With Smith as the core, reuse Eason White Devils and abandon Green

The Rockets are now in 11th place in the West with 22 wins and 24 losses, 17 wins and 8 losses at home, 5 wins and 16 losses on the road, and 16 wins and 11 losses against Western teams (the NBA is strong in the West and weak in the East, and the Rockets have a win rate of more than 50% against Western teams, indicating that the Rockets still have a lot of potential to tap).

Judging from the current results of the Rockets, it is very difficult to enter the Western Conference play-offs, and the first round of the Rockets in 24 years is in the hands of the Thunder, and the Rockets should take the remaining 36 games seriously and strive to achieve good results.

From the perspective of the Rockets' managers, now is the time to judge the players to stay, only if the weak and the strong will the Rockets become stronger and become a competitive team, and the Rockets management will face a difficult choice in the future.

Tree Smith as the core

This season is Smith's second season with the Rockets, he played 41 games for the team, averaging 31.7 minutes per game, shooting 47.8% from 5.1 of 10.7 shooting, and 13.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.78 blocks and 0.63 steals on 1.7-of-4.5 three-point shooting.

Smith's role is not measurable by stats, and in the absence of Smith after the Rockets' 127-126 win over the Jazz on January 21, the Rockets went 1-3 in the next four games, winning over the Hornets and losing to the Celtics, Trail Blazers, and Nets.

On January 30, Smith returned, and the Rockets also beat the Lakers 135-119 at home, with Smith scoring 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

Smith can support the Rockets' defensive system, he can make up for his teammates and help his teammates defend, which is something that Shen Jing can't do, in the 4 games that Smith missed, Shen Jing was beaten by Ayton of the Trail Blazers and Claxton of the Nets with a misplaced single opportunity, which is also the reason why the Rockets lost. If Smith doesn't lose to the Trail Blazers in overtime and doesn't lose to the Nets by 2 points on the road, then the Rockets will tie the Lakers for ninth place in the West with 24-22, which is Smith's role in the Rockets.

Shen Jing can get 21.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season, and behind his dazzling statistics is Smith's silent dedication, from a certain point of view, Smith and Shen Jing are the Rockets' next ten-year interior combination, and the Rockets will build a team around this pair of interior combinations in the future, and the role of young Smith in the Rockets will be more obvious.

Therefore, the Rockets should take Smith as the core, develop tactics around him and let Smith have more shots, so that Smith has the tactical position of a core player, which is the key to improving the Rockets' performance.

Shigetsu Hakuma Imori

The Rockets now have their own core interior Smith and Shin Jing, and in the future, as long as they are equipped with the right role players around this interior combination, in terms of the Rockets' current players, Eason and White Devil Whitmore are the most suitable role players.

Eason played in 22 games this season and averaged 9.8 points, 7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 21.8 minutes per game, shooting 46.6% from the field.

What may be bothering Eason's progress may be his injury, it is indeed a bit less to use Ethan to play only 22 games this season, Eason is only 23 years old and is riddled with injuries, if Ethan can get rid of injury troubles, he can indeed become the Rockets' starting small forward, he can learn from Brooks to improve his defensive ability, he is the best candidate to replace Brooks.

The White Devils are the No. 20 rookie in '23, and Udoka didn't give the White Devils too many opportunities to play at the beginning of the season because he hadn't adapted to the rhythm of the NBA, but in recent games, the White Devils have been entrusted with reuse and become an important rotation for the Rockets.

Against the Lakers, the White Devils played 18 minutes and scored 20 points and 6 rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting, including three shots of receiving passes from teammates and dunking shots also boosted the team's morale.

The White Devils have performed eye-catching in the last 3 games, scoring 24 points and 11 rebounds against the Hornets, 19 points and 9 rebounds against the Nets, and 20 points and 6 rebounds against the Lakers.

Ethan and the White Devils are both excellent role players, and they are both important pieces of the puzzle for a team, and if the White Devils and Ethan can live up to the Rockets' expectations, the Rockets will have two qualified starters.

Give up Greene

Green is the No. 2 rookie in '21 and has high hopes from the Rockets, but judging by Green's performance, he may not be the core of the team.

Green played in 46 games this season, averaging 18.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 30.6 minutes per game while shooting 41 percent from two-point range and 32.1 percent from three-point range.

Green's problem is low offensive efficiency and lack of stability, Green can score 34 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists on 12-of-23 shooting against the Lakers, and 7 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists on 3-of-12 shooting against the Jazz.

Because Green's instability in the fourth quarter Green will be hidden by Udoka, which is obviously not the treatment of the team's core, and Green's 30.6 minutes per game is also on the small side, which can also show that Green does not have Udoka's trust.

Green's 41 percent shooting percentage is too low, and he only reduces the Rockets' offensive efficiency on the court, which is why Green can't be reused.

Green can renew his contract with the Rockets in advance this summer, and the annual salary of 30 million for Herro and Barrett is too high to see that Green's 4-year 120 million contract is too high, and if Green wants to exceed 30 million annual salary, the Rockets can consider giving him up.

The Rockets will not let Green go in vain if they don't have to pay the luxury tax in the next few years, but the Rockets will definitely not give Green a core position, and Green's ceiling will not bring too many surprises to the Rockets, just like Barrett and Herro.

With the Rockets' roster, the team is still short of an excellent shooting guard, and the Rockets can choose a suitable person through a trade or a free market sign, and if the Rockets get the right person to get their favorite, it is also possible to abandon Green.

Judging from the existing players of the Rockets, Smith, Eason, and Whitmore all have a high ceiling, and they will all become players that the Rockets can rely on in the future, and Thompson will develop well if he wants to improve his shooting, so the future of the Rockets can be expected, what the Rockets are doing now is to patiently wait for Smith and others to grow, Smith and Shen Jing have a good tacit understanding with the interior combination, and the Rockets now need to find a replacement for Green. Fans, what do you think about this?