You may have thought the 2009 offseason was rough, but the "somewhat" new-look Rockets have a bumpy start out of the gate this season.

Houston kicks off the season in Portland on October 27th against the team they (and some of their castoffs and walking wounded) just knocked off in the playoffs. They stay on the road to face the Warriors, then come home for the Blazers again followed by in Utah and at home against the Lakers.

23 of the Rockets first 38 games are on the road -- that will start to balance out in late January when the Rockets have a 6-game homestand. Houston also plays on back-to-back nights on 22 occasions, including a stretch just before Christmas where they will play 6 games in 9 nights.

Some of the big matchups: Former Rocket Ron Artest comes back to Houston on November 4th and the Rockets will face Kobe and the gang twice in their first 10 games. Houston will welcome the new pairing of LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal on December 9th. Texas rivalries: San Antonio comes to Houston on November 27th and February 26th while Dallas is in town November 25th and December 31st.

If there are playoff implications, the Rockets' final three games are at Phoenix, at Sacramento and at home against Emeka Okafor's new team the New Orleans Hornets.

After speaking with the Rockets on Wednesday, I removed the schedule chart from the story given that the team runs a risk of being fined for this leaking out. I think with Tracy McGrady still on the team and under contract, every dime is needed.