At present, the Rockets have played 1 4 games, with a win rate of just over 50%, ranking in the Western Conference play-off region. I'm sure all the fans in the offseason should be happy with the rankings. I don't think anybody thinks we're going to be in the top half, it's probably the play-off zone. Let's talk about how the players are doing so far.
1.Shen Jing has now completed its third year of evolution, and it can be seen that the offensive end has developed a certain three-point ability and mid-range shooting ability, and the back-to-back offense under the basket has also become a means of scoring, and there are also back-and-forth in the confrontation with Sabonis and Jokic. Currently, on the offensive end, Shin Kyung is the regular ** of the Rockets. But it should also be noted that his projection is not reliable at the moment, and the second is the problem of lateral movement on the defensive end, which is a cliché, and he can't change guards due to physical conditions, so the other players of the Rockets need to hide him on the defensive end, mainly using Dillon's squeezing through the ball blocker to prevent him from being killed by the block. But when facing a strong team, his weaknesses will still be caught, the most obvious being the Eagles. It can be said that the characteristic of attacking strong and defending weak will most likely accompany Shen Jing's career, just like his Turkish predecessors. The solution can refer to Jokic's situation, but it will require Shen Jing to play unparalleled dominance on the offensive end before the team will tilt resources, and it can only be said that I hope Shen Jing will grow like that, and it is too early to talk about it.
Turn the page in 2023
2.Smith, who has been a lot more consistent on the offensive end this year, is pleased with the defense and rebounding. Due to his physical strength, he can't keep an eye on strong opponents, but it's worth looking forward to. On the offensive end, many people say that he has no ball, in fact, his offensive initiation, not to mention how smart, except for some fixed-point jump shots, his offensive selection when holding the ball is not very good, and sometimes he will dribble to the side of his teammates, artificially causing the opposite side to help defend. But the advantage is that he has a good figure, and he is really static, and he should use his body to learn some low-post turnover jumpers, which is a big killer in positional warfare.
3.Dillon, Brother Long is definitely an indispensable member of the Rockets now, and his defense against Haliburton was missing in the last game, and it exploded directly in the second half. And this time, no one can match Durant. Brother Long is really not easy, the lower defensive guard, the upper defensive forward, squeezing through the ball-holding screener, protecting Shen Jing to the greatest extent, can be said to be the core of the defensive end. And the offense is more like a surprise, with three-pointers, breakaways, and back-to-back small guards.
4.Green, probably the most controversial player, the two games that Green played well this season are against the Lakers and the Grizzlies. This is also what the team expects from him, but the whole month of December was extremely sluggish, and he was completely lost. It's too early to talk about giving up, Green has improved on the defensive end, even when the offense is not going well, he is okay with 1-on-1 and off-ball, although not particularly good, but it is an improvement compared to the past two seasons. And the offensive end is a big problem, compared to the casual picking of the last two seasons, it is obvious that this season is not allowed, if he needs a lot of shots to find a touch, the ceiling will not be too high. Some of today's strong shots still show that he has talent, he has the physical conditions to become a star, and the current bottleneck lies in the ball intelligence and psychology. Shen Jing is a hammer, Green is a sharp knife, and if the Rockets want to go far in the future, both are indispensable, just like Jokic and Murray, no one can play without one. But whether the two of them can reach that height, they can only walk around and see.
5.Van Jordan is also a controversial player for the Rockets, is 40 million worth it?Van Jordan has the league's top assist-to-lose ratio, many people say that he will pass a simple ball and be safe, but the only game Van Jordan missed was against the Nuggets, the Rockets were defeated in the first quarter, the whole court was pressed and beaten, and the offense was extremely sluggish, it can be said that there is no order, without Van Jordan, neither Green nor anyone else can launch an offense, if the assist-to-loss ratio is so easy, why can't many guards in the league reach it?And Fan Jordan has always done a bad job of finishing under the basket, there is no way to be too short, his physical fitness is too mediocre, otherwise he would not have lost. At the critical moment, the three-point and mid-distance, Van Jordan can't reach the level of hard solutions of first-line stars, but it's not a return to the lax, many bites to the end of the game, Van Jordan can shoot these goals, but you compare him with Harden and other players, there is indeed a gap.
Because the defensive end is short, the anti-projection player is not good, for example, he was shot by Thompson when he played the Warriors, and he was congenitally deficient, but his squeezing cover and core strength are good, so it is not a colander. In short, some people must say that the 40 million is blind, but the situation in the offseason is that the 40 million must be at a premium, but no one can sign it without a premium, and whoever comes to the Rockets without rushing money, Brother Long is the same, abandoned by the Grizzlies. Van Jordan's technique has been finalized and there is no way to change it, and his vision in the fast break is not very good, 40 million is definitely not worth it, but the Rockets have no other choice, and it is impossible to give Harden a maximum salary pension contract.
6.Ethan, the most dynamic player, will become a defensive gate in the future, and a few shots today are too explosive. It's a pity that the hand work is still a bit rough at the moment, so let's grow it slowly.