As we all know, the Rockets were a great success in the 2021 draft, and the four young people selected were talented and distinctive, and Jaylen Green flew away as the leader of the show, scoring like chopping melons and chopping vegetables; Christopher, as Harden's fellow disciple, was a substitute sharp knife and chaotic warfare master; Garupa was keen on rebounding and defense, and was nicknamed "Little Dream". There is also a rookie whose performances have been as stable and brilliant as ever from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, even if Green has been labeled as a parallel cargo, he has always been the darling of the media and fans, he is the Rockets' No. 16 rookie Alperen Shenjing.
Born on July 25, 2002, Shin is the youngest of the Rockets' four rookies, but also the most mature. At the age of 18, he has already won the MVP in the powerful Turkish Basketball League, and with many years of playing in European basketball competitions, his technical characteristics are more distinct and his style of play is more stable. In order to get the potential center, the Rockets, who are rebuilding, rarely traded two draft picks with the Thunder, and won Shen Jing with the 16th pick in the first round.
Just when fans were confused about the choice of the Rockets, Shin Kyung's outstanding performance in the preseason dispelled all doubts. As The protector of Jaylen Green's interior line, he has solid interior footwork and singles skills, and his single-soldier defensive ability is better than expected, easily beating the same position of the Tanhuaxiu Mobley in the preseason with the Cavaliers, and his tough physical confrontation and low-post skills are eye-catching, and Mobley at that time still only relies on bouncing rough guys. Since then, we have begun to see this young man who plays like Da meng and Yao Ming as the team's future hope.
After the start of the new season, unlike the confusion and helplessness of Jaylen Green and other rookies, this young man from Turkey had no sense of youth, quickly entered the role, averaged 9 points and 4 rebounds per game in the average ten minutes of playing time at the beginning of the season, firmly pressed the team's high-paid substitute center Tais on the bench, and once ranked at the top of the rookie rankings, the entire league was shocked by his performance, and Big Dream was also invited by the Rockets to conduct special training for his footsteps.
Shin Kyung is characterized by a high ball quotient, a variety of offensive means, and a unique passing skill of Jokic. In this era of center-forward decline, interior players like him who can make the dreamy footsteps of Olajuwon and Yao Ming, while dribbling through and hitting long-range shots like Scola and fellow Ilyasova, are really as scarce as dinosaurs. In today's Rockets, which has no pure center and point guard, his low singles and organizational offensive ability have effectively compensated for the team's shortcomings, and he was the first to cash in his talent among the four rookies.
But Shen Jing's shortcomings are also obvious, that is, his height is limited, his bare feet are only 2.06 meters, his movement speed and bouncing ability are relatively mediocre, his physical strength does not support playing the whole field, his explosive power is average, and he cannot effectively protect the frame and change small guards at the defensive end; the long-range shooting at the offensive end, especially the three-point shot, is not stable enough, and the physical strength is still large compared to the top center of the league, and it cannot be used as a stable scoring point at key moments. So we often see opposing centers picking rebounds in front of Shin Kyung, and the opponent's small defender can easily break through Shin Kyung with a change of direction and acceleration, which are all aspects that Shin Kyung must strive to improve in the offseason.
After the team's rotation Hugh Wood, Gordon and other veterans, Shen Jing continued to play as a starting center, a large number of playing time also gradually improved his self-confidence, scoring doubles as a common thing, with Green, Martin Jr. and other teammates are also more and more skilled, so far this season has won 8 double-doubles, becoming the Rockets' most double-doubles since Scola in 2008, and with a strong block and frequent three-pointers to reflect their progress, although still can not prevent similar to the Raptors Trent's breakthrough kill, But in the weak defensive strength of the Rockets, he can already be regarded as an inside defensive toughman.
In view of Shen Jing's technical characteristics, if the Rockets want to better play the value of Shen Jing, they must match him with a tall arm-length blue-collar interior line, share the defensive pressure for him, stimulate his offensive talent, and the former "pie king" Capela is very good, but unfortunately the Eagles will not let people go easily. Before the trade deadline this season, the Rockets had been pursuing the Magic's defensive toughman Bamba, in order to strengthen the ability to protect the inner line and completely liberate Shen Jing.
With the continuous display of Jaylen Green's super scoring ability, the core battle of the Rockets' outside line has become increasingly clear, and Shen Jing, who is keen on passing, good at covering and has good finishing ability, will surely become his most suitable internal partner, more importantly, they are similar in age, and they can grow and progress together in the same year, and once again reproduce the glory of the Yao Mai combination and even go further. I believe that as long as the Rockets management handles Wall's contract in the offseason, trades a good chip with Wood, and clarifies the position of Little Porter, the combination of Shen Jing and Green's inside and outside lines will surely bring us greater surprises!