Chapter 124 Underestimate the enemy? Mark Jackson does not agree!
Yao Ming relaxed his arms and won the challenge easily.
Rockets attack first!
Jeremy Lin advanced with the ball and passed half court.
What greeted him was none other than two consecutive MVP winners - Steve Nash.
Nash, born in 1974, is 36 years old this year.
As he grew older, his athletic ability gradually declined.
This is not the most difficult thing to handle. The key is that Nash's physical fitness was mediocre to begin with, but he has become more "brittle" as he gets older.
Frequent injuries made it difficult for him to maintain his condition, and various statistics also declined very seriously.
As Nash declined, the Suns' record also plummeted.
From being a stable player in the top few in the Western Conference to falling into the lottery this year, this strong team that has been strong for many years seems to be "dwindling".
However, at least when Nash is healthy and playing, the Suns are still the offensive team that no one dares to underestimate!
In the first round, Shuhao, as a newcomer to the team, chose to hand the ball to the big brother in the team.
When he saw Yao Ming reaching a good position in the low post, he hit the ground and handed the ball to the inside.
After getting the ball, Dayao faced the young Robin Lopez. After several attempts, he easily hit the basket, turned around and scored the ball with a small hook.
2:0, the Rockets took the lead!
The fans of the home team at Toyota Center are very excited. They have become accustomed to the team winning this season, and today's game does not seem to be difficult.
But before they had time to cheer, the Suns had already launched a transition attack.
It turned out that Nash quickly reached the bottom line after Yao Ming scored.
After receiving the serve from his teammate, he quickly advanced.
Time seems to have not taken away Nash's speed. After a few steps, he is still the familiar "Son of the Wind"!
Fortunately, Shu Hao is also very fast, and he has made full preparations before the game and knows to always pay attention to Nash's movements.
Therefore, when the Suns were just starting to pick up speed on the 13th, Brother Hao quickly retreated and successfully stopped Nash from outside the three-point line.
However, other Rockets players were not fully prepared.
When Richardson cut in at high speed from the other side, no one stepped forward to stop him.
Nash flicked his wrist and led with the ball, helping Richardson get an open space in the penalty area.
It wasn't until the latter jumped up under the basket, ready to dunk, that Griffin arrived belatedly.
"Beep!"
The whistle sounded and Griffin's thug fouled.
Moreover, Richardson threw the ball away after being fouled.
The basketball hit the backboard and unexpectedly rolled into the net.
Two points scored, plus a penalty!
After scoring the goal, Richardson was also very excited and excitedly high-fived Nash who sent the pass.
With the extra free throw, the Suns successfully overtook the score.
In the VIP box, Shen Fei calmly watched everything happening on the field.
Judging from the state of today's opening, the main players of the Rockets clearly showed signs of underestimating the enemy.
But the Asian young people are not angry about this.
The season is very long, and you cannot ask the players to maintain a high degree of concentration at all times.
In the 82 regular season games, it is normal for star players' status to fluctuate.
More importantly, when such a situation occurs, whether the team can make adjustments and how long it will take.
............
During the transition between offense and defense, George received Shuhao's pass at a 45° angle.
Facing the defense of Grant Hill, a former genius player, he made several dazzling crotch dribbles and then directly took the shot.
"Duang!"
The ball hit the edge of the basket hard and bounced out of the frame.
Yao Ming jumped high and grabbed the offensive rebound.
But before he could pass the ball, he was double-teamed by the Suns.
Yao Ming is rich in experience. He raises the ball high to avoid being intercepted. At the same time, he keeps looking for teammates in all directions.
However, except for Jeremy Lin who was actively running, the other Rockets players were moving slowly, making it difficult for Yao to pass the ball.
The attack time passed quickly, and in desperation, Yao Ming could only use his left foot as the axis, turn around and take a forced shot.
The basketball bounced out of the frame again, and Robin Lopez collected the rebound.
At the same time, in the Rockets coaching booth on the sidelines, Mark Jackson's eyes were filled with anger, and he was obviously extremely dissatisfied with the enthusiasm of the players in this round.
The game continues.
In the next round, McGrady saw that his teammates' offense was frustrated, so he decided to rely on his personal ability to solve the problem.
Facing Richardson's defense, he made continuous tentative steps outside the three-point line.
Seeing that the other party was unmoved, McGrady directly chose to pull out.
He obviously took off from the same place, but was able to reach a very high position in a very short time. Faced with such a shot, Richardson could only watch the ball and sigh.
He even gave up taking off and just stretched out his hands symbolically.
The basketball left t-mac's fingertips and spun at high speed, drawing a beautiful arc in the air...
"Shua~"
Hollow into the net!
This time, McGrady did not celebrate after scoring the goal and immediately returned to defense.
As a leader, he decided to use his actions to drive his teammates.
As for the other Rockets players, after seeing the team boss working hard to defend, they naturally did not dare to slack off.
The five players immediately retreated to half court, denying the Suns a chance to switch offense.
Upon seeing this, Nash chose to slow down and reorganize his position to attack.
He held the ball at the top of the arc and began to direct his teammates' movements.
The opposite scholar stared at Nash with great concentration.
Soon, Robin Lopez set a high screen.
Nash made an in&out feint, changed hands and dribbled, bypassed the screen, and successfully got rid of Shu Hao's defense.
Then, he dribbled the ball all the way to the free throw line.
Yao Ming and Griffin shrank to the basket, preparing to surround Nash.
But the most lethal thing about Nash is his passing.
I saw him facing the left corner, making a gesture to pass the ball, but with both hands moving his wrists to the right.
no-look-pass (don’t look at the pass)!
After Turkoglu, who was lurking in the bottom corner, received the ball, he opened his hand and shot...
"Shua~"
The basketball hits the net!
After the goal, the Turkish agent glanced specifically in McGrady's direction.
Obviously, he regarded this ball as an answer.ball for the opponent.
After Maddie noticed Turkoglu's gaze, he smiled slightly and shook his head.
After the transition between offense and defense, he specifically called a pick-and-roll and replaced the defender with a Turkish agent.
For Turkoglu, we have to mention the "one-star, four-star" Magic team.
In fact, the core of that gorgeous team that defeated the Cavaliers led by James and entered the finals was not just Warcraft.
As a rare organizational forward, the Turkish agent's influence on that Magic team is immeasurable.
Not only can he take on organizational work (the Magic's point guard is not very capable of passing the ball), he can also step forward at critical moments to make up for Howard's limitations as an inside man.
However, after losing to Los Angeles that year and losing the championship, Turkoglu chose the latter between continuing to pursue honors and a bigger contract.
Now times have changed, and the status of the Turkish agents has plummeted since leaving Orlando, and they are still invisible to everyone today.
McGrady faced his defense and dribbled the ball continuously with his hips, and then suddenly made a few cross steps to speed up the breakthrough.
Turkoglu didn't react in time, his feet seemed to be glued to the floor, and he watched T-Mac leave.
After getting to the basket, McGrady started to hit full speed.
I saw him facing Lopez, who was defending, and took off resolutely...
"bang!"
The basketball was hit hard into the basket, and the defending center fell to the ground in disgrace.
This is the terrifying destructive power of McGrady at his peak!
As soon as the goal was scored, the Toyota Center started to boil again.
The fans chanted McGrady's name loudly, and there were even some MVP calls.
T-mac smiled disdainfully and glanced at Turkoglu in response.
However, in this game, the other main players of the Rockets were indeed out of shape.
Relying on Nash's guidance, the Suns played very smoothly on the offensive end.
The Rockets rely more on the personal abilities of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming to score points.
The scores of the two teams increased alternately, but no one could keep away from the other.
With a dead ball, the game entered an official timeout.
............
Rockets bench.
Mark Jackson's expression was serious, without a hint of smile.
"The season has just started, don't you think you are invincible?"
"If we continue to perform like this, how can we compete with strong teams like the Heat and Spurs for the championship?"
"I'm very dissatisfied with your enthusiasm after the opening!"
"Since some people don't cherish the opportunity to play, then let's reflect on it on the bench!"
Mark Jackson's saliva was flying everywhere, looking like he hated iron.
In his opinion, except for Jeremy Lin, who was in a normal state during this period, everyone else, including the Yao-Mai team, were a little slack.
If it weren't for the talent that crushes their opponents, the Rockets would be far behind their opponents at this time!
So, after the timeout, Mark Jackson removed all four main players except Shu Hao and replaced them with a brand new lineup!