In some recent games, the Rockets' star center Alperen Shenjing is completely different from the performance since the beginning of this season, before Alperen Shenjing's performance seems to be not inferior to Jokic and Sabonis Jr., and even super centers like Brother Thick Eyebrows, but now I don't know if Shen Jing's state is not good, or his personal style of play has been thoroughly studied by the opponent, in short, Shen Jing has fallen into a slump at both offensive and defensive ends.
The offense is actually okay, Shen Jing is not the main attack point of the Rockets, and the Rockets don't expect him to score 30 points and 40 points per game, Shen Jing's defense has now become a disaster, especially in the game between the Rockets and the Hawks, in the face of the Eagles' inner twin towers Okongu and Capela, Shen Jing has no power to parry at all, especially in the 4th quarter, the Hawks directly sent Okongu to the court to confront Shen Jing, under Okongu's defense, Shen Jing's shooting and offense can't open the situation at all, and on the defensive end Okongu also uses his strong body and excellent strength to keep pressing Shen Jing to play, which makes Shen Jing very passive at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends。
In the end, the head coach of the Rockets, Udoka, couldn't stand it anymore, and at the important decisive moment at the end of the fourth quarter, Udoka directly replaced Shin Kyung on the bench and never let him play again. In this game, in fact, Shen Jing's performance was still okay in terms of statistics, with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists on 7-of-12 shooting in 27 minutes, as well as a block. Shen Jing did not make a single mistake in the whole game, which is rare, but the problem is that Shen Jing can't defend his opponent at all.
After the game, Rockets coach Udoka also talked about Shen Jing's poor performance on the defensive end, although he did not directly name Shen Jing, but Udoka said this to Shen Jing, Udoka said: " I want our big man to step up and stay in the reasonable collision zone to protect the basket, the Hawks' Okongu received a few balls in the air after completing the pick-and-roll today, and the same is true of Capela, when the opponent doesn't set up the pick-and-roll screen, you have to make adjustments, you have to defend well, that's the problem for the Rockets today, when facing the pick-and-roll, the Rockets don't contribute the best defense. ”
Although he did not directly criticize Shin Kyung in person, it is clear that Udoka believes that a big reason why the Rockets lost this game is because of their poor interior basket protection, especially Okongu, the backup center who did not limit the opponent well.
Capela, who is not good at offense in this game, actually shot down 15 points and 9 rebounds, and substitute center Okongu shot 8 of 11 in 33 minutes, and he cut 19 points and 11 rebounds in the whole game, and only one foul, no turnover, Okongu's plus/minus reached +12, both in terms of data and on-court performance, he beat Shen Jing, and the most regrettable thing is that the Hawks took away a victory, and the Rockets' home court did not hold.
In the face of the Hawks, who are actually not strong, the Rockets can be regarded as a gutter overturn. Shin Kyung's poor defensive performance on the inside dragged down the Rockets and made the Rockets lose a chance to win. This game can also be regarded as a lesson for Shen Jing, and it may be more important for Shen Jing to defend well outside of attack and passing.