Durant scored 13 points on 14 shots, and Shen Jing was blown away! 5 details prove that this Rockets has a chance to win the championship

Durant only scored 13 points on 14 shots, and Shen Jing was also beaten by his opponent Jokic! After losing to the Nuggets in a strong dialogue, five details proved that this Rockets team really has a chance to compete for the championship this season.

Detail 1: Only lost one goal

The Rockets' two core players, Durant, made 5 of 14 shots in the game, 1 of 5 three-pointers and only scored 13 points. In the final quarter, he was directly invisible and 0 of 3. The inside core Shen Jing was completely beaten by the opponent Jokic. While scoring 14 points on 14 shots, he also made 5 turnovers and 5 fouls.

Looking at the two core players of the Nuggets, Jokic scored 34 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists on 11 of 20 shots from inside and outside. Murray, the second team leader, played his best second half of the season, scoring 26 points and 10 assists.

As a result, the Rockets fought fiercely with the Nuggets until the last minute, but unfortunately lost to the Nuggets 109-112 because of a missed 3-pointer. This shows the terrifying fault tolerance of this Rockets team.

Detail 2: All losers are strong teams

In the 14 games since the beginning of the season, the Rockets have achieved 10 wins and 4 losses, and lost 4 games to the Thunder, Pistons, Spurs and Nuggets respectively. Looking at the rankings, you can easily find that the opponents the Rockets lost are all real strong teams. Among them, the Thunder ranked first in the league, the Pistons ranked first in the Eastern Conference, the Nuggets ranked second in the Western Conference, and the Spurs were currently fourth in the Western Conference. When they defeated the Rockets, they were second in the Western Conference.

Such a record proves that this Rockets team not only has a super fault tolerance rate, but also has a top-notch lower limit. Whether it is the league's No. 1 offense, the defense that has quietly risen to No. 7 in the league in the past 10 games, and the absolute advantage in rebounding and lineup depth, this Rockets team can handle the long regular season with ease.

Detail 3: Sheppard scored 27 points

When the two core players Durant and Shen Jing were misfiring, Sheppard stepped up and scored 20 points in the half. He made 9 of 13 in the game and 5 of 8 three-pointers, scoring a team-career-high 27 points, plus 4 assists.

Sheppard's performance is not a flash of inspiration. This is his eighth consecutive game in which he has scored in double figures. In the past five games, he averaged 27.8 minutes per game, averaging 17.8 points, 3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2 steals. His overall shooting rate was 56.9% and his three-point shooting rate was 50%.

Sheppard not only fully built up his confidence, but also transferred his top shooting talent to the NBA. He also gradually found a rhythm on the defensive end, constantly using his advantages in golf intelligence and ball feel to complete steals to make up for his disadvantages in basic talent.

Detail 4: Shepard took 2 shots in the second half

In the extremely hot first half, Shepard only got 2 shot opportunities in the second half. This is related to Uduka's slow on-the-spot tactical adjustments, and it is also closely related to the fact that the Rockets have not yet completed the running-in with each other.

Due to the addition of Durant, Capela, Okogie and other new players, as well as Van Jordan's serious injury, the Rockets have been constantly adjusting their lineup since the beginning of the season, and have further evolved the strange twin-tower lineup of last season into the "five major lineups" of conventional weapons.

Coupled with the sudden emergence of Shepard, the Rockets do need some time to re-establish a chemical reaction and find a stable personnel rotation system. Only then can they truly take advantage of the existing exaggerated lineup depth.

Detail 5: Several injured players have not returned

Due to the Rockets' outstanding performance of 9 wins in 10 games before the game against the Nuggets, people have overlooked that this Rockets team has actually suffered serious injuries. Not only is the core point guard Van Jordan absent, but important signing Finney Smith has not played yet. Ethan, who has shot a superb three-pointer so far since the beginning of the season, has also missed many games due to injury.

Therefore, with several core members absent, and with the two core members Shen Jing and Durant both failing, the Rockets finally lost by one goal to the Nuggets, who had been running for several seasons with a complete lineup of Jokic and Murray, and it was not shameful at all.

After all, the new season has only just begun a month ago, and the Rockets still have enough time to expand their upper limit. As long as they solve the problems one by one before the playoffs arrive, then the Rockets will obviously be one of the teams most likely to compete with the Thunder for the championship this season.