With two consecutive wins in the preseason, the Rockets 12-man rotation is in shape? The return of the two strong players is approaching, and there is no suspense about the lineup change.

In 9 days, the Rockets' first regular season game will officially kick off. Everyone knows that the Rockets' schedule is very tight, and most of the Rockets' opponents in the first 20 regular season games are playoff-level teams, and there are even several super-strong teams competing for the championship. The Rockets have not yet completed their run-in. In addition, they are missing their main point guard VanVleet and an offensive playmaker. It will be difficult to get good results after the start of the season, but the Rockets can definitely catch up.

Because this team needs more games to run in and adapt. As long as a good chemical reaction occurs, after 20 games, if the opponents the Rockets encounter are weaker, the Rockets can completely start a winning streak. Just like last season, when Rockets veteran VanVleet was absent for a month, their record was indeed not good. However, once the team adapts to playing games without VanVleet, Jaylen Green, Amen Thompson and even Holiday can become the core point guard. In that case, the Rockets will have more and more chances to win.

Now the Rockets have won two consecutive preseason games, defeating the Hawks and Jazz respectively. The Rockets will also face the Pelicans and Hawks in the next two games. The Rockets' opponents in the four preseason games are not strong. The strongest Hawks are only among the top six teams in the Eastern Conference. Compared with the Western Conference in hard mode, they are really incomparable. The Rockets face the top four teams in the Western Conference.

There should be no problem in defeating these preseason opponents. The Rockets should also quickly determine their rotation and starting lineup through the preseason games. Now the Rockets' starting lineup has basically been determined: the two guards are young Amen Thompson and Shepard, Durant serves as the small forward, and the two insiders are Jabari Smith Jr. and Shen Jing. This is also the Rockets' best starting combination now. In the previous game against the Jazz, the Rockets' starting lineup made its first appearance.

In addition to this starting set, the Rockets also gave some players enough playing time in the second game against the Jazz. In this game, the Rockets had a total of 6 substitute players who played more than 12 minutes: Ethan got 19 minutes of playing time, Capela and Holiday both played 18 minutes, Davidson, a two-way contract player, also got 17 minutes of playing time, Okogie and Jeff Green got 13 and 12 minutes of playing time.

These 6 players plus Adams, who is resting, 7 players together form the Rockets' second team. Other players, such as Tate and Finney Smith, are still recovering from injuries and don't know when they will return. However, Uduka also needs to consider when these two strong players can return to the competition. In this case, the Rockets will also adjust their core rotation lineup. After all, strong players like Finney Smith will inevitably enter the rotation and even have the opportunity to challenge the starting position;

Therefore, in addition to the existing 12-man rotation, the return date of Tate and Finney Smith is approaching. They have now begun training, and Tate is very likely to return in time for the opening game of the regular season. After the two forwards return, there should be no suspense about the Rockets' lineup changes. Some players such as Jeff Green, J.D. Davidson or Holiday may fall out of the rotation and make way for Tate or Finney Smith.

But for now, the Rockets' 12-man rotation has taken shape. After all, Tate and Finney Smith have no timetable for their comeback. At least in the next two preseason games, the rotation of these 12 players should be Uduka's main employment model.