The Rockets continue to use the starting lineup! The five major lineups are on the field again, and three shortcomings are inevitable. Is it time for Uduka to change his lineup?

As the head coach of the Rockets, although Udoka believes that the "five major lineups" have the ability to unexpectedly win, looking at it now, it is a bit inappropriate for the Rockets to directly put the "five major lineups" into the starting lineup. The reason why the Rockets' "five major lineups" were successful last season was that the Rockets formed a strange formation and the opponent simply couldn't adapt to it.

Occasionally using such a lineup in regular season games can make the opponent unable to defend; or when the opponent is not prepared, use a two-tower or three-center lineup to catch the opponent off guard. Once the Rockets' lineup is thoroughly studied, the opponent can make targeted arrangements, such as using the speed and flexibility of a small lineup to maintain mobility, opening up space on the outside, and using three-point shooting to limit the "five major lineups." Although the Rockets can't score inside, the opponent's three-pointers from the outside will make the Rockets' big players exhausted and unable to defend them at all.

And the Rockets' "five major lineups" also have three shortcomings. First, everyone knows that although the "top five lineups" have inside advantages and can dominate the inside and dominate rebounds, their speed and mobility are very poor. After all, Shen Jing, Adams, Smith Jr., and even the 37-year-old Durant are not the kind of players who are known for their speed. Although Amen Thompson is fast, there is only one fast player, and he does not play a big role in the "top five lineups." In terms of mobility, the Rockets cannot compare with their opponents.

Secondly, the Rockets also suffered a big loss in three-point shooting. Because among the "big five lineups", Amen Thompson is not a good three-point shooter. Even since the start of the season, he has made 0 of 8 three-pointers and a shooting percentage of 0%, which is quite embarrassing; and Adams can't shoot three-pointers at all. Shen Jing made 5 of 8 three-pointers in the previous game. In this game against the Pistons, he failed to make a single three-pointer. His good performance in the previous game was just a flash in the pan. In this game against the Pistons, he shot 5 of 18 from the field. His shooting rate was also extremely low.

Even Smith, a player known as a "spatial insider", has intermittent three-point shooting ability from the outside. Sometimes the three-pointer is accurate, and sometimes he often shoots hard. The game against the Pistons was a classic "battle of iron." Even if Durant has strong shooting ability, he can't lead the other big players on the Rockets.

Also, the Rockets' defense switching ability is very poor, and the mobility of the big lineup is very low, so they do not have a strong defense switching ability at all. The opponent's small guards can get past them with a slight breakthrough. This is also the reason why the Rockets still lost two games in a row even though they have an advantage inside. Alexander and Cunningham in the previous game against the Pistons both taught the Rockets' big lineup a lesson.

In the final analysis, although these "five major lineups" seem to be able to dominate the interior and control rebounds, three shortcomings are inevitable. Although the Rockets continue to use the "five major lineups" starting, the effect is getting worse and worse, which also means that Uduka should indeed change the lineup in the next game.

Restore the lineup to the traditional model, let Shen Jing serve as the center, Smith Jr. as the power forward, let Durant return to his most familiar No. 3 position, Amen Thompson continues to serve as the guard, and the other starting position is Ethan or Aaron Holiday. And reduce Sheppard's playing time, or even directly send him to the Development League, so that the Rockets may be able to get back on track.