Suffering two consecutive losses, the Rockets unfortunate loss to the Pistons exposed a stubborn problem. The two former No. 1 picks may become bitter medicine.

With everyone's expectations, the Rockets finally ushered in their first home game of the new season. For this reason, they also invited many famous players who had played for the Rockets to watch the game, such as Hayes, Olajuwon, Yao Ming and others. However, it was a bit regretful that the team failed to withstand the Pistons' offensive firepower at the last moment and lost the game with a 4-point disadvantage.

Udoka still insisted on using the five major lineups in this game. However, for the Rockets, after Amen Thompson encountered foul trouble, it was not enough to have only Shen Jing as an organizational point in the team. Especially in the title stage, after Shen Jing came off the court, the Rockets had no structure at all on the offensive end. Except for Durant's stable firepower output, others were running around like headless flies.

At the end of the game, the Rockets team had a total of 15 assists. Except for Shen Jing who contributed 7 assists, no one in the team had more than 2 assists. On the other hand, the Pistons had 26 assists in the game. It is obvious that their offensive flow is much smoother than that of the Rockets.

Currently, the team has tried two top-five lineups, and to be honest, the results are not ideal. Therefore, the Rockets need to consider recruiting a player who can control the rhythm of the game from the team or from the free agent market. First of all, when digging within the team, they must first exclude Sheppard, who was drafted in 2024. From the preseason to the present, Shepard has proven to everyone that he is more suitable as the No. 2 position and becomes a shooter who ambushes on the outside. As for organizing and linking up, he is still far behind.

Therefore, rather than exploring from within, recruiting from the outside may be a quick way to solve the problem. Although there are not many strong players among free agents at present, there are really two players who can solve the Rockets' urgent needs as firefighters, and they both entered the league as the No. 1 pick.

First of all, the first one is Ben Simmons, who works hard every offseason. As the No. 1 pick in 2016, Ben Simmons was also the league's highest-paid player. However, after experiencing the hellish free throw moment in Philadelphia, it seems that he has a lot of psychological shadow about playing football.

From the time he was traded by Philadelphia until he joined the Clippers last season, many people found it hard to believe that Simmons, who was once an All-Star, had actually become a walk-on player averaging 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. In this offseason, even if he tried hard to show off his training photos, he did not get a contract.

However, for the Rockets, the technical characteristics of Ben Simmons, who is only 29 years old now, can well complement the team's shortcomings. Although Simmons has lost his scoring ability, he is still better than most players in the league in terms of organization, support and defense. The Rockets can sign him as a substitute for Amen Thompson and let him organize on the court.

In addition to Simmons, Fultz, who was the No. 1 pick in 2017, is also someone the Rockets can consider. As a talented No. 1 pick, Fultz's basketball career was ruined by injuries. Although the Magic worked hard to train him for several seasons after accepting him, Fultz's lack of touch has made it difficult for him to become a star player.

At the same time, intermittent injuries prevented Fultz from providing stable contributions to the team. Last season in the Kings, the team regarded him as a marginal figure. He averaged only 8.8 minutes of playing time per game, averaging 2.9 points, 1 rebound, and 1.3 assists. In his best season, he averaged 14 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Now that Fultz is still idle at home, the Rockets can use a two-way contract or even a training camp contract to sign him. When healthy, except for the shortcoming of three-pointers, Fultz is better than all the guards on the Rockets' bench in terms of breakthrough, athletic ability, rhythm control and organization.

For the Rockets, who are aiming to win the championship this season, suffering two consecutive defeats at the start of the season will naturally have a blow to the confidence of all players. However, there are still 80 games before the end of the season, and the team has enough time to adjust the lineup. With the problems that the team has exposed now, perhaps signing one of Ben Simmons or Fultz will lead to a more perfect result! Do you think the above two players can help the current Rockets? Welcome to leave a message for discussion!

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