The Rockets change their lineup! Will Shepard switch to the bench? Uduka shows off, and the rotation will be adjusted

In the last two preseason games, the Rockets' opponents were the Pelicans and the Hawks. Judging from the Rockets' current overall strength and the number of their stars, defeating the Hawks and Pelicans should not be a problem. After all, the overall strength of these two teams cannot compete with the powerful Houston Rockets. And if the Rockets use half the main lineup, they may not be able to win, but now Uduka has publicly revealed that the Rockets will use the full main lineup to play the last two preseason games.

On October 12, after the Rockets' team training ended today, Uduka accepted an interview as usual. He revealed his plans for the remaining preseason games. Uduka said that in addition to veteran VanVleet being injured and reimbursed in preseason and unable to play, Finney Smith and Tate are also unable to play because they are both injured. Outside of those three, all rotation players are expected to play in the remaining two preseason games.

In other words, the Rockets will send their strongest lineup to fight the Hawks and Pelicans. In this case, it should not be a problem for the Rockets to win two consecutive games. The Rockets are very likely to end the preseason with a win in four games and use their best performance to challenge the Thunder away from home in the first game of the regular season.

Although the Rockets are missing VanVleet, Finney Smith and Tate, they really have a chance to defeat the Thunder on the road and get a good start to the regular season. However, in the last two preseason games, Uduka also revealed that there may be some adjustments to the lineup. He said that the playing time of the starting players will be increased to close to 30 minutes, and the lineup and rotation arrangements will be different from the previous two games. This means that the Rockets' lineup may undergo adjustments, and their rotation arrangements will also be different from the previous two games.

In other words, the Rockets' starting lineup may usher in some adjustments, because Uduka will try different starting lineups. Sheppard and Amen Thompson have already had starting opportunities in the first two games, but the two of them work together relatively generally. Smith Jr. performed quite well in the starting lineup, and Shen Jing and Durant are the absolute main players that cannot be moved. Therefore, among the Rockets' current starting five, perhaps only Shepard can be adjusted.

There are many players who can replace Shepard as the starter. For example, if the Rockets use a big lineup, veteran Adams can enter the starting lineup, Durant will play the 2 position, Shen Jing will serve as the power forward, and Smith Jr. will serve as the small forward. In addition, the Rockets can also put Ethan in the starting shooting guard position, and the Rockets can even put Davidson, a two-way contract player who performed very well in the previous two games, into the starting shooting guard position, because this two-way contract player is a standard dual-purpose guard in Uduka's view, and can serve as both a point guard and a shooting guard. Play the role of a scorer.

Moreover, the Rockets' rotation will also undergo adjustments. We still don't know what the specific arrangements will be. After all, Uduka must have his own considerations. In the current two preseason games, the Rockets not only want the players to develop a tacit understanding as soon as possible, but also try different player combinations and lineup rotations. In this way, in order to achieve the purpose of trial formation, the Rockets coach Uduka will have more routines to deal with different environments and scenes during the regular season.

But overall, Sheppard is still one of the Rockets' most capable starting players. If Ethan serves as a shooting guard, he will be slow and has poor ball-handling and shooting abilities; if Durant switches to a shooting guard, he will not be fast enough. Therefore, in the last two games of the preseason, the Rockets may change their lineup, but Shepard may eventually return to the starting position.