Back to back, the opponent is still the Eastern Conference championship favorite Bucks, and in most people's eyes, it seems that the Rockets are going to experience a wave of two consecutive defeats. However, Udoka's side changed the outcome when they were once again unfavorable. Not only did they defeat a strong opponent in extremely difficult conditions, but the Rockets also led the Bucks by more than 20 points at one point, putting their opponents to shame. After winning this victory, the Rockets not only avoided a losing streak, they also avoided a win rate falling back to 50%, and the Rockets had a great hope of ending the first half of the competition with a win rate of more than 50% when the schedule was about to pass. 16 million in 2 years, back to the Rockets, Houston's excellent reinforcements should not forget you, you have played a vital role on and off the court.
18-16, 9th in the West, although not squeezed into the top 6 in the West, but to be honest, the Rockets' performance this season has exceeded outside expectations, in terms of results alone, they are considered to be able to try their best to win a play-off spot even if they succeed, which means that the outside world generally believes that the Rockets may be in the 11th and 12th positions in the West, and now they are only the last 7 regular season games away from the halfway schedule, the sample size is large enough, the Rockets' performance has proven not to be a flash in the pan, they are really a makeover. This is thanks to the operation of the Rockets' management in the offseason, the arrival of Udoka, and the additions of VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, which are all key to the Rockets' reversal of decline.
However, there is one signing that is often easily overlooked, and that is Jeff Green. As a 37-year-old veteran who has been in the league for 17 seasons, Jeff Green's role is often overlooked by Xi. The reason is simple, his stats are average, 6.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.2 steals and 0.5 blocks per game, shooting 53.7% from the field and 31.7% from three-point range. However, whether on or off the court, Jeff Green's significance to the Rockets is irreplaceable by others, and to some extent, his joining is one of the keys to the rise of the Rockets.
I still remember that Shin Kyung said that when Jeff Green came to the Rockets, he would pester Green and keep asking the latter some questions about his idol Jokic. These include small details about diet and how to train, and Shin Kyoto will ask clearly. When should I do something, these little things, Jeff Green will also tell Shen Jing one by one. Of course, a large part of Shen Jing's super rise is due to his own hard training, but in this league, hard work will not necessarily make you successful, most people work hard, otherwise they will not enter the NBA, but in addition to hard work, you need to make sure that the direction is correct, Jeff Green for Shen Jing, is to play a role in helping him establish the direction, so that Shen Jing can avoid detours, use his strength in the right direction, and achieve a double the result with half the effort.
After the win over the Bucks, Jeff Green said in an interview that he would keep reminding the Rockets' youngsters that they can beat anyone as long as they play hard and play right as a team, and that this confidence instillation is also very important, and Jeff Green has played a role as a locker room leader. Just because he took on the role of locker room leader and helped Shin Kyung rise, Jeff Green has already met the Rockets' requirements for him, and even exceeded this requirement, not to mention, he can also play a tough performance on the court and not disappoint the team at critical moments.
Facing the Bucks, Jeff Green cut 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block, in a fierce battle, Jeff Green's contribution is extremely important, the Rockets only won the Bucks by 4 points, if there is no Jeff Green's outburst, to be honest, it is really difficult for them to get out of the home court, the Rockets can avoid two consecutive defeats, Jeff Green has contributed a lot. In the offseason, in order to snatch Jeff Green, the Rockets management can be said to be sincere, but also under a lot of pressure. At the beginning, the Rockets offered Jeff Green a contract of 1 year and $6 million, although the salary was higher than the Nuggets' base salary contract, but this still made Jeff Green hesitate.
In order to successfully grab the veteran of the team who won the championship, the Rockets directly raised the offer to 16 million for 2 years, such an offer, even if Jeff Green still has feelings for the Nuggets, he can't refuse the Rockets' kindness. There is no doubt that this signing has caused doubts among Rockets fans, just like questioning VanVleet and Dillon, it is widely believed that the Rockets made too high an offer to sign a veteran who "won't play", and they have really become wronged. As a result, now Jeff Green is the darling of Houston fans, and his contract has become a great value contract.