Scored 72 points and 35 rebounds together! The Rockets new starter averaged 2.09 meters, Amen was used, and Smith became KD

On October 15th, in a game that just ended, the Rockets defeated the Pelicans 130-128. Although Phils missed the buzzer in this game, without him, the Pelicans would not have been able to fight the Rockets to the end. Phils scored 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the game. He scored 14 points and 2 assists in the final quarter. In the fourth quarter, the core of both sides did not play. If the core had always played, the Pelicans would have collapsed, and the strength gap between the two sides was still obvious.

In this campaign, the Rockets relied on their ultimate rebound protection and fast-break counterattacks to establish an advantage. Uduka had previously expressed in an interview that he hoped that the Rockets could win by relying on fast breaks and rebounds in the new season. From now on, the Rockets have already embarked on this path. In the first half of the dialogue between the two sides, the Rockets were still not serious. However, in the third quarter, the Rockets clearly wanted to close the game. They launched a 42-29 attack wave in a single quarter, leaving their opponents unable to fight back.

Udoka changed their starting lineup for this campaign. It may be that Shepard's performance in the past few games did not satisfy the team. Udoka sent Amen, Durant, Jabari Smith, Shen Jing and Adams to the starting lineup for this campaign. The team is no longer a twin tower, but a complete four towers, because except for Amen, the other four are all 2.11 meters tall, and Amen has also reached 2.01 meters. This height also makes their rebound protection very successful.

The team's starting five scored a total of 35 rebounds, including 10 in the frontcourt. On the other hand, the Pelicans' starting lineup totaled 21 rebounds, and the total in the frontcourt was only 5. The difference is too big. Zion is good at attacking the inside, but in this game he had no success against the Rockets' big group. There were too many opportunities, and he scored a total of 13 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists on 6-of-11 shooting. In fact, it was not just him. All their starters played ineffectively against the Rockets' top five. Murphy scored 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting, Poole scored 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting, Missy scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and Jones scored 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

Looking back at the Rockets, Durant was struggling again in this game. He scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block on 6-of-13 shooting. Like the previous game, Durant played very loosely in the first quarter and ended up 0-for-4, but then found his form. After Durant joined the Rockets, he felt more like a defensive presence. Other teams thought that guarding Durant could limit the Rockets' offense. Unexpectedly, young players in the Rockets have emerged.

Jaba Smith took on Durant's task in this campaign. He made 7 of 16 shots from the field and 4 of 10 three-pointers. He scored 26 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block. Since the beginning of the preseason, Smith has performed very well. You can see that he During the offseason, he focused on improving his three-point shooting. Now he can seize open opportunities, and his defense is still very good. It is easy to defend the 3rd position with 2.11 meters. Since the preseason, he has averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, with a three-point shooting rate of 55.6% and an average of 2.5 three-pointers per game.

Amen's performance in the preseason so far is very popular. He is the core of the team's fast break. After getting more ball rights, his talent on the offensive end has been fully demonstrated. Now he is more confident in three-pointers than before. This campaign He made 5 of 8 shots from the field, 2 of 3 three-pointers, and scored 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Amen has averaged 15 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2 steals per game in the preseason so far. He has the opportunity to be selected for the All-Defensive Team, the All-NBA Team, and the All-Star this season.

Shen Jing has been playing the role of organizing center since the beginning of the preseason. Fortunately, he has been very successful. In this campaign, he made 3 of 8 shots and scored 8 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. He has now reduced his personal offense and will be more More energy is put on defense and passing, and now there are scenes of chasing shots. Such a game attitude is commendable. So far in the preseason, Shen Jing has averaged 16 points, 5 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block per game. Is he going to become the assist king in the new season?

Adams is the starting center in this campaign. Although his offensive ability is not good, his defense and rebound protection are strong enough. He scored 2 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block on 1 of 4 in the game. He had 6 frontcourt boards in the game. One person had more than the total of the Pelicans' starters. He really stole a team by one person. His body shape is so great that he is like a giant. Even if the Rockets don't let Adams start in the future, I think they will have many options, such as letting Ethan enter the starting lineup.

Ethan performed well in this campaign, scoring 20 points and 1 rebound. Ethan's defensive ability is very good. Imagine if he and Amen were allowed to defend the opponent's main scoring core on the outside, and Durant was allowed to rest in the corner. This would not only allow Durant to reduce the consumption on the defensive end, but also allow him to maintain more physical fitness on the offensive end to kill and attract defenses. The current lineup of the Rockets makes people have unlimited daydreams. The starting average in this campaign is 2.09 meters, and the athletic ability is too good.

Of course, they also have weaknesses. They do not have a truly traditional point guard, which also makes them make a lot of mistakes on the offensive end. Having said that, what do you want to say about the current Rockets? Welcome to leave a message for discussion.