Don't look at Tari Ethan in the two games of Rockets , but it has to be said that the Rockets may not pay much attention to Ethan. Silas said after the first game that the Rockets did not specifically formulate tactics for Ethan. After the second game of Raptors , the Rockets' "acting coach" Lucas, the Rockets, also said that the Rockets did not specifically arrange any tactics for Ethan.
In other words, in the eyes of Silas and Lucas, although Ethan of the Rockets is outstanding, he is not the most trustworthy player of the Rockets at this stage. The Rockets' goal for the new season is naturally to build Jaylen Green, Porter Jr. and Shin Kyung into first-class starters. Ethan's priority may be lower. After all, he is just a rookie player, just 21 years old.
Originally, according to Ethan's performance in two games of 45 points and 18 rebounds, the Rockets should at least give Ethan a starting position to try it out. After all, in the second game against the Raptors, Rockets' double strikers Smith and Gordon did not appear, and Shin Kyung also had a quit because he had to go to the dentist. Ethan is a versatile player, whether it is a power forward, a small forward, or a center position, but the Rockets did not give him a starting position.
In the second game, Rockets coach Lucas left the starting front position for Tate, who was returning, and left the starting front position for Martin Jr. We can understand that Tate starts, after all, he has always been the Rockets' forward starter last season; but isn't it a bit redundant to mention Martin Jr. to the starting power forward position? After all, Martin Jr. has said before that he wants to leave the Rockets and does not want to participate in the team competition. He took the initiative to make a request to the Rockets management, hoping that the Rockets could send him away and change him to continue his career.
Even some sources predict that the Rockets and Martin Jr. have ended their fate and may send Martin Jr. away before the preseason. But now two games have been played in the preseason. Not only did Martin Jr. not only did he not leave, he even "opened low and closed high", turning from a substitute player to the main power forward of the Rockets, which really made the predictions of these sources fail.
2 games, Martin Jr.'s data is: he played against the Spurs for 23 minutes and scored 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks and 1 steal; he started against the Raptors for 27 minutes, scoring 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. After two games, Martin Jr.'s playing time totaled 50 minutes, with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 assists.
Compared to Ethan and Garuba, the Rockets seem to trust Martin Jr. After all, he has played for the Rockets for 2 years. Although Martin Jr. voluntarily asked to leave the team, judging from the way the Rockets use him, it is obvious that the Rockets do not want to let Martin Jr. go away, otherwise they would not give Martin Jr. so much playing time in the precious preseason, nor would they let him play such an important role.
Since the Rockets have used their actions to "show goodwill" about Martin Jr., is it necessary to leave again after Martin Jr. who has received a position guarantee in the new season? Obviously, Martin Jr. can grow better in the Rockets' new army with young players. This person who most hopes to leave the team may change his mind and stay at the team with peace of mind through these two preseason games.
