Preview of Rockets vs. Nets: Durant will face his old team. How will Udoka optimize the lineup?

On October 28, the Rockets will face the Nets at home. This is the Rockets' third game of the new season. The Rockets have suffered losses in their first two games, and this is the Nets' first back-to-back game of the new season. Before this game, the Nets lost to the Spurs on the road and suffered a three-game losing streak in the new season.

Currently, the Rockets have 0 wins and 2 losses, ranking 15th in the Western Conference, while the Nets have 0 wins and 3 losses, ranking 15th in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have not won in the new season. Currently, there are only 5 teams in the league that have not won in the new season. In terms of rankings, this is a contest between the two worst teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

Both teams suffered a losing streak, but the points difference between the two teams' losses was very different. The Nets lost to the Hornets in the first game, 7 points to the Cavaliers in the second game, and 11 points to the Spurs in Game 3. The current point differential is -12.3, the worst in the Eastern Conference, while the Rockets lost to the Rays in the first game. The Thunder scored 1 point, and lost to the Pistons by 4 points in the second game, with a net margin of -2.5.

Currently, among the Nets' top three players, the highest-ranking players are Cam Thomas, Michael Porter, and Claxton. There is a clear gap between the players' level and the Rockets.

Currently, the second player the Nets rely on on the offensive end is Porter. Since being abandoned by the Nuggets, he has become the Nets' thigh. However, Porter should not be the core of the Nets' team building. The Nets are currently in the rebuilding stage. These current players are basically in the transitional stage for the Nets.

Currently, Cam Thomas has the highest scoring average per game for the Nets. As a player who only signed a qualifying offer with his home team this summer, there is a high probability that he will only play with the Nets for this season. As a scorer with a very single function, his offensive efficiency this season is very inefficient, with a shooting percentage of only 43% and a three-point shooting rate of only 43%. The shooting percentage is only 32%

The Nets' third leader is Claxton. As a mobile inside line, he has no spatial attributes and his free throws are also very bad. As a puzzle player, Claxton's position in the Nets is very embarrassing when the Nets do not have the core of the team.

At present, the Nets' absolute strength is basically at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and the strength gap with the Rockets is very obvious. However, considering the Rockets' own problems, this game must not be careless.

In this game, it doesn’t matter whether the Rockets continue to use the five major lineups or change the lineup. After all, the Nets don’t have many players who can change the Rockets’ defensive lineup. Although most of the Nets players have good three-point shooting this season, with multiple three-pointers shooting over 40%, the sample is very small.

Judging from the first two games of the new season, except for Okogie, Adams and Durant, the offensive efficiency of other Rockets players is not good, especially Shen Jing, whose performance in the first two games was very different.

So, what are the highlights of this game worth paying attention to?

The Nets are a rebuilding team, and the Rockets are a championship team. The competition between the two teams can measure the difference in strength between the top and bottom teams in the league.

Durant once partnered with Harden and Irving in the Nets, and was once expected to compete for the championship on behalf of the Nets. However, with the departure of Harden and Irving, Durant also left the Nets and joined the Suns. Durant's experience in the Nets and Suns was not very successful. In the final stage of his career, he chased the championship.

Cam Thomas, the Nets' current top scorer, and Shen Jing are both players in the 21st class. Shen Jing was selected by the Rockets with the 16th overall pick, and Thomas was selected by the Nets with the 27th overall pick.

Currently, Shen Jing is basically ranked among the top 30 players in the league in many media, while Thomas's data and performance are not recognized by his parent team at all. When the Nets were struggling and hoping to get a rebuilding core, they never got a high lottery pick, so they did not find a player who could be the core of the team.

In the Harden trade between the Rockets and the Nets, they received numerous first-round picks from the Nets and draft swap rights, and then returned part of the Nets' first-round picks to the Nets in exchange for the Suns' first-round picks. Shepard, the Rockets' No. 3 draft pick in 24 years, came from the Nets' first-round picks.

Sheppard's professional experience with the Rockets was not successful. He was not in the regular rotation lineup in his rookie season. This season, when VanVleet was injured for the season, Sheppard failed to cope. His performance in the two games he played was very poor and he was repeatedly criticized.

Currently, the Nets are focusing on upgrading this year's No. 8 pick Jemin and this year's No. 26 pick Saraf. The Nets have some first-round picks who have not been drafted so high in recent years. The Nets are aimlessly upgrading. There is a high probability that the Nets will fail this season, so as to pursue high-ranking draft picks and obtain a player who is the cornerstone of the team.

This is a game with a very large gap in strength. The Rockets have not been in good momentum recently, but they have a high probability of winning. They cannot be blindly confident and must not capsize in the gutter.