The Rockets played the Grizzlies today, and the game was extremely fierce, but in the end they lost 113-121 to the opponent and missed the two consecutive wins. In this game, the Rockets once trailed by 23 points in the first half, but launched a strong counterattack in the final quarter, but unfortunately collapsed again at the last moment and shattered the reversal dream. Let's take a closer look at the performances and the highlights and mistakes in this game.
First of all, it is Jalen Green who is embarrassed. The player almost became a burden to the Rockets in today's game. In the first half, the shooting efficiency was sluggish, the three-point shot was missed, and the final quarter was abandoned, and he waved goodbye to the court. Green's performance was suffocating, and it seemed that Udoka's dissatisfaction with him was understandable.
Alperen Shenjing, as one of the core of the Rockets, had a certain performance in scoring and assists today, but the low shooting percentage of free throws became the fatal wound of the Rockets. On the defensive end, his attitude is also average, especially in the face of the opponent's change of defense, he seems a little passive. Shin Kyung's performance on the court may be one of the keys to the Rockets' decline.
Dillon Brooks, the once arrogant and unruly player, also looked helpless against his old club. The shooting efficiency was not high, and although he showed a strong desire to win, he ultimately failed to lead the team to counterattack. His 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals were tough, but they couldn't change the trend of the game.
Jabari Smith Jr., who still didn't find his form on the offensive end today, shot inefficiently, and only got 6 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 turnovers. The Rockets' internal and external duo is lacking in aggressiveness, which has also become one of the reasons why the team is difficult to counterattack.
It is worth mentioning Amen Thompson, who played well in the game and became a bright spot in the Rockets' loss. 19 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, the all-round performance of the whole game, became the team's scoring champion. Amen has been given more playing time in VanVleet's absence, making an integral contribution to the team.
On the bench, players such as Aaron Holiday, Jeff Green, Tate, and Nate Hinton performed well, scoring 44 points for the team, and although the efficiency looked good, the Rockets failed to complete the comeback without the support of key players at critical moments.
Overall, the problem with the Rockets in this game is not only in offensive efficiency, but also in the leaks and turnovers on the defensive end. Although there are bright spots in the performance of the team's internal and external duo and substitute players, they cannot make up for the lack of core players. The Rockets need to find their groove in the late stages or their playoff hopes will fade. The lessons of this game will be a lesson that the Rockets can't ignore, and expect them to make adjustments in the next games and get back on winning track.