As a championship team, the Rockets biggest shortcomings have surfaced, affecting many of Uduka s formations.

What is the Rockets’ biggest shortcoming right now?

From the perspective of the Rockets as a whole, the Rockets lack a balanced offensive and defensive lineup in the final stage.

This season, Udoka has three of the most conventional closing lineups:

When Udoka finishes with his five major lineups, the lineup is: Amen, Durant, Smith, Shen Jing, and Adams.

When Udoka finishes with a balanced offensive and defensive lineup, the lineup is: Amen, Okogie, Durant, and Smith. , Shen Jing

When Uduka puts up multiple ball-holding points to finish, the lineup is: Amen, Shepard, Durant, Smith, and Shen Jing

From the current point of view, no matter which lineup he puts in, Uduka basically lets Durant, Smith, Amen, and Shen Jing play in the closing stage, and among these four, the biggest problem at the moment should be Amen.

Shen Jing's current main problem is on the defensive end. He is often targeted by the opponent, especially when the opponent plays pick-and-roll defense. Shen Jing cannot switch defenses and has poor foot movement speed. However, Shen Jing's deterrent power on the offensive end, as well as the glue of organization and series, bring positive value to the team, which is much higher than being targeted on the defensive end when defending the pick-and-roll.

This season, Shen Jing has made great progress in three-point shooting and mid-range shooting. This season's three-point shooting rate is as high as 44%, and he averages 3.2 three-pointers per game. He is no longer a black hole in the Rockets space.

Durant is currently the Rockets' first main offensive point and the core of the Rockets' offense. His role and value on the defensive end are also very obvious.

Smith is currently more responsible for the 3D with certain ball rights. On the offensive end, he is mainly a top shooter. He also has the authority to hold the ball in the mid-range and break through with the ball. On the defensive end, he does not hinder the team.

Currently, the biggest problem with the Rockets' final lineup is Amen. Currently, Amen is the only point that drags down space on the Rockets' offensive end.

This season, Amen averaged 17.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.3 turnovers in 35.5 minutes per game, shooting 47% from the field and 20% from three-point range.

Currently, Amen is the player with the worst three-point shooting percentage in the Rockets rotation. Apart from Amen, the second worst player in the Rockets rotation is Jabari Smith Jr. Si, this season's three-point shooting rate is 37%, and the three-point shooting rate of other rotating lineup players is higher than 40%

From this perspective, Amen's space attribute is not strong, and Amen is too important to the team, causing Amen to partner with the Twin Towers, which will make the team's space very bad. The combination of Amen + Adams, Amen + Capela, or Amen + Tate will seriously affect the Rockets' space.

The Rockets put up a five-high lineup at the beginning of the season. If Amen and Adams are on the court at the same time, the Rockets' offensive space will be very bad, and it will be very difficult to develop the offense. Especially this season, the Rockets rank first in the league in offensive rebounds. They are a strong team in offensive rebounds, a strong team in the second offense, and a strong team that is extremely good at framing. Space is very important to the Rockets.

In the final lineup, Uduka had to put Amen on the court. Amen can only be valuable if he goes to the ghost position. If he stands outside the three-point line, he will basically be left empty by the opponent, which will form a four-on-five Rockets situation.

Amen's space attributes are not good. Amen's participation in pick-and-roll and cover tactics will bring defenders, allowing opponents to let go of Amen and double-team Durant or Shen Jing. At the last moment of the Rockets' victory over the Magic, Amen wanted to cover Durant, but Durant waved his hand to prevent Amen from covering. Amen's space attributes will cause the value and role of the presence to be reduced.

Amen has no shooting threat. When the opponent puts up a large lineup or focuses on defending the inside, Amen's value on the offensive end will be greatly reduced. In the Rockets' victory over the Magic, the Magic's defensive resources were very good, and they were basically large strikers. Amen himself The main offensive attack was extremely frustrating, and was blocked by Magic players many times. Amen could not reach the hinterland of the penalty area, which greatly reduced Amen's role on the offensive end. Smith and Okogie's independent offensive ability can be ignored, which will cause Durant and Shen Jing to be forced to solve the problem in singles.

Amen said this summer that he would focus on practicing three-pointers, and his performance in the preseason was remarkable. However, the prototype was revealed in the regular season. Shen Jing, who is also very slow in space, can develop the range this season, and Amen is currently the Rockets. The only non-insider player who can drag space, and Amen's importance to the Rockets is self-evident. Amen will definitely be a player who must play in the final stage. Amen's space-draining attribute will be exposed when facing high-end games or championship-level teams, and will be targeted by the opponent.

The Rockets can realize unlimited defense changes on the defensive end, but they can never set up a full-space lineup in the final stage of the offensive end. This will be the biggest hidden danger for the Rockets in the future when facing championship teams or high-end games, which will lead to Uduka setting up twin towers or double towers in the final stage. The risk of a five-high lineup is extremely high, and the value and role of Amen's pick-and-roll will be greatly reduced due to shooting. The opponent's high-intensity defense and focused interior defense will make Amen very uncomfortable. In the end, the Rockets have to play a large number of singles to solve the problem. This is currently the Rockets' biggest potential hidden danger and crisis.