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The opening battle exploded! Second in history! The five towers of death that changed the trend!

11:48pm, 21 October 2025Basketball

According to reporters, the Rockets will use a new lineup in the new season's opening game against the Thunder:

Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., Shen Jing, and Adams.

This is a pretty scary lineup. Among the starting five, the shortest player is 2.01 meters tall. The other four are all around 2.11 meters tall. The total height of the starting five is 10.45 meters. It is no exaggeration to say that this is almost a moving wall.

For Uduka, this decision was quite unexpected. Since VanVleet missed the opening game due to injury, coach Udoka did not force the choice of a backup point guard to start the game. Instead, he went directly in the opposite direction and put together a lineup of all long-armed monsters, which gave the champion Thunder enough respect.

Rockets reporter Vanessa Richardson broke the news:

"If the opponent's advantage is height, then I will use a taller lineup to suppress him. The Rockets' lineup has an average wingspan of more than 2.15 meters. Durant and Adams It reached a terrifying 2.26 meters. Imagine, when these five people stand in the penalty area with arms spread out, how can the Thunder defender break through? "

As a strong reinforcement during the offseason, Durant also made it public immediately. Explained the intention of coach Uduka:

"We can use our height and body shape to crush others. Although we will suffer disadvantages when facing small lineups that open up space, we have more advantages. We can block the basket, win offensive rebounds, and promote fast breaks and play with speed."

This bold attempt to borrow the Rockets was not a spur of the moment. Although the small ball system is still quite mainstream, judging from the championship teams in recent years, the NBA's tactical trend has begun to change. In the past ten years, the Warriors' three-pointers, Rockets Magic Ball, and Green Army's space system have all promoted the evolution of small ball lineups to a great extent.

But now, it seems that the small ball era has begun to ebb. The reason behind it is not difficult to explain. Although the small ball lineup has offensive advantages, once it reaches the high-intensity playoffs, the disadvantages of the small ball lineup in rebounding, interior defense, and confrontation consumption are too obvious.

Referring to last season's championship Thunder, although Alexander is the core, it must be admitted that the advantage of Holmgren + Harten's inside twin-tower combination is more obvious; looking further ahead, the Nuggets were also based on about Kitchen aspired to win the championship, and the Timberwolves' twin-tower team once made it difficult for the Nuggets to deal with. Even among the newly promoted young teams, the Cavaliers' Mobley + Allen, and the Pacers' Turner + Siakam, these teams have gained many advantages in big players.

Now, it seems that the advantage is going to be the Rockets' turn.

As the representative of the ultimate magic ball, the Rockets in the new era seem to be heading towards another trend. Of course, this set of five lineups is not just about height advantage. From the perspective of lineup compatibility, this set of five lineups should also be Uduka's carefully considered choice:

Amen Thompson is 2.01 meters tall. Although he is tall, his speed advantage is obviously amazing. The core engine of this five-major lineup is the best candidate to tear apart the external defense at this stage; then there are the 2.11-meter Durant and the 2.11-meter Smith. As the new and old scoring machines, they have the ability to open up space and hold the ball in singles. This double-forward lineup also has many operational opportunities.

Finally, there is the inside position in the frontcourt. The 2.11-meter Shen Jing partners with the 2.11-meter Adams. The former is an excellent center for supporting passes, while the latter is a human shield inside, a blue-collar worker who does all the dirty work.

On the surface, this five-man lineup looks both traditional and modern. Some can score, some can defend, some can organize, and everyone can rebound. It seems to be comprehensive enough, but how to integrate the two still needs to be verified in the regular season.

Regarding the Rockets' operation, the outside world has mixed reviews. Some people praise the Rockets for daring to go against the trend; but some fans are worried that this set of five major lineups will be dragged into a marathon by the Thunder?

It is not difficult to understand such concerns. The risk of the Rockets' operation is quite high; the biggest shortcoming of the five major lineups is that the point guard is weakened, which may hinder the outside shooting. Facing a team with a fast pace and strong defensive transition like the Thunder, if the beat is a little slower, the opponent's three-point rain may extinguish the hope of victory.

From Uduka's perspective, he is naturally prepared. To quote his interview remarks:

"We have to play Rockets-style basketball and win the game by relying on defense and rebounding."

This is also the confidence he has in setting up the five major lineups. Last season, the Rockets ranked first in the league in offensive rebounds. This link is enough to help them gain an advantage in competing for second offensive opportunities. This is likely to be the key to the Rockets' victory.

It is worth mentioning that according to statistics from "Basketball Network", the record for the highest starting lineup in NBA history comes from the Mavericks in 1999. The total height of the starting five tigers reached 10.49 meters. The cumulative height of the Rockets' five tiger lineups is 10.45 meters, which is only 0.04 meters away from breaking the historical record.

Generally speaking, Uduka's bet this time is also a tactical attempt to a certain extent. In this fast-paced era where rhythm is paramount and space is priority, they are trying to regain their advantage with height and intensity of confrontation. If this lineup can win the game, it is likely to lead a new trend;

But if they lose the game, this bold reform does not rule out the Rockets facing external public opinion. However, this seems to be the ambition of Uduka and the Rockets. Even if they are questioned, they still need some breakthroughs. This may be the capital confidence they can have to compete for the championship in the new season.

Instead of looking back at history, it is better to create history.

Perhaps, this is the reason why Uduka dares to swim upstream.

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