Discuss the review | The Rockets have become an away bug, and their fatal deficiencies may not be able to make the playoffs

As the season progresses, the gap between teams begins to widen, especially for the teams at the top. The Timberwolves currently sit in first place in the West with a win rate of 80 percent, but the teams behind them are not idle, and each opponent has one or more superstars, so the competition in the West will be fierce, and it seems that at least eleven teams are competing for playoff qualification. I think the most dangerous is the Rockets, this is a team with mainly young players, they don't have big heart players, and they don't have a lot of experience in big games, many games are lost to opponents, but unfortunately it's also helpless, if they can't find a way to win on the road, the Rockets may have a season of high start and low walk.

The Rockets have a 13-11 record and a 54.2% win rate, temporarily sitting in ninth place in the West. The Rockets are similar to last season's Warriors in that they are both home and away, with the Rockets currently having an 11-1 home record and a 2-10 record on the road.

Before the start of the season, I would classify the Rockets as underdogs, because they were not outstanding in terms of results, roster depth and superstar quality last season, so every game is against a team that is better than me, and it will be very difficult to win as a challenger. The Rockets have surprised us enough and there is hope for their supporters, but it will take time for this team to grow, and the youngsters will have to pay their tuition. Despite being in the top 10 in the West, I think the Rockets are the most likely team in the top 10 to miss the playoffs.

Since November, the Rockets have won all of their home games, with the Kings, Lakers, Nuggets, Thunder and Pelicans all defeated, but the results on the road have been terrible. We can't blame the players for not doing well, trying their best every time and getting infinitely close to victory, but only to fall short in the end. Here's the Rockets' 11-game losing margin, with a very high number of single-digit losses, and almost no big losses have ever been made, and it's hard to change the tone once the tone has been set. It's not an accident but the problem with the Rockets, the main thing is that the team doesn't have a supergiant and the players lack experience. If they can't turn the fierce battle into a win and add enough wins, the Rockets will have a big problem in the later stages, and the schedule will not be in their favor.

There were rumors before the start of the season that Harden could come back, but now it seems that what is missing is a ruthless character like Harden, and if there is a leader-level star, then the Rockets can take off on the spot. The more critical the moment, the more they compete for superstar strength, and the Rockets have no players who average more than 20 points per game in the season, and the top three players in the team are Shen Jing, Green and VanVleet, Shen Jing and Green are only 21 years old, and VanVleet is not yet 30 years old, and he is still an undrafted player with no physical talent. This season, the Rockets only rank 25th in points per game, and the offensive efficiency ranking is also not high, in the final analysis, the shortcoming is the offense, who can be the scorer of the Rockets in key moments?

This season, the Rockets rank 24th in the league in shooting 46 percent from the field, 19th in three-point shooting at 36.2 percent, 28th in fast-break shooting at 53.3 percent, and 20th in free throw shooting at 77.4 percent.

It cannot be denied that Green and Shin Jing are excellent, but they have not yet encountered a pressing defense, and the game has reached the level of the playoffs, which will inevitably give them a targeted defensive strategy, will these two players be able to cope with it at that time?

Rockets head coach Udoka said that there was a lack of tough tactics in the away game, and the details were not focused enough. The Rockets have a certain level of defense, but the offense does not have star players as a strong point, and this is really not, he has many competitors, and the championship team is competing for the number of superstars, and the Rockets have no superstars at all, this gap is too obvious. At the critical moment, there was no big heart star to score strongly, so there was a regrettable defeat.

December to January will be a difficult time for the Rockets, who will have to play back-to-back games many times and have opponents who are not weak enough to fall out before they know it. The Rockets are going to have a big test, and it's a young team that has to go through, and if we fans give them enough room to grow, they will definitely surprise us.