On February 2, Beijing time, the Rockets' next opponent is the Cavaliers, Jaylen Green vs. Mobley, I believe many fans are looking forward to it. The Rockets suffered a four-game losing streak at home to the Warriors, and Wood, who was plagued by migraines, and Porter Jr., who had just lifted his health and safety agreement, both came out, which also meant that the Rockets did not intend to give up that game. Although the Goal of the Rockets is to "swing" the winners, every time they encounter a strong team, the Rockets always want to find an opportunity to prove that they can do it.
Look at the performance of the Rockets this season, this season's Rockets have defeated the Eastern Powerhouse Nets, Bulls, and once defeated the Western Powerhouse Jazz, and can play with the Warriors until the last second, almost defeating the Warriors. Don't look at the Rockets' poor record in the showdown with the weak team, but when they meet the strong team, the rocket's young players are holding their hearts and want to win.
In the game against the Warriors, Silas admitted after the game that the Rockets really tried their best, but they really couldn't win. In fact, there are some hints from the platooning of Silas in this game. In this game, Silas did not use the traditional 10-man rotation, but used the previously rare 9-man rotation. 25-year-old goalscorer Almoni Brooks did not miss the game due to injury, but he did not play in this game at all.
Brooks has played in the previous two games against the Spurs and the Blazers, but his performance in both games is really hot-eyed. Brooks played against the Spurs in 11 minutes with 0 points, 1 rebound and 1 foul; against the Blazers, Brooks made 2 of 7 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound and 1 turnover. The two games were zeroed, allowing Silas to give up the reuse of Brooks directly, which was the main reason why Silas dropped the rotation lineup.
Poor hand feel, defense is not on the line, and you can't help the Rockets with a breakthrough or foul when the game is not good, this is Brooks's problem. Look at Brooks' performance throughout January, just look at his playing time data, basically showing the "parabolic" slippage. From playing 22 minutes per game at the beginning of the month, to 10 minutes per game in the middle of the month, to the previous two games in the middle of the game falling to almost single digits, to the current game against the Warriors being hidden, Brooks has become the first player in the Rockets' 10-man rotation to get out.
In fact, when Almoni Brooks first came to the Rockets last season, he did a decent job. At that time, there were even fans who called Brooks Little Kobe, not only because his appearance was a bit like Kobe, but also because Brooks's offensive skills at that time were very comprehensive, in addition to three-point shooting, shooting, breakthrough and foul making could be played, and Brooks was also very the defensive end, and the game style was particularly tough.
But after getting a formal contract, Brooks went high and low on the Rockets. The rise of Matthews also made Brooks face serious challenges in the No. 2 position. If Brooks can no longer express himself with actual actions, perhaps this season he will become one of the Rockets' chips, which is not just a matter of falling out of the rotation lineup, Brooks's position with the Rockets may be unstable.