On April 1, Beijing time, after the Pistons unexpectedly defeated the 76 team, the record has surpassed the Houston Rockets. As a result, the Rockets and Magic have become the strongest contenders for the league's penultimate record, and the two teams are currently on the same page. The next game the Rockets will continue to play against the Kings at home, and the game time is tomorrow, which is 8 a.m. Beijing time on April 2.
For the Rockets, this game must try to lose as much as possible and cannot win, otherwise the Magic will occupy the "throne" of the league's penultimate number one, and for the Rockets, they will not be able to get the maximum probability of winning the lottery (14%). However, the Rockets in the previous game lost to the Kings, showed a superb "control" ability, the first quarter of the Rockets onslaught, the second quarter of the wild loss, into the final quarter, the Rockets have been biting the score, but is not willing to overtake, and finally the young players brushed out the bright data, and the Rockets also got a defeat as desired.
Playing against the Kings, the Rockets will most likely continue this strategy - young players will be full of data, especially marginal players, will get plenty of playing time. What's more, in this game against the Kings, the Rockets had a number of players who could not play, and the number of players accounted for almost half of the Rockets' lineup. According to NBA star Biani, the Rockets have updated their injury list before this game.
The list shows that the Rockets' six players have been determined not to play. The six players are: Wood, Schroeder and Gordon who can't play due to injury (in fact, it's more like a rotation), Wall doesn't play for no reason (there is an agreement not to play), and Trevlin Quinn, a shooter who is preparing for the playoffs in the development league, and anthony Lamb, a small forward, can't return to the Rockets for the time being.
In addition to the above 6 players, the Rockets' bench center Shen Jing also continued to be injured, and the state of this game was "playing in doubt". Until the last moment before the start of the game, no one will know whether Shin Kyung is likely to play.
But it didn't matter, Usman Garruba, who played as the starting center in the previous game, did well, he had 3 of 5 in 26 minutes, got 8 points and 7 rebounds, and did not make a single mistake in the game. Although the data is not bright, Garuba's interior technology is very solid, the physical quality is not a loss, as the main center in addition to the slight lack of height, in fact, is still more competent.
Not to mention strong center Fernando. The 23-year-old tough guy looks like the Rockets' "Harrell" — and while there's no advantage in height, Fernando's inside turmoil is particularly strong. Strong and has good mechanical power, can receive outside passing easy "eat cake" score, but also grab the front court rebound secondary offensive score, this is Fernando's role. Fernando doesn't suffer on the defensive end, whether it's a top man, a card slot or a rebound, his ability is definitely underestimated. With these 2 interior newcomers picking the beams, even if Shen Jing continues to truce, it doesn't matter! In the penultimate 5th regular season game, the Rockets game is still worth watching.