Sports Warm Winter Creation Season
On December 24, Beijing time, the Rockets will challenge the Pelicans on the road, which is the second meeting between the two teams this season.
On November 11, Beijing time, the Rockets defeated the Pelicans 104-101 at home, in this game, Pelicans Ingram cut 31 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Zion cut 24 points and 8 rebounds, Rockets VanVleet cut 20 points and 8 assists, Shen Jing cut 24 points and 8 rebounds, Jalen Green cut 25 points and 4 rebounds, the Rockets relied on defense to limit the other Pelicans players, and finally beat the Pelicans in a thrilling victory.
At present, the Pelicans are 17-12, ranking 6th in the West, and have a 7-3 record in the last 10 gamesThe Rockets are in 8th place in the West with 14 wins and 12 losses, with a 6-4 record in their last 10 games.
This game is the second game of the Rockets' back-to-back, in the first 1 game of the back-to-back, the Rockets defeated the Mavericks 122-96, but the two cores of Doncic and Irving in this game have been suspended, and the Rockets' starters have basically clocked out in the third quarter.
This battle is different from the last meeting, the last meeting, McCollum was suspended due to injury, this time McCollum can play, can affect the situation of the game, Zion Williamson missed the last game due to illness, whether he will play in this game, it is still unknown, whether the Rockets Eason can return, it is not certain.
The Rockets and Pelicans are both teams in the Southwest Region, and this encounter is still very topical.
Shin Kyung vs Valanciunas.
Shen Jing's recent performance is not good, especially in the face of Jaren Jackson Jr., Lopez, Capela, and his performance on the defensive end is terrible, Shen Jing is afraid of the traditional tall and strong defensive interior line, dodging and playing on the offensive end, and lacks offensive aggression in the face of such a type, and on the defensive end, in the face of these traditional interior lines, the defense is not done well, especially in the face of the blocking and dismantling of the center and guard, Shen Jing's defensive scale and defensive position are very problematic.
The first meeting between the Rockets and the Pelicans, Shen Jing beat Valanciunas, but Shen Jing is most afraid of players like Valanciunas at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, this fight, Shen Jing will continue to beat Valanciunas, prove himself again, or be beaten by Valanciunas, and infinitely amplify his limitations, this is Shen Jing's opportunity to prove himself, the last time the Rockets defeated the Pelicans, mainly won on Shen Jing, if Shen Jing does not play well, the Rockets will be more than auspicious in this game, and the Rockets have no other inside line to match the intensity of Valanciunas's game。
Previously, Shen Jing faced Lillard and Lopez to block and dismantle, Mitchell and Allen or Mobley to block and dismantle, Trae Young and Capela or Okongu to block and dismantle, the defensive end was basically targeted, and McCollum is also a pick-and-roll type of guard, McCollum is extremely good at projection, the Rockets do not dare to chase or bypass McCollum, and may use the strategy of infinite defensive change, facing McCollum, at this time, it will test Shen Jing's defensive position and defensive choices.
In other words, this game is an extreme test of Shen Jing, not only testing Shen Jing's ability to match Valanciunas, but also testing Shen Jing's ability to switch defenses against McCollum, and Shen Jing's defense directly determines the Rockets' defensive ceiling.
Zion vs Jabari Smith Jr.
If Zion can play, then the Rockets will most likely use Jabari Smith Jr. against Zion.
However, Zion's size and athleticism are the type that Jabari Smith Jr. fears the most, and the Rockets may use Tate against Zion in stages, but Tate's recent performance has not been very good, although the Rockets have a lot of forward defensive resources, but there are not many who can really withstand Zion, maybe Jeff Green will be reused by Udoka, but Jeff Green's recent performance is not good, and he can't play by the Hawks' Trae Young, and he didn't get much playing time in the game against the Mavericks.
How the Rockets aligned with Ingram.
In terms of size, Jabari Smith Jr. is the best candidate for Ingram, however, if the alignment is arranged in this way, then Dillon must be used against Zion, and Dillon's size is obviously inferior to Zion.
If Dillon is used against Ingram, then Dillon's height is difficult to interfere with Ingram, Ingram is extremely good at mid-range, and although the Rockets' forward resources are extremely good at defense, they will not be in the right position, which will extremely test Udoka's arrangement.
How the Rockets responded to the Pelicans' outside three-pointers.
This season, the Pelicans are averaging 36 three-point shooting per game9%, although it did not reach the top three-point team that the Rockets faced before, but the Pelicans' three-point shooting has been extremely good recently, this season, McCollum averaged 42% three-point shooting per game, Murphy averaged 43% three-point shooting per game, Ryan 47% three-point shooting, Marshall's 42% three-point shooting rate, and Alvarado's 41% three-point shooting rate is really terrifying.
This season, the Pelicans don't have any stats that are particularly impressive, but all of them are not bad, averaging 116 per game1 point, ranked 12th in the league, averaging 44 per game3 rebounds, 12th in the league, averaging 26 per game6 assists, 10th in the league, 81 steal, 8th in the league
This season, the Rockets are conceding an average of 107 points per game9 points, ranked second in the league, and averaged 459 rebounds, 5th in the league
This is a civil war in the Southwest, this is a revenge battle for the Pelicans, and this is also a game that tests Shen Jing extremely much, and in the second game of the back-to-back, we will wait and see if the Rockets can have the last laugh without being affected by physical fitness.