The lower limit is extremely high. The Rockets struggled to win 4 consecutive victories at home. Two starters were injured and the follow-up journey was unpredictable.

After losing two games in a row at the beginning, the Rockets quickly adjusted their status. Before the match against the Mavericks, the team had won three games in a row, raising its ranking from the bottom of the Western Conference to seventh place. During this wave of winning streak, the Rockets have the league's No. 1 offensive firepower. It is precisely because of such a hot state that in the latest team strength rankings, the Rockets have returned to the top five, ranking fourth in the league.

So before the game against the Mavericks, many people predicted that the Rockets would have another big victory. After all, without Irving this season, the Mavericks injured Anthony Davis, the core inside player, before the game. Lively II, the main rotation player of the team, also stopped due to injury. The team's lineup looked like a rebuilt team led by the new No. 1 pick Flagg.

However, after the game started, the situation was completely different from the pre-game prediction. The Rockets' starting forward Jabari Smith Jr. was absent due to an ankle sprain, which greatly affected the team's offensive and defensive ends. This season is Jia’s best season. So far, he has averaged 15 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. With Durant attracting firepower, Jia’s scoring efficiency on the offensive end has become more and more impressive, and his ability to assist defense in the paint is also the key to coach Uduka’s ability to use the top five lineups with confidence.

Fortunately, the Rockets still have Tali Eason, the "forward bandit", who can fill in the position of Xiaojia in time, but this has affected the Rockets' scoring and defense on the bench. At the same time, in the second half of the game, Okogie, who has replaced VanVleet as the starter in the last three games, collided with the opponent's player during a layup and then left the game directly. This allowed the Rockets to lose another firepower on the outside.

Although these players are missing, fortunately, the Rockets' three main players Amen, Shen Jing and Durant are still healthy, which gives the team the confidence to compete with any team. However, the Mavericks did a very thorough job of double-teaming Durant in this game. At the same time, Durant himself was not feeling well. He only hit 6 goals in 18 shots in the game and scored 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, but he also made 3 turnovers.

Due to the many unfavorable factors mentioned above, the Rockets naturally lost the fluency of the previous three games on the offensive end. At the same time, the Rockets team's free throw shooting experience was also very bad in this game. The team got 30 free throw opportunities in the game, but only made 20 goals, which put the Rockets into a complete slump.

On the other hand, the Mavericks, after losing their two main players Davis and Irving, successfully activated Flagg. Flagg showed a good shooting touch in the first quarter. He made 5 of 10 shots and scored 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. The team's striker PJ Washington put in an outstanding performance that he had not seen in a long time. He made 11 of 20 shots and scored 29 points and 12 rebounds, which completely made up for the lack of scoring caused by Davis' absence against the Mavericks.

Perhaps it was the different states of the two teams that gave the Mavericks a slight chance to win. With 3 minutes left in the game, the Mavericks even had a brief lead through Russell's free throw. However, the Rockets relied on Durant's two three-pointers and the team's solid defense to win this precious victory and continue their winning streak.

However, it is precisely because of this that people can see the depth of the Rockets' solid lineup. In the past few seasons, the Rockets may have surrendered early due to abnormal performance like this. However, this season they can rely on the hard work on the defensive end and the calm decision-making of the players at critical moments to win, allowing people to fully see that this team that aspires to the championship is already very good even at the lower limit.

However, with the injuries of Jamia and Okogie, as well as VanVleet and Fannie Smith currently on the injured list, the Rockets rotation will undergo a huge test. After the game against the Grizzlies, the Rockets will face the Spurs, who are in very hot shape this year. This is a huge challenge for their winning streak. However, as long as the team can find a way to win during this difficult period, when the injured come back, the ceiling of this Rockets team may be higher!