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Don t do a spot guard! Shepard confirmed that the summer league will play with PG, and the Rockets four big and one small lineup will be finalized

9:16pm, 10 July 2025【Basketball】

With the opening of the free market, all teams have basically completed important signings and contract renewals. Although there are still All-Star defenders like Lillard and Bill who have not yet identified their next position, the main lineups of each team are approaching. After the Houston Rockets got Durant's trade, and renewed the contract and signed a group of powerful players and young players, it also announced that the operation of this summer was over. What they need to face next is the lineup configuration and tactics formulation.

In this summer league, Tanhua Show Shepard, selected last year, will continue to lead the team, and has clearly become the "commander" of the team as a point guard. Shepard's most surviving skill is his three-point shooting from the outside. During his time at Duke, he was a shooter type and had certain offensive organizational skills. However, in the NBA, which has a stronger intensity of confrontation, he is only 1.88 meters tall and it is difficult for him to grasp the stability of his shooting when facing defense. His organizational ability will naturally be limited, and the defensive end has become a loophole due to the defects of static talent.

This also means that the Rockets have given up the position of shooting guard at least in the new season. The current team's lineup is 3 centers + 3 point guards + a group of high-forward players, and the management does not seem to be inclined to continue to strengthen. Jaylen Green and Whitmore were traded one after another to make the point guards appear in a vacuum. Van Vleet and Holiday and Shepard both have the same attributes. They are too short to defend and are easily targeted. The lineup of the two-point guards has been tried briefly in the regular season this season and was instantly beaten on the court.

Dillon and Amen occasionally played the second position on the court, but now Dillon has also been traded and left the team. Amen has played a good result in the fourth position. If Smith Jr. plays as the starting power forward in the new season, Amen may be in the third position. After all, his outside shooting is a big shortcoming, and only the bottom three-pointer is acceptable. Once he acts as a shooting guard, the empty three-pointer in the top pot and the wing three-pointer will affect the space in the inside.

In this way, the Rockets' arrangement of troops in the new season is also very clear. The lineup of four big and one small has been set, and Durant can only be forced to play as a shooting guard. Of course, this is undoubtedly a more relaxed position for him. Van Jordan is in charge of the point guard, while Holiday and Shepard are randomly used as substitutes based on their state and feel. In the inside, Shinkyung, Adams and Capela took turns to take charge, and the forward line has many rotations such as Ethan, Finney Smith, Jeff Green, and Tate who can always maintain the height and vitality on the court. Let's wait and see if the Rockets can play an amazing scene after the Rockets' lineup is fully improved!