Ray Allen, the fifth pick of the 1996 golden generation.
I believe that from this pick, everyone can roughly understand how talented he is.
Perhaps in the eyes of some young fans, Ray Allen is a ruthless three-point machine.
But when he was young, he was a real team leader, averaging more than 20 points per game in many seasons.
If it weren't for his relatively simple and unpretentious style of play, Ray Allen would have the strength to join Carter in the four shooting guard seats.
In addition to his shooting ability, Allen's physical fitness is also very good, which is why he is still averaging 16.5 points per game at the age of 35 this year!
Today, he may not be able to maintain high-quality defense throughout the game, but if it is only for one or two rounds, Ray Allen can undoubtedly provide very high-quality individual defense.
You know, in the finals half a year ago, he had direct confrontations with Kobe on the defensive end countless times!
At this moment, Ray Allen opened his arms, stepped down, lowered his center of gravity, and concentrated on preparing to defend.
When Curry saw this battle, he was not in a hurry to launch an attack. Instead, he changed hands and dribbled while observing the opponent's movements.
Ray Allen is not an aggressive defender.
He rarely rushes forward rashly, but always maintains a defensive position, waiting for his opponent to make a move before responding.
Curry soon discovered this as well.
Ever since, he dribbled the ball from his left hand to his right hand, and then suddenly his center of gravity sank and he looked up towards the basket.
At the same time, Curry held the ball in his right hand and moved towards his left hand, as if he was about to collect the ball and shoot.
Ray Allen thought he was going to shoot a three-pointer, so he rushed forward and tried to block the shot.
Who knows, this is just Curry's fake shot.
Normal shooting fakes are basically done when the ball is in contact, but Curry's "Bowling to the Buddha" was completed while walking.
This action was relatively rare during this period of 10 years. Only a few players used it, and it was far less frequent than it was used later.
After Ray Allen was deceived by the "Buddha" trick, he thought Curry violated the rule by dribbling the ball twice, so he immediately signaled to the referee.
But the linesman just happened to be standing very close and saw Curry's movements clearly.
He crossed his hands in front of his chest, indicating that Meng Shen did not violate any rules.
After Curry completed the pass, he took a step forward to the left, and then directly shot a three-pointer...
bingo!
At 25:18, the Rockets continued to close in on the score.
Ray Allen failed in one-on-one defense and immediately raised his right hand to blame himself, indicating that the ball was his problem.
Rondo on the side didn't take it seriously, and even "tsk".
In his eyes, Ray Allen's strength has clearly declined, but he still lectures him.
For example, during the timeout, Ray Allen pointed out Rondo's defensive problems in front of the entire team, which made the latter very uncomfortable.
After all, Coach Long is very confident in his defense.
"They will start a pick-and-roll later, so don't switch defenses and let me keep an eye on Stephen."
"I'll take care of him."
Rondo walked to the baseline to catch the ball and shouted to Ray Allen.
Soon, the Rockets' offensive struck again.
This time, Curry once again engaged Roy in a pick-and-roll between guards.
The difference is that Rondo chose to force his way through the pick-and-roll.
But in the gap between the two people's bodies, Curry directly chose to take action...
"Shua~"
Another three-pointer!
This three-pointer was like a slap on Rondo's face.
The bold words he had just vowed seemed somewhat comical at the moment.
Rondo had a dark face and walked to the baseline to catch the ball without saying a word.
Ray Allen has a bigger picture and calmly devotes himself to the offense.
In the next few minutes, the two sides began a three-point contest.
Pierce and Ray Allen of the Celtics fired shots one after another, while Curry and Roy, the two outside shooters of the Rockets, were not far behind and responded one after another.
At the last moment of the first quarter, Curry dribbled past Rondo with a behind-the-back dribble. After reaching the penalty area, he faced Garnett who was covering the defense and sent the ball into the basket with a freehand high-stroke rebound.
The ball goes in and the light comes on, the first quarter is over!
At this time, the score reached 30:25, and the Rockets were only five points behind.
This situation also made CCTV host Yu Jia lament: "Curry was a bit of a surprise player today! Before he came on the court, the Rockets were 13 points behind at most, but now the point difference has basically been smoothed out!"
Yang Yi nodded and said in agreement: "Before the game, Shen Fei once said on social media that Curry is the best three-point shooter in history. This sentence aroused dissatisfaction from Ray Allen, but from the first quarter alone Judging from the results, Curry’s shooting is indeed no worse than that of Ray Allen, haha~”
............
At the same time, Shen Fei, who was far away in Houston, was also following the game through TV.
At this moment, the joy in his heart far exceeded the game itself.
Because, Shen Fei was surprised to find that Curry's progress was faster than he expected!
But judging from the first quarter, this handsome point guard wearing Rockets No. 30 already has a bit of "Kuritian" shadow.
Whether it's a long three-pointer or a high rebound after breaking through the basket, Curry has the style of his peak period.
[He is indeed a genius player across the ages...With the blessing of [Spiritual Time Room], his progress is too fast.]
Shen Fei sighed in his heart.
Of course, in addition to the 10x speed bonus of [Spiritual Time Room], the change in the way of exerting force is also a major reason for Curry's transformation.
To put it simply, Curry has joined the Rockets for less than a month, and his strength may have improved more than he did with the Warriors in one season!
"Curry is in such good shape. Will he try out the lineup that I discussed with Mark before..."
The Asian young man murmured.
............
After the short inter-section break, the game restarted.
As soon as the players from the two teams came on the field, the CCTV commentators were shocked!
"Hey, the Rockets' transitional lineup...is a new trick!"
Yu Jia said in surprise.
At this time, the five people sent by the Rockets are: Curry, Roy, Danny Green, George and PJ Tucker.
A pure five-small lineup!
"Such a formation is so bold! I really don't know how Mark Jackson came up with these formations."
"Obviously he is a fledgling young coach, but he has developed so many 'black technologies' in less than half a season. The Rockets really found a treasure."
Yang Yi joked with a smile.
"I think these ideas are not necessarily what Mark Jackson thought of."
"When he was a player, he was a very traditional defender. The first thing he did after halftime was to turn his back and stick his butt up to make sure it was safe before starting to organize the offense."
"I'll make a bold guess... These ideas are probably the work of Shen Fei. It can be seen from his bold transactions that the young man is a very thoughtful person."
Yu Jia tried to analyze.
Yang Yi was stunned when he heard this, and nodded after thinking for a moment, but then he still expressed his concerns:
"This lineup is too small. I'm worried that the Rockets will collapse and die suddenly."
"By then, this lineup may be called the 'Five Deaths'."
............
His eyes returned to the field.
The Celtics sent out a substitute lineup led by Nate Robinson, "Big Baby" Davis, and O'Neal Jr.
The battle between the substitute lineups of both sides is about to begin!