Lost by 1 point! 21 turnovers! The five major lineups were brought back to their original shape! There are still problems in the championship!

In the opening game, double overtime, the Rockets fought until the last minute and narrowly lost to the defending champion Thunder by one point, 124-125.

Although it is just the beginning of the new season, judging from the content of the game, this is completely a unilateral disaster movie staged by the Rockets in the absence of the point guard.

Since VanVleet was retired for the season, the Rockets' backcourt has completely lost its steering wheel. They made as many as 21 turnovers in the whole game, while their opponent, the Thunder, only made 11 mistakes in the whole game. With such a gap, it is definitely a delusion to win.

The problem behind this data gap is also obvious. No one in the Rockets' back line can control the ball, and no one can stabilize the rhythm of the game.

For Van Fleet, this has always been a big point of controversy. Although his performance last season was not perfect, some said he wasted shots, and some said he was slowing down the rhythm, but when he is not on the court, you will find that he is the only person in the Rockets who can make the game look less chaotic.

Judging from this game, his absence directly plunged the Rockets into a melee.

Especially in the third quarter, the Thunder launched a 10-0 offensive wave. On the other hand, every offense of the Rockets was like gambling on touch, either being intercepted or passing errors. Compared with when VanVleet was on the court, although the offensive ability was limited, at least the team knew how to take the next step; when he was not on the court, everyone on the court was playing their own role. It was obviously a talented young team, but it became like a freshman team.

Before the start of the season, Amen Thompson and Sheppard were most people's pre-selected backcourt hopes, but just one opening game was enough to expose their green sides.

Judging from the statistics, Amen is quite qualified, with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, and has made stable contributions in multiple statistics. The key problem is that at this stage, he does not know how to control the rhythm of the game. He is accustomed to rushing in by himself. The four mistakes may not seem like many, but each of them almost happened at a critical time. Every mistake greatly reduced the Rockets' morale.

As for Shepard, his problem is also obvious. The 21-year-old is still too childish. He has good ideas for passing the ball on the field, but he does not have enough confrontational strength and his control of the rhythm is unstable. He only scored 9 points in the game, with 4 assists and 2 turnovers. From the data point of view, he did work hard enough, but when the intensity of the confrontation increased, it was difficult for him to use his abilities.

At least at this stage, Shepard is more like a shooting guard than a first-choice point guard.

Looking at the highlights of this game, the first one to bear the brunt is Shen Jing.

He played a career masterpiece in the opening game, scoring 39 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Due to the team's lack of defenders, he was even required to dribble the ball from the backcourt many times during the game, taking on most of the organizational tasks. Although the big man has the ability to organize and connect, these things should not have been done by him.

Once Shen Jing attacks with the ball in large numbers, the threat from the inside of the Rockets will be greatly reduced. The Thunder's defense is also very aware of his ball control task. The whole court is constantly double-teaming and even starting to press at the midline position, but no one in the Rockets can respond. This link directly causes Shen Jing's physical strength to be exhausted, not to mention the defense.

Then there is Durant, who was really strong enough in this game, contributing 23 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Although the personal data is excellent, most of the problems are solved by personal ability. Without a point guard to feed him the ball, the Thunder's defense can boldly target him. Once he wanted to pass the ball, the opponent immediately double-teamed to block the passing route. Durant could only hold the ball while looking for someone to respond, but he looked around and couldn't find any helpers.

In addition to players, game data does not lie.

The turnover data with a double-digit gap in the entire game is equivalent to the Rockets giving the ball to the opponent 11 times, and the Thunder basically seized these key offensive opportunities.

Especially in overtime, the Rockets failed in many consecutive attacks. This is where the Thunder's sophistication lies, and its success lies in being stable enough. As the defending champion team, facing the Rockets' newly formed youth army, the gap is reflected in these details.

Of course, the Rockets' offense was not without highlights. Several counterattacks and fast breaks under tough defense, and several pick-and-roll cooperation between Shen Jing and Durant were all very good. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Once the game fell into a positional battle, without Van Fleet's organizational ability, the team's tactical system almost collapsed.

At this stage, the Rockets' problem is already obvious, that is, the point guard position is vacant, leading to organizational paralysis. Compared with the team's strength, these problems are more difficult problems, and they cannot be solved by just shouting slogans or working together with young people. Facing the increasingly fierce competitive environment, no one will wait for you to grow slowly.

From a long-term perspective, the Rockets may still need to solve some problems at the point guard. Whether it is signing a veteran or picking up someone who can control the court from the free market, these may be things that the Rockets need to consider in the future. Otherwise, if the subsequent run-in is not appropriate, the talents of Durant and Shen Jing will be wasted.

Of course, it is undeniable that the Rockets still have unlimited possibilities in the future, but before that, these young people still need to learn how to maintain stability. The talent of young players is a treasure, but the gems still need to be polished.

Basketball is so cruel sometimes. No matter how much you score, if you can't control the game, it's still very difficult to win.

This is also the most profound lesson the Rockets' opening game brought to the fans.