The Rockets "White Demon" becomes "White Play"? It has not been successful in 2 years. 2 hidden dangers make Houston unbearable

The big deal of the Houston Rockets after the start of the offseason gave the team hope to win the championship in the new season, and the Rockets' lineup construction has also received praise from many aspects. In the Rockets' operations, Whitmore was only exchanged for two second-round draft picks, which showed no value at all. For the Rockets, although Whitmore was once favored by the team, two years have passed, and this player, known as the "White Devil", has never performed satisfactorily to the Rockets.

As the Rockets selected the 20th pick in the first round of 2023, Whitmore's future prospects were once very optimistic. If it weren't for Whitmore's poor performance during the trial, the Rockets wouldn't have had much chance to get him. Although he was not selected in the top pick, it also made Whitmore more motivated. He averaged 20.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 3 steals in the subsequent summer league, and won the Summer League MVP. After that, Whitmore even said that he wanted to win the Best Rookie Player Trophy.

But when Whitmore really played in the regular season for the Rockets, he failed to gain the trust of the team. After all, for the Rockets, Whitmore's offensive talent is not enough to make it competitive. In terms of impact, Green is better than him, and in terms of shooting, even Shin Kyung's three-point shooting percentage is more stable than him. In addition, Whitmore's cooperation with his teammates has gradually become unfamiliar with his teammates due to too little playing time, so the Rockets' usage rate of him can only decline again and again.

Since Uduka became the head coach of the Rockets, the Rockets have rejuvenated under his leadership. The most important part of Uduka's tactical system is defense, which is not what Whitmore is good at. Among the same type of players, Whitmore is a strong player, which also causes his movement speed on the court to be slow and he cannot keep up with the Rockets' high-speed rotation defense at all. Once facing a player who is stronger than himself, Whitmore does not have the ability to confront and will always be forced to be eaten by his opponent. This is one of the reasons why the Rockets never send it on the field, because Whitmore really can't help.

Whitmore's impact after holding the ball is indeed good, but once the opponent increases the defensive intensity and double-teams and presses on the defensive end, Whitmore rarely continues this performance. Once Whitmore can only shoot from the outside, his unstable shooting percentage will even drag down the Rockets' offensive efficiency. What's more, the Rockets' outside line does not lack stable pitchers and those who help the team solve problems at critical moments. Whitmore will naturally not occupy too high a position in Uduka's heart.

After getting Durant, the Rockets naturally set their targets to hit the championship in the new season. Even if Whitmore can provide a certain impact, from a tactical perspective, Whitmore can no longer provide truly effective help to the Rockets. What's more, in the past two years, Uduka has repeatedly urged Whitmore to focus on team tactics, but after playing, Whitmore still does his own way, destroying the Rockets' tactical rotation and becoming the fuse for his departure.

For Whitmore, after coming to the Wizards, he may have hope to show his full offensive talent, but from the perspective of future development, leaving the Rockets will still be greatly affected. The already rising Rockets will not let Whitmore destroy the team's balance, and Whitmore should also think carefully about how to change in the future.