On December 30, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Rockets hosted the 76ers. Maxey scored 26 points in the first half, Beverley and Morris hit three-point shots respectively at the decisive moment, and Landale missed the basket and lost the game, and the score was finally fixed at 131-127, and the 76ers sent the Rockets to three consecutive defeats.
The Rockets have a 12-2 record in their first 14 home games this season, but unfortunately, their form has been inconsistent, Udoka seems to have lost the magic of the early season, and the young team has fallen into a bottleneck. Currently, the Rockets sit in 10th place in the West with 15 wins and 15 losses, and with their current form, they could fall behind at any time in the highly competitive West. And such a scenario is undoubtedly what general manager Stone and head coach Udoka do not want to see.
In fact, now the Houston Rockets are not only in worrying condition, but also really average in strength;VanVleet and Dillon Brooks are both top-tier role players, but lack the ability to take the team to another levelAnd Jalen Green, Shen Jing, Jabari Smith, and Ethan are all talented young people, but unfortunately their respective technical flaws are very large, making their performances fluctuate very much, often gods and ghosts. Therefore, the Rockets urgently need to change the existing roster configuration, especially to improve the strength of the interior.
Fortunately, Stone has a lot of chips in his hands, which allows him to find real talent available in the trading market. According to TA Rockets reporter Kelly Iko, sources revealed that after the Rockets lost back-to-back games, Udoka asked to bring in Atlanta Hawks center Capela. It is reported that Stone will send away Landale, Oladipo and a future first-round pick.
Although there is a bit of a gap from the peak, it is undeniable that Capela is still one of the best interior players in the active league, and he is in his playing year, which is fully in line with the Houston Rockets' team building plan;And Capela's arrival can undoubtedly improve the strength of the Rockets' interior defense and make Udoka's team more balanced in offense and defense.