The Rockets lost 127-134 at home to the Hawks and suffered three consecutive defeats, why the recent losing streak, in the final analysis, it is still the same sentence, the interior frame is poor, and the point guard Jalen Green is embarrassed. Coupled with the fact that the defensive intensity of the Rockets began to decline, the Rockets were the strongest defensive team in the league in the opening stages. But as the schedule deepened, the players encountered injuries and energy problems. Their concentration is not so much, which is the inevitability of the players, after all, players are also people, not machines.
So in the first quarter, the Rockets were hammered by Murray and Trae Young, and the two combined to score 23 points, and the Hawks scored 39 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Rockets trailed by up to 20 points, which can be said to be unable to prevent the Hawks, and they can't attack on their own. It wasn't until the last two minutes of halftime that Van Jordan and Dillon hit three three-pointers to get back face. The Rockets are only 12 points away, and the team is relying on veterans from two offseasons to continue their lives. Rookies Jalen Green and Shin Kyung were in a mess, and only Smith did well.
In the second half, Smith exploded, and Van Jordan and Holiday also opened fire, and the Rockets completed a 100-98 lead at the end of the third quarter. Smith scored 13 points in a single quarter and 30 points in the third quarter, and he was an offensive and defensive player today. The Rockets sent Jalen Green and Shin Kyung in the final quarter, and the two really couldn't do it. As soon as they came up, the Rockets were beaten 16-3 and trailed by 11 points. In the end, Udoka was furious and no longer let Shin Kyung appear, and the Rockets trailed by as many as 18 points. Although it was up to Smith and Dillon to chase four points in the last 52 seconds, it was too late.
The Hawks Trae Young had 30 points and 14 assists, Bogdan had 22 points, Okongu had 19 points and 11 boards, Murray had 21 points, and Capela had 15 points, nine rebounds and two steals. On the Rockets' side, Van Jordan and Dillon Smith have no pot, they have tried their best, but Jalen Green and Shen Jing dig a pit. VanVleet had 32 points, 15 assists and only 2 turnovers, Smith scored a career-high 34 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks on 8-of-14 shooting, Dillon scored 19 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting, Shin Jing also had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, but the defensive end was completely blown up, and Jalen Green was inefficient with 16 points on 7-of-19 shooting.
To put it mildly, if it weren't for Jalen Green and Shin Jing at the end of the quarter, maybe the Rockets would have won. We can now understand why Udoka looks down on Jalen Green and Shin Kyung, who has always wanted the Rockets to bring in Da Luo in the offseason. The reason is the limitations of these two, Jalen Green has not improved in the third year, the offensive end is always unstable, the shooting rate is always in the early 40%, and the defensive end is even more leaky. If the Rockets had all of Green in the final quarter of the year, they would have won at least four more games. The same is true for Shin Kyung, the offensive three axes have been thoroughly studied, and the defensive end is soft. I don't know if he was praised by the outside world before, but recently Shen Jing has frequently asked for the ball in the low post, and he doesn't do the dirty work anymore, and he doesn't stretch out his hands on the defensive end.
His own lack of athleticism was truly fatal. So the Rockets' plan has always been to get Da Luo to protect the frame and grab rebounds, and in the end, Da Luo did not keep his word and returned to the Bucks. The Rockets had no choice but to continue to use Shen Jing, in fact, just like Udoka said after the game, Shen Jing's defensive attitude was very poor, and the Rockets died on the frame. But Shen Jing is only a rookie with the 16th pick, and the biggest loss for the Rockets is still Jalen Green, and if the Barnes Rockets front line of the Raptors is unsolved. Now Green is half-abandoned, but in 22 years, Tanhua Smith has become the new cornerstone of the Rockets, he averaged 13+8 per game this season, shooting 48% from the field, 37% from three-point range, but unfortunately only 10.4 shots.
Maybe the Rockets will want to consider sending away Jalen Green and Shin Kyung and giving resources to Smith. To put it bluntly, Udoka's ideal lineup is to send away Jalen Green and Shin Jing, then the backcourt Van Jordan point guard, and then introduce DeRozan as a point guard, small forward Dillon, No. 4 Smith and center Da Luo. This lineup is the lineup that best fits Udoka's heart with his system, and Van Jordan can also be replaced by Harden. But the Rockets don't want to cap Harden's salary, and Harden is also affected by Jalen Green's words not to return to Houston. At present, the big year's list has selected an Internet celebrity parallel import, and the rocket has lost money. Because this year's roster is very valuable, the Rockets can even trade for the Thunder's Alexander.