Killer! The Rockets third youngster scored 67+11, Durant 15+4, Sheppard 13+3, and Wu Shuai successfully changed his formation.

In the preseason, the Rockets defeated the Pelicans 130-128, relying on Holiday's buzzer-beater to win three consecutive games. The preseason really doesn't mean anything, but a team that doesn't do well in the preseason will suffer the same in the regular season. Because many teams make great noise during the offseason, and then say they don’t pay attention to preseason games, they just play and train. So the preseason started with a losing streak, and the start of the regular season was just as bad. In fact, the Rockets didn't put much effort into the preseason. Uduka has been trying lineup combinations, but their hard power is indeed strong.

For example, today the Rockets did not play Shepard at the start, but played the top five of death. Amen plays point guard, Durant plays shooting guard, then Smith is at the third position, and Adams and Shen Jing are inside. Shen Jing plays the role of power forward, and the Rockets rely on collective organization. Sometimes Shen Jing even holds the ball for half the game, and the effect is okay. The Rockets' five major lineups did perform extremely well in rebounding. However, it also exposed a problem, that is, the five major ones are too bulky and can be used at critical moments, but they are not flexible enough during regular times.

The Rockets started well, hitting a 10-2 climax. Smith felt great, and Amen also hit a three-pointer. Durant was still the same as before, digging holes at the beginning and shooting 0-for-3 from the field, but then Durant made adjustments on his own. The Rockets led the Pelicans by 8 points in the first quarter at most, but the problem of no one to organize the transition period was also exposed. Shepard made two mistakes when he first came up. He failed to feed Capela a lob ball well, and a breakaway ball was too obvious and was intercepted. The Pelicans led the Rockets by 2 points 28-26.

The Rockets found some feeling in the second quarter. After Durant came off the court, Shepard made an effort. He hit a three-pointer and assisted his teammates 2 times. Then the combination of Amen and Ethan began to exert force. The two took turns to make contributions in offense and defense. Ethan made many steals and Amen stepped on the Hot Wheels. The Rockets opened the point difference to 8 points again, but Sadiq Bay was too accurate, and the Pelicans defensive end began to shrink. The Rockets failed to score on many offenses. Fortunately, Durant's value came and he was the one who solved the Rockets' stubborn problems.

The Rockets' offense has been unstable last season. Even if Jordan was not injured for the season, they would be prone to constipation. Durant scored one goal after another as the Pelicans continued to chase points. His outstanding performance gave the Rockets a 1-point halftime lead. In the second half, the Rockets' offense was unstoppable. Smith broke out completely on the offensive end, and Durant and Shen Jing became the connection points. So Smith hit a three-pointer, Amen rushed the frame and scored, Ethan stole the ball, Durant hit a mid-range shot, Amen rushed the frame and scored, and Durant caught the ball and finished.

The Rockets scored 42-29 in a single quarter, directly leading by 14 points. Uduka also stopped playing, and all the main players were dismissed. The third team was allowed to fight with the Pelicans. Shepard scored 5 points in a row in the final quarter, and the Rockets maintained the point difference to 14 points. Unfortunately, in the last 7 minutes, the Pelicans substitutes fought back. Hawkins, Alvarado, and Dickinson took turns attacking, and the Pelicans tied the point difference, which was simply incredible. Fortunately, Holiday stood up in the last two seconds. He scored 2 points through a floater and completed the buzzer beater.

The Rockets' three young players scored 67+11 in the whole game. Smith had 26 points and 5 rebounds. Amen had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. He was a surprise 2 of 3 three-pointers. Ethan scored 20 points and 2 steals in 20 minutes as a substitute. The only flaw was 0 of 4 three-pointers. All three of them scored 20 points. Durant's touch was low and high again. In the end, he scored 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists on 6-of-13 shooting, and 0-of-3 three-pointers, all of which were wide open. Shepard had 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, 4 of 8 shots, 3 of 6 three-pointers, and is still adapting. Shen Jing had 8 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. Durant and Shen Jing were trying their best to help Amen bear the pressure of the organization. For the Pelicans, Zion had 13 points with a plus-minus value of -22, Murphy had 11 points, and Poole had 10 points. The strength gap between the Pelicans and Rockets is still quite large. Udoka should still let Shepard start at shooting guard in the regular season. The five major lineups have been successfully tested, but they cannot be used all the time.