Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet said the team's new up-tempo offense is what he expected before tearing his ACL last season. Houston showed the new approach in Wednesday's 128-110 season-opening win over the Dallas Mavericks.

"It's been fun," VanVleet told Yahoo Sports. "We didn't get a chance to do it last year — this is what it was supposed to look like before. Coach laid out the philosophy of what we want to do, and we've done a heck of a job, better than I expected, in terms of our intention. Our execution hasn't been perfect, but our intention has been really, really good."

The Rockets had 29 fast-break points against Dallas, more than in all but one game last season. They also had 32 assists, made 16 of 36 three-pointers and scored 22 second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds.

Ime Udoka made pace the priority after two straight first-round playoff losses. Houston ranked seventh in offensive efficiency last season but was 28th in average time to shoot and 26th in 3-point attempt rate.

"The pace, for sure," said Udoka. "We definitely have to play faster. When we did run [last season], we were the No. 1 team in the first six seconds of the shot clock — better than the best offense — and we were the worst in the last six seconds and took the most late-clock shots."

Houston's preseason pace of 103.83 possessions per 48 minutes would have ranked second in the NBA last season. Offseason additions Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic give the Rockets more ball handlers alongside VanVleet and Reed Sheppard. Kevin Durant and Steven Adams also return from injuries.

Houston went 30-7 last season when it averaged at least five more shots than its opponent.