From the bottom belly to 6 consecutive wins! Why did the Rockets topple the league? Spend 220 million to create 5 killer moves

The NBA regular season competition continues, the Rockets sit at home to face the Nuggets, the Rockets in the opening 3 consecutive defeats, a strong rebound to win 5 consecutive wins, the defending champion Nuggets are still stable, with a proud record of 8 wins and 1 loss before the game, ranking first in the league, but Murray was absent due to injury in this game.

The competition between the two teams in the first quarter perfectly showed the style of the Rockets and Nuggets this season, Jokic scored 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in a single quarter on the inside, and the Rockets scored many points inside and outside to withstand the pressure, and the Rockets trailed by 7 points at the end of the first quarter 23-30.

In the second quarter, the Rockets continued the wolf tactics and caused huge problems to the Nuggets on the defensive end, allowing the Nuggets to score only 20 points in a single quarter, and successfully closed the gap to 4 points at halftime when they were not feeling good.

In the second half, the Rockets increased the number of packs on Jokic, forcing the latter to successfully bite the score, and after the final quarter warmed up, they overtook and established a double-digit lead in one breath, and the Nuggets stubbornly approached the difference to 1 point at the decisive moment, and the veterans of the Rockets withstood the pressure at the critical moment, and finally the Rockets defeated the Nuggets 107-104 to win 6 consecutive victories.

If the previous two wins over the Kings, the big win over the Lakers, and the narrow victory over the Pelicans all lack gold, the Rockets' overthrow of the league's No. 1 Nuggets in this game can be described as a strong self-proof.

So from losing 3 consecutive games to the bottom of the West at the beginning, to overturning the Nuggets who are the first in the league to win 6 consecutive victories, why did the Rocket, which has no bottom line for 3 years, transform so quickly? In the offseason, he spent 220 million to bring in a number of veterans and new signings Udoka to create 5 major killer moves for the Rockets.

The first big move: a change in team culture

For any team, team culture is the most important thing in the process of building a team, a team is like a person, team culture is the bones of the whole person, and players are all kinds of flesh and skin on the body.

Even if a team has accumulated a large number of top players like a bunch of bricks, without the bones brought by the stable team culture, it will only be a mess of meat after all, and it will not be able to truly form immediate combat power.

That's why it's rare in NBA history that a multi-giant team has been able to win a championship in their first year together, unless the team's own culture is strong enough to withstand the enormous personal influence of a few superstars.

Therefore, the Rockets, as an old powerhouse, did not choose Harden with a higher star level after 3 consecutive seasons without a bottom line, but signed VanVleet (130 million for 3 years) and Dillon Brooks (90 million for 4 years) two more team-oriented veterans at a premium.

Coupled with the introduction of Udoka, who emphasizes team and defense, and the signing of fierce role players such as Jeff Green, Landale, and Holiday successively, the Rockets have completed all preparations to reshape the team's culture.

So far in the new season, except for the first big defeat, the Rockets have either won the rest of the games, or dragged the game into the final moments, and finally lost due to the higher level of the opponent's star, quickly creating a team-oriented, defense-oriented team culture.

The second big killer move: the veteran's blessing

In the offseason, the Rockets spent 220 million to bring in a number of veterans, among which VanVleet solved the problem of the Rockets' No. 1 organizational ability and lack of finishing ability at key moments, and Van Jordan has averaged 7.9 assists per game so far this season, sixth in the league.

Dillon, on the other hand, offers top-tier one-on-one defense, plus consistent three-point finishing, and is second-best in the league in three-point shooting at 53.3 percent so far this season.

The temperament of the two who are not afraid of heaven and earth is also perfectly in line with the Rockets' creation of team culture, and any team must peel off its skin in the face of the Rockets.

Jeff Green became a wonder soldier in this game, shooting 5 of 7 from the field, 2 of 4 from three-point range, scoring 15 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block, with a plus/minus of +14 for the highest on the team, and 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the final quarter.

The third big killer move: the coach is full of control

Aside from his personal life style, in terms of technical and tactical ability and game control, Udoka has already proven that he is a top manager when he coached the Green Army.

In the face of the defending champion Nuggets' crazy counterattack in the final quarter, Udoka saved the day through a fine lineup, especially in the last round when he replaced Tate, who directly completed the steal to kill the suspense of the game.

Under Udoka's leadership, the Rockets have ranked in the top 10 in the league in offensive and defensive efficiency (points scored and conceded per 100 possessions) so far this season, and the remaining three teams that meet this requirement are the Nuggets, 76ers and Greens.

The fourth big move: the unlimited potential brought by the new star

Jalen Green was in extremely bad shape in this game, making only 1 of 13 shots, scoring 9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.

As a result, when he played like this, several other rising stars supported him, among which Shen Jing scored 23 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks against Jokic, and continued to pass mid-distance military training Jokic at critical moments.

Ethan, who returned from injury not long ago, was reused in the final quarter, scoring 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal on 3-of-4 shooting, hitting two key three-pointers, and a plus/minus of +12 second only to Jeff Green.

The fifth big move: chemistry and team atmosphere

So far this season, the Rockets have ranked 16th in the league in assists per game, a significant improvement from last season, and all players have been able to shine in a stable offensive and defensive system.

According to team reporter Jackson Gatlin after the game, there was a huge cheer in the Rockets' locker room after the win over the Nuggets.