Xiaojia has evolved! The Rockets narrowly defeated the Pelicans 130-128. How did these seven players perform in this battle?

On October 15th, the Houston Rockets had their third preseason game away from home, against the New Orleans Pelicans. In the previous two preseason games, the Rockets performed brilliantly, defeating the powerful Hawks and Western Jazz. They are currently advancing steadily on their preseason journey with two consecutive wins. In terms of core player performance, insider support Shen Jing played in both games and provided a total of 19 assists. With his excellent organizational skills, he has become the first core of the Rockets' tactics at this stage. Durant only appeared in the game against the Jazz and easily scored 20 points. He efficiently completed his first career with the Rockets and proved his worth with his strength. Amen Thompson performed equally well in the absence of VanVleet. Although he is not experienced in series organization, his contribution on the scoring and defensive ends is outstanding and he is very versatile. At the same time, the Rockets' deep rotation lineup also showed good power. The only drawback is that the performance of Shepard and Ethan needs to be improved.

However, the Rockets will face a lot of challenges in today's game. The Pelicans made targeted reinforcements during the offseason. They not only introduced former Warriors center Looney, but also signed former Warriors champion guard Jordan Poole. In the draft, they selected Jeremiah Fells with the 7th pick and Derek Quinn with the 13th pick respectively. The strength of the lineup has been significantly improved. As long as the season is run properly and Zion stays healthy, they will be the spoilers in the West. In the most recent preseason game, the Pelicans defeated Melbourne United and won a beautiful victory - All-Star power forward Zion Williamson scored 15 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals in just 16 minutes, with amazing efficiency; Trey Murphy contributed 18 points in 19 minutes, and new aid Poole also handed over balanced data of 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in 20 minutes. The team is in good overall condition. Therefore, this game is quite interesting!

Game review: At the beginning of the game, the Rockets quickly entered a competitive state, seizing the opportunity with a perfect 7-0 start and taking the lead in establishing a lead. However, the Pelicans quickly recovered after falling into a slow start, gradually regaining their rhythm in the second half of the first quarter, and successfully completed the lead. Smith was in hot form in this quarter, scoring 11 points in a single quarter on his own, becoming the core support of the team's offensive end. In the second quarter of the contest, the Rockets regained control of the initiative on the court. The intensity of the confrontation between the two sides escalated, and the smell of gunpowder became stronger. At the critical moment, a conflict broke out between Amen and Alvarado during the fight for the ball. In the end, Amen received a first-level flagrant foul, and Alvarado received a technical foul. After halftime, the Rockets had a slight advantage of 1 point.

In the second half, the Pelicans changed sides and fought again. The Pelicans' offense suddenly came to a standstill and failed to score effectively in more than four minutes. The Rockets seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack and launched a 15-2 offensive climax, directly widening the point difference to double digits. In the final quarter, the Pelicans launched a desperate counterattack, gradually eroding the point difference with their fierce pursuit of points, and finally succeeded in leveling the score. At the moment of life and death, Holiday faced the defense and forced a floater, almost completing a quasi-win; but the Rockets did not give up. Phils tried to make a three-pointer but unfortunately missed. In the end, the Rockets narrowly defeated the Pelicans and achieved their wish to win three consecutive games.

In this battle, I completely saw the following 7 players:

1. Shen Jing’s re-evolution. Since entering the league, Shen Jing has been expected to be the "next Jokic". In the past two seasons, he has steadily averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per game. After experiencing the European Cup this summer, his passing ability has improved to a higher level. He can accurately deliver cannonballs in any area of ​​the half. Whether it is a through pass to assist Amen for a layup, or penetrating the Jazz's defensive double-team to find Durant in the corner, he has shown the quality of a top organizer. More importantly, Shenjing covers a huge area on the defensive end, has "Jokic-style" support and scoring capabilities on the offensive end, and has a "Green-style" sense of oppression on the defensive end. With such performance, it is not an extravagant hope to be included in the best team in the new season. In this game, Shen Jing was not very efficient on the offensive end, scoring 8 points on 3-of-8 shots, but he got 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals, with a plus-minus of +17.

2. There is no need to worry about Durant's offense. In the first game, Durant only hit 1 goal in his first 4 shots, but after that he hit 5 goals in 6 shots. He could efficiently convert the opportunity balls from his teammates. The same was true against the Pelicans in this game. Durant started slowly, but then gradually got better. In the whole game, Durant made 6 of 13 shots and scored 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. More importantly, the defensive system composed of Ethan, Amen, and Jia shared a lot of defensive pressure for him, allowing him to focus his physical energy on the offensive end, becoming the core pillar for the Rockets to raise the ceiling of the championship.

3. Jabari Smith Jr. has evolved, shooting decisively and accurately! In this game, Smith made 7 of 16 shots and 4 of 10 3-pointers. He scored 26 points and 5 rebounds, with a plus-minus of +23. His performance on the shooting end can be described as "reborn" - from the occasional hesitation in the past, to the decisive shot after catching the ball, to the significant improvement in accuracy, which has completely activated his value as a space forward. In the preseason, his three-point shooting percentage has rebounded significantly, and he has steadily assumed the role of the Rockets' "outside turret".

This evolution not only made his personal finishing efficiency soar, but also brought chain benefits to the Rockets tactics: his ability to contain the outside can force the opponent's defensive formation to clear the way for Durant's inside breakthrough and Amen's fast break counterattack, directly improving the team's success rate of breakthrough points. At the same time, Smith has not neglected his defensive duties due to his investment in the offensive end. His balanced performance on both ends of the offense and defense has made him an indispensable and stable output point for the Rockets' front line, and also added important weight to the team's impact on good results.

4. Amen is really a tough guy, he must avenge himself.. Last season, Amen stood out with his exaggerated jumping talent, keen sense of passing, precise defensive judgment and sharp counterattack ability. Although he took over a lot of organizational tasks after Van Jordan's injury and made many mistakes while busy, he did not fall behind in his own job of rebounding and defense, and his offensive performance was also remarkable. The most important thing is that Amen has the kind of fierceness that refuses to admit defeat and must take revenge. After encountering Alvarado's little move, Amen directly overthrew the sixth player. After being called a flagrant foul, Amen immediately used basketball to speak and scored 2+1 to repay his opponent. In this campaign, Amen made 5 of 8, 2 of 3 3-pointers, 9 of 9 free throws, and scored 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. To put it bluntly, Amen’s upper limit and template may really be himself.

5. Zion is really full of water! When healthy, Zion was once an All-Star-level inside killer, but due to injuries, it has been difficult to realize his talent, and the Pelicans have become a team that can only hover in the play-off area. After losing weight during the offseason, Zion was hyped by the media, boasting that his movement speed had increased and he had the top ability to tear apart defenses. But facing the Rockets' tough defense today, Zion struggled very much. He made 6 of 11 shots and scored 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, with a plus-minus of -22, the lowest in the team.

6. Pu'er is in a difficult position! In this campaign, Poole made 3 of 10 shots and scored 10 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists! As a new addition to the Pelicans, he did not show sustained explosiveness on the offensive end, nor did he make much contribution to the organization. Instead, he exposed his shortcomings on the defensive end. He was slightly out of touch with the team's defensive system and was unable to become the team's much-needed "scoring point." At present, Pu'er is more like a transitional puzzle piece than a core that can carry the flag. It is really an "embarrassing task."

7. Ethan gradually found a sense of presence in the new system. At present, Ethan's contract renewal negotiations with the Rockets have stalled. This situation seems to have affected Ethan's performance. He was eager to prove his Ethan on the court and played a little impatiently in the game. After Durant joined, Ethan's role was classified as a blue-collar player and the second offensive option after Jia Jia. This also made Ethan struggle in the first two games. In today's game, Ethan gradually found his own rhythm, shooting 9 of 15 and scoring 20 points. How to balance Ethan's desire for data in the contract year with his distribution of ball rights has become a key problem that head coach Uduka needs to solve.