The Rockets have achieved a good record this season. What aspects of Uduka’s formation are worthy of praise?

On November 17, the Rockets defeated the Magic 117:113 in overtime at home, ushering in a 4-game winning streak. In the past 10 games, the Rockets have achieved a record of 9 wins and 1 loss, which has a lot to do with the formation and formation of head coach Uduka, as well as some people.

This season, Uduka's most regular starting lineup is Shen Jing, Smith, Durant, Okogie, and Amen. This is a lineup that integrates offense and defense. The five players in this lineup have strong defensive abilities. The biggest defensive shortcoming is Shen Jing's poor defensive ability, which prompts the opponent to often play pick-and-rolls to counter Shen Jing's slow footwork.

This lineup has a lot of room for imagination on the offensive end. From the current point of view, the only non-space point is Amen. The main attack points are Shen Jing, Amen, and Durant. Smith and Okogie serve as space points. When Amen is not holding the ball, he will more often act as an off-ball inward point in the ghost position.

Before Ethan was injured, Ethan was the sixth man on the team. Uduka's lineup in the substitute transition period was divided into time periods. Usually at the end of the first quarter, the lineup was Ethan, Smith, Durant, Adams, and Shepard. At the beginning of the second quarter, the lineup was a combination of Capela, Shepard, Shen Jing, Amen, and Ethan.

Uduka usually leads the team with Shen Jing + Amen and Durant in turns. When Shen Jing and Amen are off at the same time, Shepard is replaced, giving Shepard more authority to hold and control the ball. The purpose is to train Shepard and accumulate defensive players around Shepard. Especially when Adams and Shepard are on the court at the same time, the Rockets actually need to adopt a 2-3 zone defense strategy.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Udoka replaced Adams and replaced Capela. At the same time, Shen Jing partnered with Shepard. The purpose was to maximize Capela's value. Shen Jing and Shepard could feed Capela.

On the defensive end, the goalkeeper combination + Twin Towers + Sheppard are all great at stealing, which facilitates the Rockets' offensive and defensive transitions. With Shen Jing on the court, the Rockets have players who can solve the problem in positional battles. This is the balance of the offensive and defensive system, and it is the Rockets' most mobile and fast-paced lineup.

When Ethan was injured, in the Rockets' first game, Capela completely fell out of the rotation. Of course, this may not be the regular rotation of the Rockets, and it has a lot to do with the opponent. After all, Capela often only appeared in the second quarter, and the Rockets reversed the Magic in the first half.

In this game, Uduka's substitution logic was the substitution transition period in the first quarter. Uduka replaced Adams and Shepard, and replaced Shen Jing and Okogie. Uduka's purpose was to increase the number of ball-holding points. Before this, the Rockets made many mistakes.

At this time, the Rockets' lineup is Adams + Smith + Durant + Shepard + Amen. Uduka's goal is three ball-handling points + three forwards + a high lineup.

However, this lineup did not play well. On the offensive end, Adams and Amen did not have the range to block space. On the defensive end, Sheppard became the target of the opponent, making the Rockets' offense and defense unbalanced.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Uduka set up a two-back + three-high lineup. The lineup at this time was Holiday + Shepard + Smith + Shen Jing + Adams.

Holiday and Shepard are on the court to solve the problem of space shooting, while Smith, Shen Jing and Adams solve the problem of interior defense, rebound protection, and frame protection. This is the balanced offensive and defensive lineup designed by Uduka.

Of course, Udoka also put up a lineup of Holiday + Shepard + Durant + Shen Jing + Smith in the fourth quarter, with five shooting points on the offensive end and full mobility and mobility on the defensive end. Moreover, the dual-core of Durant and Shen Jing were on the court at the same time to solve offensive problems.

Of course, in the final stage, Uduka put out a different lineup at different stages:

In the round of protecting rebounds, he put up a five-high lineup of Adams + Shen Jing + Smith + Durant + Amen. In the offensive round, the combination of Shen Jing + Durant + Smith + Amen + Shepard is used. When unlimited defense changes are required, the combination of Okogie + Shen Jing + Durant + Smith + Amen is used. Moreover, this combination is very fragmented, and players are basically changed once per round.

This season, Uduka made mistakes, but his ability to correct mistakes is extremely good. The Rockets lost two games in a row at the beginning of the game, mainly in the top five lineups.

In this game, the key to Uduka's reversal of the Magic in the second half lies in the five major lineups, as well as Uduka's double backcourt + three-high lineup. In the past, such a lineup was the key to losing, but this game is the key to winning. Assessing the situation, not being rigid, and making timely adjustments have prompted the Rockets to constantly change their lineup structure this season, adapt to changes in the situation on the court, admit mistakes, and correct them in a timely manner. Although the core of this team is Durant and Shen Jing, the more critical player than these two players is Uduka.