hit 37 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, leading the team to 10 consecutive wins, which is why Harden can't go back to the Rockets

In more than 3 years, Harden changed teams 3 times, and after leaving the Rockets, he was traded to the Nets, 76ers and Clippers. At that time, the media was full of rumors that Harden was going to return to the Rockets, but in the end, the Rockets did not make a move, but signed VanVleet with a 3-year 130 million premium contract, completely blocking Harden's way back to Houston. And as this year's regular season draws to a close, we understand why the Rockets did this. hit 37 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, leading the team to 10 consecutive wins, which is why Harden can't go back to the Rockets

At the beginning of the season, the Rockets showed a different mental outlook, and they were not discouraged after 3 consecutive defeats, but won 6 consecutive victories in one go, announcing to the outside world that they were no longer rotten. Udoka has helped the team build a good defensive system, new signings VanVleet and Dillon have played their due role as veterans, and the young people have continued to grow. Among them, Shen Jing has reached the level of a quasi-All-Star, averaging 20+10+5 data per game, ranking among the league's first-class interior lines.

However, after all, the Rockets are young, the team has relatively large flaws, and the ability to deal with it is insufficient, so it is easy to be collapsed by a strong team, and the ranking once fell back to outside the play-offs. But at this difficult time, Jalen Green, the crown prince that the Rockets have cultivated for 3 years, finally broke out.

Against the Wizards, Green shot 15 of 23, scored 37 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists, setting a new personal season high, and after 2 games, he was the Wizards, scoring 42 points to continue to refresh. But next against the Jazz, he shot 15-of-22 and scored 41 points. In today's game against the Thunder, the opponent was the second-strongest team in the West, but Green once again had a magical play, shooting 14-of-24 and scoring a quasi-triple-double of 37 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.

So far, the Rockets have won 10 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in the league, and in the seven games that Shin Jing has missed, Green has averaged 33.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, with a plus/minus of 19.9. He was named the Player of the Week award for the first time in his career, and the Player of the Month award is already beckoning, the whole March, the Rockets only lost 1 game, no team in the West performed better than them, Green averaged 28.5 points and 5 assists per game in March, which is also very good. In the record list, although the Rockets are still eleventh, they have already made the Warriors, who are tenth in the West, feel great pressure.

In the offseason, Green was a guest on George's show and talked about Harden's return to Houston, and he did not welcome it, but said that if Harden returned, it would be a double-edged sword for him, with both advantages and disadvantages. The Rockets regard Green as the core of the team's rebuild, and the management naturally attaches great importance to Green's opinion, Harden is a ball-handling style of play, and his role overlaps with Green's, and his return will indeed have an impact on Green's tactical position.

But signing VanVleet is different, VanVleet is averaging 16.8 points and 8.1 assists per game this season, and the data is not much worse than Harden. Although his shooting percentage is relatively low, he has only 1.8 turnovers and ranks sixth in the league with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.6. And VanVleet is very consistent, according to statistics, he has 21 assists and only one turnover in key moments this season. It is the presence of such a veteran to ensure that it paves the way for Green's outburst and allows him to play what he is best at.

Now it seems that the decisions the Rockets made in the offseason were all wise, they are moving in the right direction, Green and Shin are good cornerstone players, and other young people continue to grow. Perhaps, it will be difficult for the Rockets to go far in the play-offs this year, but their future is definitely worth looking forward to by fans.