On January 14th, Beijing time, the Rockets won a game, but one of their top-salary stars was very unhappy. The whole team was having a meeting to celebrate, but he shrugged and walked back to the bench, feeling out of place.
The Rockets narrowly defeated the Grizzlies with Green's explosive performance of 42 points. This season, they have already defeated the Grizzlies three times, making them the Grizzlies' absolute nemesis. This victory can only be attributed to Green and Amon Thompson, who were undoubtedly the two biggest contributors. Green scored 42 points, while Amon contributed 19 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks. They are truly a perfect match.
However, during the Rockets' victory, there was someone who felt out of place, and that was another top-salary player on the team, Shen Jing, who has a contract worth 180 million. When the Rockets finally secured the win through consecutive free throws, Shen Jing was substituted off and continued to shrug as he walked back to the bench. Four of his teammates were in a meeting, but he was shrugging, which made him seem even more out of place.
At that time, Fan Qiudan gathered his teammates around him and held a meeting with Amon Thompson, Dillon Brooks, and Jalen Green. However, Shen Jing just shrugged and walked towards the bench without participating in the meeting. Later, when he saw Adams come on, he went to rest. It became even more absurd when Shen Jing stood with his hands on his hips at the sidelines, watching the team win without showing the expected joy.
With a five-year contract, Shen Jing was unhappy about not being able to play in the final moments. It's normal for him to feel upset, but how could he play so poorly? Green took 18 shots and scored 42 points, while Shen Jing took 17 shots and only scored 17 points. Does he think he deserves to be on the court? As a center, he only had 8 rebounds, fewer than Amon, and had 6 turnovers and 5 fouls, both of which were the highest on the team. A center with 6 turnovers is simply wasting possession. If Shen Jing gave Green 5 more possessions, Green could have scored 50 points in this game.
Moreover, it's obvious that Shen Jing is now targeting Green. After every poor performance, he directly allows the opposing team to double-team Green, using fake screens to seize the ball and force Green to pass it to him. In the last play, Green didn't even pass the ball after finishing his move; he attacked the basket against two defenders to take the lead. What use is Shen Jing at that moment?
He is such a selfish player, aiming to make the All-Star team, to grab the ball and score more points to pave the way for his All-Star career. That's why Shen Jing is now trying to snatch the ball from Green in various ways; his intentions are already clear as day, becoming more and more exposed, and his expression is no longer joyful. He's not playing for the win; he's playing for an All-Star spot and stats.
When he's on the court, the Rockets' defense is also the worst, which is why in critical moments, Green, with his top salary, can still fight hard, while Shen Jing has to be substituted off to watch the team win because he's useless on the court. The turning point for the Rockets' comeback was also when Shen Jing was taken off the court after committing his fifth foul, allowing Green to lead the team to victory. That's also why he seems unhappy despite the team's win, because if the Rockets really have to choose an All-Star, they can only choose Jalen Green, whose potential is compared to Jordan and whose lower limit is compared to Kobe, rather than Shen Jing, who only cares about stats and doesn't defend.