The lineup is evenly matched, and the Thunder s home awards are exciting KD

The showdown of the opening match of the new NBA season has been released. The new champion Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Houston Rockets at home to kick off the new season. The Thunder retained Jewish and Homgren with two maximum salary contracts, retaining the championship team intact. The Rockets traded Durant, renewed Smith Jr., Adams and VanVleet, and signed Finney Smith, Capela and Okogie. A series of operations can be regarded as the biggest winners in the league. The competition between the two sides may be a preview of the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder, who just won the championship, will usher in their championship ring award ceremony at home. As a very young team, the Thunder's future is very promising. The new three giants of Alexander + Jewway + Homgren did not repeat the mistakes of their predecessors. They led the team to win the championship for the first time, which made Durant, who was standing opposite at that time, feel a little emotional. The Rockets' signings this summer also indicate that they will launch an attack on the championship in the new season, and the opening match is undoubtedly a thrill and challenge for the Houston generals. Last season, the team lost to the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. After targeted reinforcement, they urgently needed to use a valuable victory to prove themselves and improve the morale of the entire team. Therefore, the opening match became the first must-win battle for the Rockets in the new season.

From the perspective of counterattack, Alexander defeated Van Vleet completely. The two have obvious gaps in terms of static talent and strength. Alexander is already a super giant at the MVP level and can easily beat Van Jordan on the offensive end.

Amen and Dort were tied in actual combat. In this game, they will bear more burdens to defend the opponent's number one scorer. Dort's outside shot on the offensive end is more stable, and Amen has stronger impact. Some people may think that Amen's talent and potential are better, but in terms of the game between the two teams, the functional attribute positioning of the two is consistent. Durant is naturally better in the small forward position. His indiscriminate singles scoring ability is the best in the league. Although Javi also performed well in the playoffs, there is still some gap compared to Durant, who is among the top ten in history.

Power forward second-place Homgren is also full of highlights against Smith Jr. Both of them are tall and long. However, in terms of tactical status and abilities, Homgren, who just signed the maximum salary, is still better than Smith Jr. Homgren's static talent and offensive flexibility are more diverse. With the arrival of Durant, Smith's positioning as a 3D space power forward will become very clear. In the center position, Shin Kyung and Hatten can be regarded as a showdown between "Mao and Shin". As the team's inside offensive core, Shin Kyung has rich scoring methods. He was also selected as the Western Conference All-Star last season. His overall strength is still stronger than that of the blue-collar Harten. The Rockets have obvious advantages in the bench depth. This summer, the team's signings in the inside and forward line have made them the team with the most reserves of frontcourt players in the league. Veterans Jeff Green, Tate, and Capela can only be players in the third lineup. Except for Caruso, the Thunder's rotation is all young players who are independent draft picks, and they are not superior to the Rockets in all aspects.

Overall, the match between the starting and the substitute is evenly matched, and the on-the-spot offensive performance and defensive sustainability will be the key factors that determine the outcome of the game. The Thunder's first home court after winning the championship naturally hopes to start with a victory, while the Rockets need to win this opening game to revitalize the team's confidence. Let's wait and see who will win if the two strong men meet!