At 8 a.m. Beijing time on October 11, the Rockets' first preseason game against the Pacers. Like the Rockets, the Pacers didn't have any big names, but even so, the Rockets struggled to win easily, eventually beating the Pacers 122-103 at the cost of averaging more than 20 minutes per game and Dillon being sent off.
In this game, the Rockets fielded the starting lineup of Shen Jing, Jaylen Green, VanVleet, Smith Jr. and Dillon. This starting lineup played a long time, except for Dillon, who was sent off for a second-degree malicious foul and played only 5 minutes, the other four played close to 25 minutes. The Pacers, on the other side, started with only 18 minutes. It can be seen that the Rockets are also fighting hard enough to win the opener.
In terms of statistics, Jabari Smith Jr. performed well, playing 23 minutes, cutting 14 points and 7 rebounds, no turnovers, and an efficiency value of 10. Shen Jing also played well, cutting 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, with an efficiency value of 14. New signings Dillon and VanVleet played mediocre, with Dillon playing only 5 minutes and VanVleet shooting 3-of-11. Two rookies, Whitmore and Amen Thompson, played well. Whitmore played 17 minutes, scoring 15 points and four rebounds, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range, with a team-high efficiency of 21.
Jaylen Green, the cornerstone of high hopes, had a catastrophic performance. He played 24 minutes and scored 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, which seemed to be good statistics, but he shot only 5 of 12, 0 of 4 three-pointers, 1 of 5 free throws, and handed out 2 turnovers, with a plus-minus of 0. Such a performance, again in the preseason, can only show that Jaylen Green should not have practiced well this offseason, and even the free throws were actually 1 of 5, which is really terrible. Despite his high status in the team, if he can't adjust his form in time, I'm afraid it's really easy for Uduka to replace him with Whitmore.