After a previous victory over the mighty Cavaliers, the Houston Rockets once again lost to the Spurs on their first recent road trip. Three showdowns against the Spurs this season, the Rockets have a record of 1 win and 2 losses, considering that the Thunder have won another game, so the Rockets will have a long time to stay in the bottom position in the West, and even before the end of the season, the Rockets will not be able to escape this position.
Porter Jr. retired due to illness, and Jaylen Green did not show any good ability to lead the team, instead, the Rockets' Wood still held a lot of ball possession. But on the bench, the Rockets gained something. The 20-year-old Christopher performed well in this game, he shot 23 points, setting a new career scoring high, in addition to 23 points, Christopher in 29 minutes 13 of 7, 5 of 3-pointers, 7 of 8 free throws, and also received 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, with only one turnover.
A two-time defender who plays 29 minutes in a single game and holds the ball for a long time has only one mistake in a single game, is it not just from the data that Christopher of the Rockets is far more suitable for the core than the two main defenders of Porter Jr. and Jaylen Green? Both in terms of stats and performance on the court, Christopher deserves the title of the Rockets' future new core — although this title has always been jaylen Green or Kevin Porter Jr.
But if a player beats Porter Jr. and Jaylen Green in terms of on-court performance and personal stats, he's the core of the Rockets. Draft picks don't mean much, the play on the court is the most important criterion, and it is clear that Christopher is much better than Jaylen Green in this regard, even better than Porter Jr., who has played well recently.
Silas also talked about Christopher's brilliant performance in this game, saying that he likes the intensity of the game that toeflat brings. He played well on both ends of the floor, actively passing the ball to the basket and organizing well. TOEFL's 4 assists and 1 turnover in this game is an improvement for him, and he has also won more playing time for it.
Compared to Porter Jr. and Jaylen Green, who made a lot of mistakes, Christopher can either play the role of a no-ball guard, or he can hold the ball in his hand and attack the basket, and find opportunities to pass the ball to the outside three-point shooter, and the confrontation ability, speed and shooting accuracy are not first-class, but they are balanced enough. In particular, Christopher's ability to control mistakes is also excellent, with only 1 mistake in this game, which proves that the 20-year-old rookie is old.
So to put it badly, since Jaylen Green is in a struggle, for Green's future, neither the Rockets management nor the fans are afraid to look at it well. If so, why not take this opportunity to take the initiative to vigorously cultivate Christopher? Christopher already has this "Harden shadow", after giving him enough playing time and tactical freedom, maybe Christopher can really become the cornerstone guard of the Rockets' future.