Although there is no superstar in the Rockets now, it has to be said that the young core of the Rockets has been able to dominate the game. In many games, Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Smith Jr., or Shin Kyung will be brave enough to step up and beat their opponents with their performances. Although the Rockets are an extremely young team, with a few key players in the team not very old, the Rockets are now in second place in the West, and several veterans in the roster have also contributed to the performance.
Veteran VanVleet has had a number of sluggish periods this season as the Rockets' starting point guard. His personal scoring statistics and shooting percentage data are almost at the lowest level of his career. However, in the month that VanVleet was sidelined due to injury, the Rockets lost a lot of games.
And when veteran VanVleet returned from injury, the Rockets' record improved rapidly. That's where Van Vliet comes in, and that's where the veteran's value lies. They may not score well in the game, or even feel cold, but they can use their passing ability, defensive intensity and experience to help young players score and assist the Rockets to win.
Similarly, veterans like Dillon Brooks, Aaron Holiday, Jeff Green, and even Tate play a similar role. The Rockets signed VanVleet, Jeff Green, Landale, Holiday and Dillon Brooks two offseasons ago.
Although none of these players introduced by the Rockets are All-Stars, their arrival has directly raised the overall offensive and defensive level of the Rockets to a higher level. Coupled with the rapid growth and rise of the young core of the Rockets, the Rockets showed signs of becoming a strong team last season. Last season, the Rockets went 50-0 and improved their win percentage to 0%. So far this season, the Rockets sit second in the West and have all but locked up that position. Several veterans of the Rocket team are naturally credited.
Take the Rockets' Dillon Brooks, for example, who scored a team-high 27 points in the previous win over the Warriors. Under his tight defense, both Curry and Jimmy Butler have been very sluggish on the offensive end. Another set of statistics shows that in Dillon's first season with the Rockets, he helped the Rockets to 0 wins, compared to 0 wins for the Grizzlies at that time.
This season, thanks to Morant's return, the Grizzlies' record has improved to its current 52 wins. However, the Rockets have won more games, and currently have 0 wins, which is the second-best team in the West. That said, since the Rockets poached Dillon Brooks from Memphis two summers ago, the Rockets have far outperformed their old rivals, the Grizzlies.
Although the Grizzlies are not a weak team this season, they have experienced a change of coach, and the form of core head coach Morant has also declined very seriously. Without Dillon Brooks' three-point shooting and defense, the Grizzlies' defensive ability and sense of hierarchy are obviously not as good as before.
兩年前,火箭隊總經理拉斐爾・斯通以4年8600萬的大合同簽下了狄龍・布魯克斯。當時,很多人認為火箭隊僅僅得到了一位外線防守者。但實際上,狄龍・布魯克斯本賽季在火箭隊中,是三分投籃最準的球員之一,他的三分命中率幾乎達到了40%。再加上強硬的防守和出色的團隊帶動能力,狄龍・布魯克斯成為了火箭隊三號位上雷打不動的首發小前鋒。
反觀灰熊隊,如今他們已經掉到了西部第八位。如果狄龍還在灰熊隊,灰熊隊或許不至於落魄到這般田地。所以,火箭隊總經理拉斐爾・斯通確實眼光獨到且精明異常,兩年前夏天只用8600萬合同就簽下了狄龍・布魯克斯。狄龍也成為了火箭隊爭冠路上至關重要的一塊拼圖。