In the focus battle between the second and third players in the Western Conference, the Rockets lost to the Nuggets 109-112.

Durant was double-teamed by the Nuggets in a pick-and-roll. Shepard and Smith tried their best, but Shen Jing was blown away by Teacher Yue.

Shen Jing’s main problem is his lack of confidence in facing the basket. He scored only 14 points on 6-for-16. He hesitated to shoot after catching the ball at the elbow and in the high post, and relied heavily on sitting with his buttocks out. On the other hand, Teacher Yue caught the ball and shot while facing the basket without any hesitation. Teacher Yue scored only a handful of points in this campaign, and shot directly through Shen Jing.

Neptune, Shen Jing, and Capela all had a hard time defending against Yoo-sensei alone. Yoe-sensei avoided the situation and went to the penalty area to fight hand-to-hand. The three threats from the top of the arc started at the basket. Shen Jing tried to defend, but Yoe-sensei broke through with the ball and scored a steady layup. There is actually nothing wrong with the Rockets' three major centers choosing to retreat when the Rockets' three centers play alone, but Teacher Yue delivered an MVP-level performance in long-distance shooting. 7 of the 11 sports goals in the game were outside the three-second zone.

The gap between the Rockets and the Nuggets couldn't be more obvious. Shen Jing is still too immature in front of Teacher Yue. Durant can't take advantage of Watson and Spencer Jones, who are energetic, running and jumping. Murray even gets blocked in post-up singles when he turns over for a jumper, and he is double-teamed when looking for Teacher Yue in pick-and-roll.

When Shen Jing and Durant were blocked in their matchups, the Rockets actually used pick-and-roll calls to attract double-teams and lasted the entire game 4-on-3. Xiao Xie and Xiao Jia performed shooting far beyond expectations, but the Nuggets didn't panic at all. After all, the Rockets' two aces were tightly controlled.

The Nuggets also made Braun and Gordon two starters. The Rockets are very tenacious, but there is still a gap between top teams like the Thunder and Nuggets.

Cameron Johnson committed two early offenses in 2 minutes and 18 seconds of the game, and Gordon retired from injury after playing 3 minutes and 21 seconds. The Nuggets were forced to adjust their lineup, and the game turned into a retro melee basketball stranglehold early on.

Gordon's early injury injury directly changed the rhythm of the game. Since the Rockets, Sea King, Shen Jing, Smith and Durant, four 211cm players were on the court, the Nuggets replaced Valanciunas with a twin-tower lineup in order to avoid high losses.

Valanciunas + Jokic + Watson + Hardaway Jr. + Brown

Sea Kings / Capela + Shen Jing + Smith + Durant + Amen

Two sets of twin towers + Watson and Amen are two muscular forwards with poor three-pointers. You can imagine the constipation of the space on the court. Retro hand-to-hand strangulation battles, dreaming back to the 90s and 00s.

When Neptune/Capella + Amen were on the court, there were always two missed baskets. The Nuggets boldly left Amen open, shrank their defense, and blocked the three-second zone. The Nuggets did not suffer any loss in single defense at any position. Watson mainly defended Durant, Valanciunas and the Sea Kings/Capella fought hand-to-hand. Teacher Yue personally restricted Shen Jing from holding the ball and facing the basket in singles. The space problem and point guard problem of the Rockets' five lineups were clearly targeted by the Nuggets.

The Rockets, who have the league's highest offensive efficiency, only scored 12 points in the first quarter. Facts have also proved that it is not feasible to play with the five major players for a long time against an opponent of the Nuggets' level.

Uduka made excellent on-the-spot adjustments. In the second quarter, he gave up the top five and switched to a space lineup with a single center on the field. Sheppard helped the Rockets come back to life.

When taking a break with the teacher, the Rockets chose to double-team Murray during the rotation period to encourage the other Nuggets to handle the ball; the Nuggets chose to let Valanciunas retreat from the pick-and-roll, but did not look down on Shepard and did not think that Shepard's single-block shooting could kill people.

The Rockets used Shepard to control the pick-and-roll at position 1/5, specializing in Valanciunas' retreat and his slow defensive lateral movement. Shepard dominated the Rockets offense with the help of single-block screens for mid-range shots and breakthrough basket attacks, catching the Nuggets off guard.

Due to Shepard's outstanding performance, Udoka directly gave up the five major lineups and put in the space lineup of Shenjing + Smith + Durant + Amen + Shepard. In addition to Amen, both have three-point ability. Durant + Shen Jing took over the offense to attract double teams. Shepard continued to punish the Nuggets with three-pointers without the ball.

Shepard combined holding and off the ball, scoring 20 points on 8 of 11 shots and 4 of 6 three-pointers in the first half, single-handedly leading the team to complete the lead. It is no exaggeration to say that Sheppard's superb performance in the first half was completely outside the game plan of the coaches of both teams, and he played the role of a surprise player that influenced the situation.

The key to the Rockets' positional battle is actually space. Durant and Shen Jing both have one-on-one abilities and really need offensive space. When Amen was left open and had to ambush in the ghost position under the basket, the three Rockets flankers must have shooting threats, and Shepard became the variable in the first half.

Shepard replaced the Sea Kings as the starter in the second half. Both teams were single-center lineups, and the peak showdown was late but arrived.

Shen Jing and Jokic had a head-to-head dialogue. Jokic scored 28 points in three quarters, while Shen Jing scored only 8 points on 3 of 10 in three quarters. Teacher Yue can beat Shen Jing, but Shen Jing cannot hit Teacher Yue. This is also the most intuitive difference between the two teams using a single center lineup.

Uduka made a decisive adjustment. The Sea King replaced Shen Jing, and the offensive axis was handed over to Durant. Durant + the Sea Kings picked and rolled to attract teachers. The Nuggets chose to flank Durant. The rest of the Rockets dealt with 4-on-3. Shepard, Smith, and Okogie teamed up to rain open three-pointers.

The Nuggets formed a shooting group of Cameron Johnson + Murray + Hardaway Jr. + Spencer Jones around Teacher Yue. Murray + Jokic's signature duo took over, and Teacher Yue led the offense with unsolvable face-to-basket shooting.

At the moment of life and death, the Nuggets resolutely double-teamed Durant in the pick-and-roll. Shen Jing made continuous mistakes in handling the ball, made mistakes, and was blocked for a layup; Murray + Jokic switched to a pick-and-roll in the middle, and the game ended steadily.

The Rockets executed the game plan most of the time, and there was nothing they could do about Shen Jing's matchup being blown up. After all, he was only 23 years old and still in the growth stage. The 30-year-old teacher Yue has won 3 MVPs and FMVPs. There is indeed a gap between the two in terms of strength and status.

Durant only scored 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 shot. The lack of sound at this point also hurts the Rockets.. The two core players of the Rockets were all misfired. Murray had 26 points and 10 assists, and Jokic had 34 points and 9 assists. Dual-core gave dual-core on-site teaching.

The Nuggets made two starters, and they are in the same league as the Thunder; Shen Jing and Durant's performance cannot be worse than this. Ethan's absence has an impact on the defense and shooting during the rotation period. Fortunately, the Rockets still have room to get better. One game is not the end of the world, and it is meaningful to learn lessons.

The Rockets’ biggest gain from this battle is undoubtedly Shepard. If he is given enough ball rights, the Rockets can obviously become better!