Signing Westbrook was criticized for being so popular, betting on rookie Shepard?

The signing of Westbrook was criticized and bet on Shepard? The Rockets' point guard crisis is dead end and vitality

Van Vreett's torn ACL training camp is reimbursed, causing the Rockets' prospects for the championship to be darkened due to Durant's joining the bright championship. The point guard position has gone from a "reliable link" to a "fatal shortcoming". Houston, which is limited in salary and has few options in the trading market, is in a dilemma.

Three dead ends: seemingly feasible traps

1. Basic salary signing Westbrook: feelings cannot hide the reality.

Westbrook is willing to join with an unsecured basic salary and accept 25 minutes of playing time. His friendship with Durant and "clothes room leadership" seem to be able to make up for the gap in combat power, but the rumors were criticized by fans as soon as they came out. When he was in the Clippers last season, the team's net efficiency dropped by 4.2 points in 100 rounds, no stable shooting (30.5% career three-point shooting percentage) and needed to hold a lot of balls, which conflicted with the Shen Jing system. What’s even more difficult is that the Rockets’ salary is only 1.25 million yuan away from the rich line, so signing people must be laid off first. The boss’s iron rule of “not paying luxury tax” makes the operation even more difficult.

2. Bet on Shepard's starting lineup: The big bet that boosts growth

Van Vreett was injured and gave Tanhua Shepard a chance. Uduka said that he would tailor-made tactics for him, but the hidden dangers were fatal. Although Shepard has potential (52.1% from college three-point shooting), he averaged only 12.6 minutes of playing time last season, scoring 4.4 points and 1.4 assists, and his three-point shooting percentage fell to 33.89%, and his defensive confrontation was insufficient. Letting a rookie with no starting experience bear the banner of the championship team's point guard is equivalent to betting that he "gets out of the way" and may also bury his advantage without the ball.

3. Patch together the "no pure control" lineup: a stopgap trick for self-deception

The Rockets had planned to use "Amen + Shepard + Holiday" to respond, hoping that Shin-kyung's organizational ability will support the offense, but this is a passive avoidance problem. Amen averaged 4.2 turnovers per game and shot 28% from three-pointers when he played a guest point guard; Holiday can only make the transition, and the Rockets who lack a stable ball holding point will easily stagnate when facing high-intensity defense.

The first glimmer of vitality: A pragmatic breakthrough is required to abandon extreme thinking and break through with "short-term leakage filling + long-term training". In the short term, we should abandon Westbrook and chase cost-effective veterans such as Dinwiddie and Payne. We can also sell marginal players such as Whitmore and Landale to change their combat power. We should firmly use Shepard as the core for a long time, let him play in the starting No. 2 position, focus on off-ball and three-pointers, reduce organizational and defensive pressure, and use veteran escort to help him grow.

The point guard crisis is a touchstone. If the Rockets avoid blindly gamble and balance the present and the future, they can turn the crisis into an opportunity. Otherwise, they may close the championship window in advance.