUIRED
Scoot Henderson	0	G	6-2	196 lbs	FEB 03, 2004	19	R	NBA G League Ignite	#3 Pick In 2023 Draft
Keon Johnson	6	G	6-3	185 lbs	MAR 10, 2002	21	2	Tennessee	Traded From LAC On 02/04/22
Kris Murray	8	F	6-8	215 lbs	AUG 19, 2000	22	R	Iowa	#23 Pick In 2023 Draft
Shaedon Sharpe	17	G	6-5	200 lbs	MAY 30, 2003	20	1	Kentucky	#7 Pick In 2022 Draft
John Butler Jr.	21	F	7-0	190 lbs	DEC 04, 2002	20	1	Florida State	Signed On 10/20/22
Jeenathan Williams	23	G-F	6-5	206 lbs	FEB 12, 1999	24	1	Buffalo	Signed On 04/01/23
Jabari Walker	34	F	6-7	200 lbs	JUL 30, 2002	20	1	Colorado	#57 Pick In 2022 Draft
Ibou Badji	41	C	7-1	240 lbs	OCT 13, 2002	20	1	FC Barcelona	Signed On 11/18/22
Jaizec Lottie	53	G	6-2	190 lbs	FEB 16, 1998	25	R	Monthey
Michael Devoe	54	G	6-4	183 lbs	DEC 17, 1999	23	R	Ontario Clippers
Antoine Davis	57	G	6-1	165 lbs	OCT 03, 1998	24	R	Detroit Mercy
Justin Minaya	60	F	6-7	210 lbs	MAR 26, 1999	24	1	Providence
Malachi Smith	63	G	6-4	210 lbs	DEC 06, 1999	23	R	Gonzaga
Duop Reath	68	C	6-11	245 lbs	JUN 26, 1996	27	R	Al Riyadi
Rayan Rupert	72	G-F	6-7	195 lbs	MAY 31, 2004	19	R	New Zealand Breakers	#43 Pick In 2023 Draft
Jamie Echenique	76	C	6-11	258 lbs	APR 27, 1997	26	R	Rytas Vilnius/Colombia

Interestingly, Amen Thompson, the Rockets’ top-5 pick, will go up against a player taken before him in the draft, Scoot Henderson, on Friday, and the player taken after him, his twin brother, Ausar, on Sunday.

Similarly, Jabari Smith Jr. will face the player chosen before him in the 2022 draft, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, on Tuesday.

Though the Rockets are likely to use at least one roster spot for another NBA veteran, there could be opportunities for young players now that they have agreed to move K.J. Martin, Usman Garuba, Josh Christopher and TyTy Washington Jr., featured players in previous Summer Leagues.

With the new CBA allowing for three two-way contracts, rather than the two that were permitted since 2017-18, there is also an open two-way spot along with Darius Days and Trevor Hudgins. Days, in particular, is a candidate for a standard NBA contract.

Head coach Ime Udoka has made it clear that no player will have guaranteed time due to their draft spot or potential, so expect fierce competition for playing time.

For their part, the Blazers are in rebuild mode and are focused on Damian Lillard's trade request, so any player that can stand out from their 2023 NBA Summer League roster could find a spot in their squad for the 2023/24 season.

If we can make a prediction, Thompson and the Rockets should take this one, even though we expect the Blazers to fight until the end.