Rockets refuse to change the formation! Persist in the rotation of 9 players, the double tower lineup becomes the protagonist, and the backcourt star becomes marginal

The Rockets and Warriors have played a full 6 games in the playoffs. Like the Clippers and the Nuggets, these two teams are about to enter the tiebreak final. Since the Timberwolves eliminated the Lakers 4-1 early in the first round of the playoffs, the winners of this round of the Rockets and Warriors will face the Timberwolves in the second round of the playoffs, that is, the Western Conference's playoff semi-finals.

If the Rockets can advance to the next round, I believe they will still have an advantage. After all, the Rockets' main center Alperen Shin-kyung has always been able to have an advantage when facing Gobert, and the Rockets' outside players are no worse than the Timberwolves' outside players. Especially Jaylen Green, in the first six matches with the Warriors, the worst and most unstable performance in the Rockets starting lineup was the 23-year-old backcourt star Jaylen Green.

In the regular season, Jaylen Green can contribute 20 points per game and is the Rockets' regular season scoring champion. But in the playoffs, except for the 38-point performance in Game 2, Jaylen Green either scored less than double points or scored at most more than ten points in several games. Compared with the Rockets' scoring champion before, it is completely different. In fact, this is not because Jaylen Green is in poor condition or is too nervous. The more important reason is Uduka's tactical adjustment.

In the regular season, the Rockets are the kind of team that is both inside and outside: there are scorers Shin Kyung in the inside, and guards like Van Vreet and Jaylen Green in the outside, they can all score. But in recent playoffs, it is obvious that the Rockets are mostly focusing on the inside. Shin Kyung and Adams teamed up, and sometimes even added Jabbarry Smith Jr. to the small forward position, becoming three centers.

Although this will affect a certain speed, it makes the Warriors' inside line very tight. Even if the Warriors used the tactic of killing Adams, they ended in failure. Therefore, with the double tower lineup, the Rockets tied the score to 3:3, which shows how huge the advantage of the inside is for the Rockets.

Rockets coach Uduka, who has tasted the sweetness, will definitely not risk using a single center lineup. The double center lineup has become the magic weapon for the Rockets to defeat the enemy. The center Adams in the inside has increased his ball rights and his playing time has also increased, so accordingly, the Rockets' outside Jaylen Green's playing time and importance in tactical position have been obviously quickly weakened. After all, the combination of Shin Kyung and Adams is the basic guarantee for the Rockets to survive until now.

Coach Uduka has been insisting on the rotation of 9 people and has not given other substitutes more opportunities. It is also based on this tactical concept. After a few games, Uduka refused to change the lineup and did not give too many substitute players opportunities, and used more big players in the rotation lineup. In the 6th game against the Warriors, Uduka obviously insisted on the nine-player rotation and finally achieved excellent results. The Rockets' double towers and Van Vritte from the outside line, and the three of them beat the Warriors, and the Rockets finally took away a victory.

So in the first round of the matchup with the Warriors, Jaylen Green was basically marginalized. But if the Rockets can enter the second round against the Timberwolves, I believe his ball rights and role on the court will be significantly improved.