On December 21, today the Rockets hosted the Hawks, before the away game against the Bucks and the Cavaliers, suffered two consecutive defeats, I thought that I could win at home to stop the decline, but I didn't expect the Rockets to drop the chain at a critical moment, the young players did not stand the test, and the final quarter of the game was opened by the Hawks wave of points, lost the game, and suffered three consecutive defeats. Looking back on today's game, the Rockets actually played very well most of the time, and they also shot three points very well, but the offense and defense were powered off at the critical moment, resulting in a loss.
In today's game, the best performance of the Rockets is undoubtedly Smith Jr. He played a whopping 41 minutes, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range, and finished with 34 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. Today, Smith Jr. not only has a strong touch on the offensive end, but also has a strong presence on the defensive end, but also won Udoka's trust, gave him more playing time, and played a crucial closing stage. It's a pity that although Smith Jr. got a high score, it was difficult to prevent the Rockets from losing today.
In addition to Smith Jr., VanVleet was 10-of-20 from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point range today, scoring 32 points and 15 assists, but the other players performed averagely, especially Jalen Green and Shin Kyung. Jalen Green still continued his recent sluggish form, only 2-of-7 from three-point range, and still couldn't get out of the quagmire. As for the starting center Shen Jing, although he scored 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists on 7-of-12 shooting on the offensive end, the problems on the defensive end were exposed again. Especially in the final quarter of the game, after a disastrous performance of a few minutes, it directly buried a little hope of the Rockets to win.
Summing up this game, it is actually a microcosm of the recent performance of the Rockets. On offense, Jalen Green, who had high hopes, continued to slump, making the Rockets' overall offense lack stability, so it was difficult to continue the firepower at critical times. Defensively, Shen Jing, who performed well at the beginning of the season, has also been magnified recently, and the Rockets' interior line has repeatedly become a targeted point. These two problems, with the current lineup and strength of the Rockets, cannot be solved quickly, and they can only hope for a trade to strengthen the interior, and a big man with a strong defense is needed inside. Offensively, if Green is still in such a slump, it is really necessary to recall the White Devils to increase their attacking power. List of high-quality authors