In an NBA game that ended today, the Rockets defeated the Mavericks 122-96, and there was no suspense at all in the process, the Rockets led by 6 points in the first quarter, and the difference in the second quarter continued to expand, and the difference in the third quarter came to 30+, and the final quarter was directly reduced to garbage time. In terms of statistics, the Rockets broke out in a dual-core, with Shen Jing scoring 22 points, 15 rebounds and 3 assists, while Smith had 21 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist, both of whom were responsible for the Rockets' victory. In other places, Jalen Green had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers, Dillon had 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 turnovers, VanVleet had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, Whitmore had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, and Amen had 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 turnovers.
Doncic, Irving, Lively and Exum didn't play in this game, and the Mavericks were hammered by the Rockets. Looking at the whole game, Smith's performance surprised us the most, I believe many Rockets fans have found that Smith's shots have increased a lot in these games, we guess that there is a high probability that Udoka asked him to do this, because Jalen Green is a ghost ten games, and he has been in a slump for many consecutive games before, in this case, the Rockets need a stable and young scorer, and Smith Jr. is definitely a very good choice.
Compared with Green, Smith was surprisingly stable, handing over 8 of 13 shots in the whole game, especially in the first quarter, Smith first scored a rebound, and then staged a dunk, and in the next time, Smith played a tough single on the inside, and the Mavericks couldn't do anything about him, and in the second quarter, Smith could shoot and play inside. Defensively, Smith was also quite aggressive, with Hardaway badly missing under his marking. Not only this game, but in the last game against the Hawks, Smith scored 34 points on 8-of-14, 4-of-7 from three-point range, 14-of-14 from the free-throw line, 7-of-13 against the Bucks, and 7-of-10 against the Grizzlies.
Udoka is obviously increasing Smith's offensive role, on the contrary, Udoka began to abandon Green, the gap between the two is stability and defense, if Green can reach Alexander's heights, then he will definitely be the leader, but Green can have one outburst in ten games, the Rockets have no future at all to build a team around him, Smith is different, he is actually more suitable than Green to be the cornerstone. Before entering the NBA, Smith was generally considered to be the top pick by the outside world, but the Magic selected Banchero, is Smith really inferior to Banchero? The answer is no, but Smith did not have the ball before, resulting in unsightly statistics.
The Rockets are a young team, and Green is gradually losing Udoka's trust in the race for leadership, and it is certain that with Smith taking over, his future statistics will usher in a blowout growth, and Stone is also discerning, so there is no problem in selecting Smith. In addition to Smith, Shen Jing also played very well, handing over 8 of 12 shots, scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds in the first half alone, and Shen Jing also became the first player in Rockets history to score at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in less than 25 minutes of playing time. In fact, Shen Jing also exposed his shortcomings in the previous games, that is, his ability to protect the frame is too poor, and the center forward opposite him often plays good statistics.
Udoka was interviewed after the game and had this to say about Smith's performance: "I can see that Jabari Jr.'s confidence is improving, he's more confident in finding the right shots, and he's ruthless on the offensive end, so we need him to keep shooting, keep being aggressive, he and Shin Kyung complement each other very well, you can see they're building chemistry, they're working well with each other." "It's easy to understand what Udoka means, he wants Smith to shoot more shots and score more, which is which, as mentioned earlier, Udoka is definitely already interested in developing Smith as the core of the team.
We can't ignore Whitmore's play in this game, in garbage time, Whitmore finally got the opportunity to play, 6 of 12 contributed 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, Whitmore played actively, can run and jump, and has amazing physical fitness, Udoka also talked about Whitmore's play, he said: " I think his recognition and attitude on defense, that's what we're doing, you can all see this game, he's always going to be aggressive on the offensive end and physically like I mentioned, but making the right judgments and quicker decisions is what we want, and I think you've seen him grow in those areas and rebounding, and on the defensive end, he's always been strong. ”