The world of basketball

Chapter 153 Lost streak
Saying that the Rockets are different is actually no different. Their core players-Paul, Harden, Gordon, Capela, Tucker, and Zhou Qi are still retained.

But besides them, a lot of people have been traded, and Paul can't play in the regular season.

Knight performed well after returning from injury this season, but his contract is too big for the Rockets, and there are some overlapping positions.

In the end, they reached a deal with the Cavaliers, sending Knight in exchange for a second-round pick from JR Smith and the Cavaliers.

Yes, the Rockets took the initiative in exchange for JR Smith.

After getting the big contract, JR's performance has not been good, and the growth of age has caused JR's physical fitness to decline. The big contract of 1450 per year is definitely a premium contract.

D'Antoni's idea is to let Harden return to the No. [-] position again and let Gordon return to the bench, because Gordon's performance on the court after the start is really very sluggish. He wants to let Gordon Find his familiar position and state.

So at this time, Knight's position is very embarrassing, so it's better to exchange for JR to play the second position in the starting lineup and survive the Rockets' regular season period.

JR is very strong, really very, very strong. As a loyal player of 2K, Mu Xiaobei likes to use JR Smith very much, because this player is very, very strong physically and has strong heads-up ability.

When he first entered the league, JR said that he wanted to sign a superstar with signature shoes. Facts have proved that he has this potential, but he was delayed by some messy things.

But no matter how strong he is, he is still a veteran. The so-called time is what kind of knife, no matter how strong the talent is, it can't match the erosion of time.

The strongest period of JR's defensive end should be the period when the Cavaliers won the championship in 16. At that time, the depth of the Cavaliers' lineup was very strong. Whether it is JR, Shumpert or Dellavedova, they are all good players on the defensive end.

In the past, JR was a thorn, but after he came to the Cavaliers, he really admired LeBron James, and the two also formed a deep friendship. As he grew older, JR also grew a lot.

The most important thing is that JR's contract has only the last year left, and this contract can be thrown away next year.

So now the Rockets' starting lineup is Harden-JR-Tucker-Zhou Qi and Capela. D'Antoni uses Capela as Stoudemire, Zhou Qi as Marion, and Harden as offensive ability. Strong Nash used.

The depth of the Rockets' bench is also enough. They have Gordon leading the second team, Nene is the third option inside, Gerald Green provides sufficient offensive firepower, teenager Chris also provides inside protection, Ennis played last season In consideration of his worth, the Rockets gave him a middle class of more than 400 million to use as a low-end Ariza. D'Antoni, who is used to nine or even eight-man rotations, basically uses these ten players in the regular season.

When Paul returns, one or two people will definitely be kicked out of the rotation, but this is something that needs to be considered in the future. The Rockets finally reached the seventh place in the Western Conference and barely squeezed into the playoffs. The fleet, the Grizzlies, and the Thunder are all eyeing.

This season, there are no bad teams in the West, and every team is launching a fierce impact towards the O'Brien Cup, because the two poles of the league have been messed up, and every team has a strong lineup.

This game was a tough one. Harden played well, and Zhou Qi also had a good touch outside the three-point line. The two teams are very familiar with each other, and the head coaches of the two teams are also very familiar with each other, just like playing Go Like a game, the two sides kill you and me, and it is inextricably linked.

In the end, D'Antoni won a trick, and the Rockets won with difficulty.

Then the Spurs came to San Francisco again, the new home of the Warriors.

They didn't keep Cousins ​​and Durant this summer, but they still kept the core lineup of their 73-win period-Curry, Klay, Green, Iguodala.

In addition to these, the center Rooney, Bell and Jones they selected for three consecutive years have also grown well, but Rooney found another way out last summer. The Warriors' current starting center is Jones, followed by Bell.

While they gave Clay a big contract in the summer, they signed the outstanding 3D Mbah a Moute and the three-point shooter Bullock in the league, which further enriched the defensive ability and opened up space, plus Cook and Levin Stone, the depth of the Warriors' lineup is very deep.

They form the starting lineup of Curry-Clay-Mbah a Moute-Green-Jones, who is athletic, rim-protecting and rebounding.

Livingston is still the little prince of mid-range shooting, and Cook, as Curry's substitute, can also provide the team with sufficient firepower in the second team.

Both Curry and Clay broke out in this game. The two brothers scored 17 three-pointers together. We all know that whether it is Curry or Clay, it is very difficult for the opposing team. However, if these two people are both on, the opposing team doesn't have to fight.

Yes, in this game, under the combined power of Curry and Clay, the Warriors beat the Spurs at home, giving the Spurs a two-game losing streak.

Leaving San Francisco, the Spurs came to Denver to challenge the Nuggets away.

Last season, the Nuggets reached the Western Conference semifinals, and once played a tiebreaker with the Warriors, allowing the Warriors, who have the Big Five and an All-Star starting lineup, to play until the last minute, which is enough to illustrate the strong play of the Nuggets.

Their strongest point is reflected in their defense, and their defense is strong online.

Murray, who has just entered the league, is not strong in defense, but after two years of polishing in the league, he has become an excellent perimeter defensive gate. Of course, Gary Harris needless to say. I commented on Harris in the previous article and said he is a The top 3D player other than Clay, and has more ability to control the ball than Clay.

Everyone knows that Jokic is not good at defense. He is slow and can't defend against pick-and-rolls, but he is a part of the team's tactics, the most critical part of the team's tactics, and he is even said to be the building block of the Nuggets Cornerstone, when the Nuggets sent Mudiay away and cultivated Morrie, it has already explained the problem.

But they have Millsap, an all-star small power forward as a defensive all-rounder. The biggest reason why the team renews his contract is that he can help Jokic a lot on the defensive end.

Murray, Harris, Millsap, Jokic, what a strong lineup, oh, they also have Michael Porter, many fans probably don't remember the name, but last season the rookie was injured After his comeback, he gave the Nuggets a big surprise. On the offensive end, Porter showed his talent as the fourth position in the new era. Thomas.

In addition to them, the Nuggets' bench depth is also very strong. Button and Nick Young can serve as bench gangsters to score for the team. Beasley and Monte Morris are masters in the backcourt. It is not unreasonable for the Nuggets to go all the way and kill the Timberwolves and Spurs to become the third in the West.

(End of this chapter)