On February 7, Beijing time, the Rockets will challenge the Pacers on the road, which is the last meeting between the two teams in the regular season this season.
On December 27, Beijing time, the Rockets lost to the Pacers 117-123 at home, and the Rockets couldn't defend the Pacers' offense, mainly because the Rockets couldn't defend Haliburton, and the Rockets couldn't guard the Pacers' three-pointers, Haliburton scored 33 points and 10 assists in this game, and the Pacers played 442% three-point shooting, 19 three-pointers; The Rockets' best performance was Shen Jing, who scored 30 points and 16 rebounds, and the Rockets' starting lineup lost points on the court, but the bench team came on to win points.
At present, the Pacers are 28-23, ranked 6th in the East, with a 4-6 record in the last 10 games, and recently lost to the Celtics, Knicks, and Kings.
At present, the Rockets are 23-26, ranking 11th in the West, with a 4-6 record in the last 10 games, and recently lost to the Nets, Pelicans, and Timberwolves.
The last time the two teams met, the Pacers' offensive efficiency ranked first in the league, and the Rockets' defensive efficiency ranked second in the league, and the Pacers averaged 124 per gameWith 2 points, the offensive efficiency still ranks first in the league, while the Rockets are conceding an average of 112 points per game3 points, defensive efficiency slipped to 9th in the league, and the recent defensive decline has been obvious.
This meeting is different from the last meeting, this time, the Pacers traded to get Siakam, and the Pacers formed a double interior combination of Siakam + Turner, and such a double interior combination is the type that the Rockets fear the most.
The matchup in this match is likely to be Jabari Smith Jr. vs Siakam, Shin Kyung vs Turner.
Siakam was traded to the Pacers for 10 games, averaging 21 per game6 points 73 rebounds and 52 assists on 56% shooting, 38% three-point range and 66% free throw shooting.
When Siakam came to the Pacers, Carlisle completely activated Siakam, Siakam's offensive efficiency is a career high, Siakam's biggest change is that his three-point shooting percentage has increased significantly, becoming a terrible all-around power forward, not much three-point shooting, but very accurate, and the offensive efficiency is very high.
From the perspective of the original alignment, the Rockets are likely to use Jabari Smith Jr. against Siakam, but Jabari Smith Jr.'s power confrontation and low-post defense, facing Siakam is a little disadvantaged and difficult, the Rockets are likely to let Jeff Green and Tate help Jabari Smith Jr. to replace the No. 4 position for a long time, because Tate's foul attribute is very strong, the foul rate in a short period of time is extremely high, and once Jeff Green is replaced for a long time, then the Rockets' bench center is very weak, and it is easy to suffer a big loss in the bench transition section.
How to defend Siakam, Udoka needs to think, whether Udoka will use Shen Jing to defend Siakam, so that Jabari Smith Jr. against Turner, after all, Siakam's offensive role far exceeds Turner, although Jabari Smith Jr. does not have an advantage against Turner.
Shin Kyung vs Turner.
In the last meeting, Shen Jing broke Turner, making Turner foul many times in a short period of time, and Shen Jing grabbed a lot of offensive rebounds and had a large number of secondary offensive conversions, but the last time the Pacers were inside Turner + Jalen Smith, and this time the Pacers walked to the inside line was Turner + Siakam, and the Pacers' defensive resources have changed greatly compared to last time.
Shen Jing's recent form has been up and down a lot, against the Timberwolves, facing the interior combination of Gobert and Towns, facing the Raptors' interior line, beating the opponent, facing the Pelicans' Valanciunas was blown up by the opponent, and facing the Lakers' thick eyebrows and having outstanding performances and performances.
Haliburton (doubtful, 50% probability) vs Dillon Brooks.
From the traditional alignment, it should be Van Vleet against Haliburton, but Van Vleet is too short, Van Vleet's defensive height is not up to Haliburton, Van Vleet is out of action due to injury in this game, and it is likely that Aaron Holiday will start as the starting defender, Aaron Holiday has the same problem as Van Vleet, short height.
The last time the Rockets played against the Pacers, they lost to Haliburton's three-point output in the third quarter, and the Rockets are likely to focus on defending Haliburton, although the Rockets lost to the Timberwolves, Dillon did not guard against Edwards.
This season, the Pacers are averaging 30 per game8 assists, ranking first in the league, which means that the Pacers are the best offensive team, the best overall team, and the team with the highest shooting percentage, with the Pacers shooting 50 percent this season5%。
It's a head-to-head battle between historic offensive head coach Carlisle and head coach Udoka, the team's most improved defensive team this season, and it's a battle of contradictions, and we'll see whether the spear can break through the shield or the shield can block the spear's attack.