"I know, the media outside now look down on us. They think we lost two games in a row. They think we lost CP3. They think we have lost this series, but is that really the case?" After Kassel apologized, he began to motivate the players.

"No! It's not the case at all! They forgot that we are the teams with home advantage, they forgot that the next game will be played in Staples Center, they forgot that we just lost CP3, we have Blake, Don, DeAndrew, Corey, and all of you!" Kassel said with emotion becoming excited.

The team members also had an expression of excitement.

"Yes, we lost two games, but we lost 1 point in one game and 8 points in the other game, but the Rockets lost to us almost every game is 30 points. What does this mean? It means that we have the strength to defeat our opponents. Even if CP3 cannot play, we can do the same!" Kassel became more and more excited as he spoke.

The team members also felt a burst of passion rising.

"Yes, James has recovered, yes, Michael is a surprise, but this is not them, this is not the normal performance of the Houstonians. Our performance is much more stable than them. This is a series, not a single-game knockout match, so we, must be us, will be the final winners."

"Coach, I will definitely defend James and do my best." Brewer said with a ruthless look on his face at this time.

"Coach, I will definitely hold Michael down. This is what I have to do." Josh Smith also said clenched his fists.

Kassel nodded and continued, "I believe most of you know the word "The Battle of Tianwang Mountain". It doesn't need to be said more. All we have to do is win this game. At our home court, for more than 20,000 fans who came to the scene! For the injured CP3! For ourselves!"

He said as he reached his hand in front of the team members.

"For cp3!" Tang Shuai shouted and put his hand on Kassel.

"For the fans!" Griffin also put his hand on.

"For ourselves, for the honor of Los Angeles!" Smith shouted.

The team members put their hands one by one, and Billups also placed their hands on the top in the end.

"For victory!" Kassel glanced at the player and shouted.

"For victory!" The players finally shouted in unison.

On April 26, US time, at Staples Center, the Clippers faced the challenge of the Houston Rockets at home. The two sides tied 2-2 in the previous series, which will be the battle of the King of Heaven in the series.

Staples Center Arena is full, even though the entire outside public opinion now looks down on the Clippers. But fans always keep on leaving the home team.

The team's boss Ballmer appeared in the stadium. As a loyal basketball fan, he obviously would not be absent in such an occasion.

Two familiar figures appeared in the stadium at the same time, Iverson and Kobe, the two former opponents, even appeared on the sidelines at the same time. This was the first time Kobe appeared in public since he retired. The two were talking and laughing, talking about their life after retirement, or talking about some happy things. The communication between the two was always accompanied by laughter and joy.

Of course, as long as you know a little, you will know what the reason for these two celebrities to attend.

In fact, in an inconspicuous corner of the stands, there was a girl in a purple dress with a red face and her eyes were motionless at the Clippers' halftime.

Just like the last time he watched the All-Star Game, Zhu Shan sat silently in the corner again, with only Tang Shuai's figure in his eyes.

In the Clippers' halftime, Tang Shuai was in the final warm-up. Although the outside world was not optimistic about the Clippers, he was full of confidence in winning after winning Ai's Osover bag and Alstom's Street Football King dribble bag.

"beep!"

The time for warm-up is coming soon, and the two sides are about to start the battle for the Battle of Tianwang Mountain. The players are starting to play one after another.

Although Paul was injured and could not beat him, he still appeared on the sidelines in a suit and tie. He was about to play now. He pulled Tang Shuai over and said softly: "The rhythm must be stable and the position should be pressed."

The Rockets are always good at disrupting battles. A large part of the reason why the Clippers lost in the fourth game was that Smith then played fast with the Rockets and finally lost the game in a daze.

Although Paul could not play, his judgment on the situation was quite accurate.

After Tang Shuai nodded, he followed the other players to the field.

Before the competition began, there was already a lot of cheers at the scene.

"e.ill.rok.temptation!" Someone shouted, and the audience sang in unison.

The members of the Clippers turned their heads unconsciously.

This soundtrack that appeared when fighting the Warriors once again echoed in the Staples Center Arena, and before the game began, this may be the first time in the history of the NBA.

The last time this song appeared, the Clippers were not favored by the team, but they finally successfully sniped the Warriors with their strength. This time, although their opponents were different, the same thing was that they were still the ones who were despised.

We will shock you.

Even if Paul is reimbursed for the season due to injury, even if Griffin plays with injury, even if he loses two games in a row, as the song says, we will shock you, once again.

Tang Shuai reached out and clenched his fists, then raised his hand high into the air.

A burst of cheers suddenly broke out at the scene.

The game between the two sides officially started!

The Rockets' lineup is the same as the previous two games, and they still play in the double towers, and the fourth position is Capela.

The Clippers made adjustments. Smith returned to the substitute in the last game, and Tang Shuai took over the team's point guard. Brewer mentioned the position of the shooting guard. Pierce became the team's starting small forward, with only the inside line still Griffin and Jordan Jr.

Jordan Jr. squeezed away Howard and pushed the ball back to the Clippers' half, and the Clippers got the chance to take the lead in attacking.

The cheers from the fans at the scene were deafening.

Shuai Tang pushed the ball to the frontcourt and was not in a hurry to attack. After having the weakened exclusive dribbling bag of the King of Street Football, unless the opponent is standing with a steal expert of Leonard or Westbrook, he is really not worried about losing the ball.

It is precisely because of the existence of this skill package that he can feel at ease to observe the Rockets' defensive formation.

He reached out and made a "4" gesture.

This tactic already existed in the era of Reeves. Reeves couldn't handle work and emotions well, but there was no doubt about coaching ability. These original conventional tactics were enough.

After Tang Shuai made the tactical gestures, the Clippers' tactics quickly started fighting.

Brewer ran to the inside of the three-point line and made a pick-and-roll. Tang Shuai took advantage of the pick-and-roll and broke through to the inside.

After Paul was absent, no matter where Tang Shuai played, he was the Clippers' offensive point on the outside. His empty cut immediately attracted the Rockets' defensive attention. In addition to Ariza after the switch to defense, even Howard, who was inside, also walked around Jordan in advance and seized the opportunity to prepare for double-teams.

Tang Shuai was very surprised. After having the OSOver breakthrough package, he was even likely to score directly.

It was his threat that when he was about to reach the basket, the entire Rockets were suppressed and the defense was contracted.

Tang Shuai did not choose to attack directly, but just made a layup posture. He flicked a shot and started running out of the three-point line on the other side. During the running, he did not forget to make the move to prepare to return to his layup at any time.

It's like telling you. I may go back to my layup at any time.

It is precisely because of this potential threat that the Rockets' shrinking defense has never dared to expand.

When Paul saw this scene on the sidelines, he felt a hint of excitement in his eyes. The key point of whether this tactical execution was successful was whether the opponent's defense could be reduced through breakthroughs. What Tang Shuai did on the court is quite perfect, even better than what he did.

In fact, it is normal for Paul to feel this way. After Tang Shuai has Iverson's exclusive OSover package, he is almost the same as Iverson in terms of breakthrough ability. Although he has not shown this strength yet, this threat is real, which forces the Rockets to have to defend and shrink. In comparison, Paul's breakthrough killing power is much worse than Iverson. Paul's threat comes more from his pass after breakthrough, which are two different concepts.

Tang Shuai started to break through from the right three-point line to the inside, broke into the inside and returned to the outside of the left three-point line. It was not until this time that the Rockets' defense was ready to expand again.

However, in fact, just as Tang Shuai entered and exited, the other players of the Clippers did not stand up. They had all completed their tactical running positions.

Jordan Jr. gave Griffin a pick-and-roll. Griffin had already reached the free throw line to prepare to receive the ball and shoot. On the other side, Pierce also took advantage of Brewer's pick-and-roll to go outside the 45-degree three-point line of the right wing where Tang Shuai was standing.

When Tang Shuai was almost at the three-point line, he glanced at him and when Brewer gave Pierce a pick-and-roll, he directly hit the earth and gave Pierce on the outside.

After measuring in advance, when Pierce ran to the position, Tang Shuai's pass also arrived.

At this time, the Rockets' defensive focus was all on the inside, and there was no time to save.

Pierce even had time to adjust his attack posture, and then he used his most accustomed to hitting three-pointers.

Pierce is nicknamed "Truth", and his three-point shooting ability is seriously underestimated. Although his shooting percentage is not too high, his key three-pointers and open three-pointers are very lethal.

Howard stuck Jordan Jr., and Capela, who was shrinking, was ready to grab the rebound.

but.

The basketball passed through the air and fell straight towards the basket.

In the attention of the audience, the basketball fell accurately towards the net bag like a flame tail.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, Pierce made a three-pointer!

"Perfect tactical execution! Textbook-like tactical running!" The commentator Mike Smith couldn't help but exclaim.

There was a lot of cheers at the scene.

After scoring the goal, Pierce raised his right hand high and made a three-pointer posture, but his face was extremely calm.

In a key battle like Tianwang Mountain, Kassel chose to believe him, and what he is doing now only proves that Kassel's judgment is correct.

“dene color!”

Pierce's goal instantly mobilized the atmosphere at home. Without DJ's drive, the fans at the scene began to cheer for the home team in unison.

Compared to the Clippers' tactics, the Rockets had to play much easier. After Harden took the ball to the frontcourt, he transitioned the ball to Beverly, then ran around the baseline. After successfully using the off-ball pick-and-roll to switch the defender from Brewer to Pierce, he immediately asked Beverly to get the ball back.

Just after Harden asked, the Rockets players had already opened.

Harden singles against Pierce.

In the first round, the Clippers did not mean to double-team.

As soon as Harden saw this, he dribbled the ball and chose to break through.

Harden's three-pronged attack, breaking through is the most lethal link, and his speed is not weak. It is very difficult for Pierce to keep up with his footsteps.

Harden also knew that Jordan Jr. Jr. had excellent assisting defense skills, so he broke through two steps and did not go in. Instead, he took advantage of Pierce's slow pace and directly chose a mid-range jump shot with an emergency stop.

With a "swish", the two-pointer hit a steadily.

Kassel on the sidelines didn't say anything, just dragged his chin and thought. Pierce was 38 years old after all. Although his offensive ability was still there, he was indeed a little bit willing but not capable in defense.

Tang Shuai still did not choose to attack by himself. He knew that Pierce and Griffin had limited playing time. He also knew that his breakthrough could attract double teams, so he focused more on the offensive organization. It was somewhat similar to the first round. The Clippers' offensive focus focused on Pierce and Griffin.
To be continued...