On March 15, Beijing time, the Houston Rockets have played 68 games this season after losing to the Pelicans. In 68 games, the Rockets' record is only 17 wins and 51 losses, a 25% win rate, although slightly better than last season, but in fact, the Rockets have long lost the opportunity to advance to the playoffs. But that's what the Rockets want, and the team's goal is to get a high draft pick in this year's draft, and since last season, the Rockets have started a bad pattern and achieved good results.
Several rookies have done well this season, and even rookies like Garruba, who don't have many chances to play, have been given some opportunities on the Rockets. So the Rockets' wobble is expected to continue in the next 1-2 years. The Rockets have a poor record, and even can't even get into the playoffs, but in contrast, the So-called "Rocket S" development league Rio Grande Valley Vipers, but the performance of the Rockets is very different!
We know that the Vipers have been a first-class team in the development league for many years, and even in the 2018-2019 season, the Vipers, led by Rockets center Haltenstein, also reversed the Long Island Nets with a 2-1 overall score in the development league finals and won the championship that year. Haltenstein was also elected FMVP of that year for his excellent performance.
A few years have passed, and although the Vipers have not won the championship again, their record has been very good. After today's victory over Birmingham, the Vipers became the first team in the development league to advance to the playoffs!
Look at the details of this game, the Vipers have many names that are very familiar to Rockets fans in this game, and many players in the Vipers have played for the Rockets in recent years, such as the Rockets' substitute small forward Anthony Lamb, center Cabengele, Taylor Bay, and even guard Trevlin Quinn, who also played for the Rockets not long ago, and he is also the only active Rocket player in the Vipers.
In this game, the Vipers' Lamb performed best, as a small forward, he shot 11 of 17 in 35 minutes, 4 of 9 from three-point range, 3 of 3 from the free throws, and bombed 31 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal, and Gerald Green, a 36-year-old veteran shooter who has been an assistant coach for the Rockets this season, also performed well in this game. In the middle of the season, Green gave up his role as a Rockets player development coach and went to play alone with the Vipers, restoring his status as a player.
In the Vipers, Green's performance was very stable. In this game against Birmingham, Gerald Green, who played as the starting big forward, shot 8 of 17 from the field in 28 minutes, 5 of 12 from three-point range, contributed the Vipers' 3rd highest 21 points, plus 5 rebounds and 2 assists, becoming one of the First Heroes of the Vipers to advance to the playoffs.
Compared with young players such as Quinn, Lamb, and Carbonguele, Gerald Green is very old, but his three-point shooting skills are still very superb. Since Gerald Green is in such a state, if he can continue to maintain it, I believe that Green will still have a chance to return to the Rockets in the next year. After all, returning to the Rockets to play as a player has always been Gerald Green's dream.