It s decided! The Rockets four starters are officially released, and Uduka is the only suspense, or may the 21-year-old newcomer be activated?

On October 5, according to the Rockets' schedule, two days later, at 8 a.m. on October 7, the Rockets will usher in the first preseason game of the new season. Their opponent will be the Atlanta Hawks led by Trae Young. Although the Hawks performed mediocrely last season, they received a lot of reinforcements in the new season, such as the introduced center Porzingis.

The overall strength of this team is in the Eastern Conference, so there should be no problem entering the playoffs. Whether you can go further or not, there is still suspense to reach the second round of the playoffs or the Eastern Conference Finals, but neither team will invest 100% in all combat effectiveness in the preseason. The Rockets already have an argument. Coach Uduka directly stated that he would reserve in the first game, and may only allow half of the players to play and the other half to rest. And by the second preseason game, the Rockets will let the players who played in the first game rest, and the players who did not play in the first game will take the lead.

In fact, the biggest suspense of the Rockets now is who is the starting five tigers in the new season. Veteran Van Vreet was reimbursed due to injury, so Van Vreet would definitely not be able to start again and he would not play for the Rockets again next season. 32-year-old forward Finney Smith is still recovering from injury and will not start for the Rockets. Although he has the ability to start, the Rockets' starting lineup does not currently have his name.

According to Uduka's latest statement, he has identified four players in the Rockets' starting lineup, namely Amen Thompson, Durant, Jabbarry Smith Jr. and Shin Kyung. In this case, the Rockets still have the only suspense, which is who is the fifth player in the starting lineup.

In fact, there are two options for Uduka. The first is to send Adams into the starting lineup and form a double tower lineup with Shin Kyung, just like last season. However, if Adams starts, the Rockets' lineup will be very deformed. Although the Rockets form a large lineup, their offense and defense speed will become very slow and their space ability will become very poor. After all, Amen Thompson, Adams and Shin Kyoto are not stable three-point shooters. In the starting lineup, only Smith Jr. and Durant have stable three-point shooting ability. Although this lineup looks very tall and powerful, Uduka should not be able to use it. So Uduka is likely to send another defender as the starter. 29-year-old Aaron Holiday is short and has average passing ability. In contrast, 21-year-old young point guard Shepard is likely to be the last starter.

The 21-year-old newbie has been hard training this summer, and Shepard performed quite well in the training camp in the previous few days. Moreover, from the summer league, Shepard's defense has indeed improved, and his size seems to have been bigger through training. If he starts, the Rockets' lineup will be very balanced. The backcourt has Shepard and Amen Thompson, their forwards include Durant and Smith Jr., and Shin Kyung in the interior. The advantage of Shepard's starting lineup is that it can improve the Rockets' offensive and defensive conversion speed, and improve the three-point shooting ability and passing ability of the outside line. The Rockets will form a two-point guard lineup of Amen and Shepard. Even if Van Vreet is absent, the Rockets will have two point guards playing at the same time. In addition to Shin Kyung and Durant who can pass the ball, there are four passers in the starting five-man team. Even if Van Vreet doesn't play, the Rockets' overall passing ability and field control ability will be much better than last season. Therefore, the 21-year-old freshman Shepard is the most likely player to start.