The intermission ended quickly and the game started again.
As soon as the main players of the two teams came on the field, they attracted the attention of the two CCTV hosts.
"Eh? Both sides adjusted their starting lineups in the second half."
"The Rockets are sending Curry, Tracy McGrady, George, Ben and Yao Ming."
"The Mavericks are Kidd, Terry, Peja, Nowitzki and Chandler."
"Coach Yang, what do you think of the changes in the formations of the two teams?"
Yu Jia asked.
"emm... Actually, the intentions of the coaches of both teams are very obvious."
"The Mavericks replaced Peja just to strengthen their shooting and further open up the offensive space."
"Carlisle probably wants to use his shooting ability to counter the Rockets' physical talent."
"The Rockets' intentions are even more obvious. Ben replaces Griffin. Although it will reduce the team's offensive firepower, it can improve the defense to a big level!"
"The direct confrontation between him and Nowitzki will definitely be very exciting, everyone can look forward to it!"
Yang Yi analyzed with a smile.
His eyes returned to the field.
After some "psychological massage" from Ben, Curry's mood returned to a stable state.
As soon as he came on the court, he discovered the Mavericks' formation changes and found the defensive weakness in their lineup - Peja.
In the first attack, Curry organized his teammates to move to the left side of the court, allowing George to get a singles opportunity at a 45-degree angle on the right side.
Pickle stuck his back and caught the ball smoothly.
Immediately, he turned around, turned into a face-to-face attack, and assumed a triple threat posture.
After several tentative steps, Peja, whose defensive ability was weak, had some fluctuations in his center of gravity.
George simply dropped the ball.
After a dazzling hip dribble, he used a crossover to get past Peja's defense.
Nowitzki quickly moved sideways to cover the defense.
George was not greedy for credit, and with a flick of his wrist, he passed the ball to Ben Wallace who was in the open position.
The next moment, Daben jumped up like a tiger out of the cage and delivered explosive dunks!
72:56, the score difference comes to 16 points!
In the coaching bench on the sidelines, Mavericks coach Carlisle frowned slightly.
When changing formations, he was prepared for Peja to be targeted.
But what he didn't expect was that George could get rid of his favorite general's defense so easily.
After all, in Carlisle's opinion, Pickle Pepper is a 3D player who prefers defense. He didn't expect that his singles ability is so good!
[Since you can’t defend yourself, let’s fight back on the offensive end.]
The Mavericks coach thought to himself.
............
Peja's performance on the offensive end did not disappoint Carlisle.
After the transition from offense to defense, Kidd handed the ball to Nowitzki.
Although his defender was replaced by Ben Wallace, the Rockets still followed the strategy of the first half and double-teamed the driver immediately.
The German tank reacted quickly and passed the ball to the bottom corner of the strong side (the side with the ball) before George arrived.
There, Peja has set up the fort and is ready!
Upon seeing this, Curry immediately took a defensive rotation and ran towards the bottom corner.
However, as he struggled to take off, his outstretched hand became Peja's sight.
"Shua~"
The latter raised the knife and hit a three-pointer!
This three-pointer not only helped the Mavericks narrow the point difference, but also greatly boosted their confidence.
[The coach’s tactics are effective, just play like this!]
Such a belief was ignited in the hearts of the Mavericks players.
A minute later, Nowitzki repeated his old trick.
This time, he passed the ball to another Mavericks sharpshooter, Jason Terry.
The Jets also resisted McGrady's interference and hit a three-pointer from a 45-degree angle on the right side.
In just one minute, the Mavericks hit a 6-0 spurt with two three-pointers.
What's more important is that these 6 points were all obtained by creating openings through tactics, not individual singles by the stars!
Now, the pressure is on the Rockets.
During the break between serves, Ben took the initiative to call his teammates to his side.
"Next, let me guard Dirk alone."
"If we let them keep getting open shots, our advantage will be wiped out quickly."
Daben said seriously.
"Okay, then you can defend alone."
"We all believe in your ability."
Yao Ming agreed.
As the most senior player on the team with a very high basketball IQ, Yao is the "on-court coach" recognized by Mark Jackson.
............
The Mavericks made a comeback in the next round.
Nowitzki catches the ball in the low post again.
The difference is that this time, no one else from the Rockets came to attack, and instead let Ben defend alone.
[Does this mean I’m going to be single?]
[I have a height advantage and should be faster than him. Isn’t this a sure win?]
Nowitzki was confused.
Although Ben had a wonderful block in the first half, in the eyes of the driver, the opponent was still just a 36-year-old veteran.
Just showing off occasionally!
For this kind of old and short insider, the driver chose the safest way of attack - using his height to force him!
I saw him lowering his center of gravity, using 5 points of force, and tried to push inside for the first time.
This cap is of a probing nature!
"Bang~"
After the confrontation, Daben remained motionless.
There was no fluctuation in the driver's mentality.
He continued to push harder.
This time, I used 8 points of force!
"Bang~"
Still motionless.
[Well maintained...]
The driver was a little surprised and immediately started beating him for the third time.
This time, he tried his best!
"Bang!"
The sound made by the current body collision was obviously much louder than the previous two times.
However...
The big book is still motionless!
What’s even more frightening is that Ben Wallace showed no sign of taking the initiative during the three confrontations.
this point is very important!
Some small players like to take the initiative to exert force forward when defending a back-up hit, in order to show their "toughness".
However, this is actually a foul action!
It's just that the referee sometimes turns a blind eye, which creates the illusion of "taking advantage of small things to make big gains".
But Ben simply stepped down and resisted all the impacts with his chest!
This is true toughness and true strength!
Looking back at Nowitzki.
He was a little embarrassed when he pushed three times in a row but didn't move.
In addition, there was not much time left to attack. The driver gritted his teeth and turned back, preparing to use his height to force the attack.
However, the big book that was just below his chest suddenly appeared out of nowhere, completely covering the driver!
"Pa~"
A slap shot that hit the head and face, and almost slapped the ball directly on King Nuo's face.
Curry had quick eyesight and quick hands, and he grabbed the ball and controlled it.
The Rockets launched a counterattack!
During the fast break, the Mavericks' generals returned to defense in time and set up a defensive line two steps outside the three-point line.
Obviously, they are quite wary of the Rockets' perimeter players and are worried that they will suddenly launch cold arrows from a distance.
But Curry’s ever-changing style of play is so easy to predict!
After moving to the three-point line, he used a beautiful crossover to pass Terry's defense.
At the same time, Curry observed that Ben, who had just finished blocking the shot, had already followed up from the center.
He had an idea, and his body continued to break through to the right, but his wrist flicked to the left...
A freehand no-look-pass not only put the ball firmly in Ben's hands, but also took away the Mavericks' interior defense!
"bang!"
Ben hit another explosive two-handed dunk.
He may have had more dunks in today's game than in the past two years combined!
After scoring the goal, Ben hit the basket hard.
After swinging around the basket for a full circle, he extended his right index finger and pointed at Curry who was assisting.
The linesman on the side saw this scene and silently put the whistle into his mouth.
Da Ben was "caught" on the spot.
He glared fiercely, frightening the other party so much that he took a step back and did not dare to move rashly.
After landing, Ben looked at the linesman with a smile and gave him a thumbs up.
The linesman smiled, but his forehead was still sweating.
............
Offense and defense transition.
This time, the Mavericks rarely used pick-and-roll tactics.
With the help of Chandler's pick-and-roll, Terry successfully broke through McGrady's defense and succeeded in a pull-up jumper near the free throw line.
After being scored, Yao Ming quickly raised his hand to signal.
The loss of points this time was caused by his failure to raise the score in time.
At the same time, Ben started talking trash around Nowitzki:
"Why, if you can't hit it once, don't you dare to try again?"
"He is worthy of being an MVP player. He is really smart and knows who can beat him and who can't."
I have to say that when Daben talked about this strange yin and yang, the effect was quite good.
After hearing this, King Nuo, who always had a calm mind, actually raised his hand and pushed Ben Wallace.
Ben immediately glanced at the referee, and when he saw that the latter had no expression, he spread his hands speechlessly.
Rockets' offensive possession.
Yao Ming made up for his mistake and succeeded by hitting Chandler in the low post.
Looking back, Nowitzki once again challenged the big boss.
With the last experience, he knew that he could not defeat the opponent with brute force.
Ever since, King Nuo chose to attack facing the basket this time!
He first stepped out with his right foot, then immediately took it back and made a gesture to shoot.
Because of the realistic movements, even experienced defenders like Ben were fooled into jumping by him.
Nowitzki took advantage of the situation and broke through the ball, took three steps and went straight to the basket.
However, Daben, who was deceived, did not give up his defense.
I saw him taking three steps and two steps at a time, rising into the air, and heading straight for the basketball in Nowitzki's hand with one big hand!
For a moment, the two of them were in the air like two dragons trying to grab the pearl.
Although Nowitzki took the lead, he was not known for his physical talent after all.
In the blink of an eye, he chose to step back from the brink, suddenly changed his tactics at the last moment, and scored the ball.
Kidd on the outside shot immediately after getting the ball.
Curry, who was responsible for defending him, did not appear in front of Kidd in time because his attention was attracted by the inside.
The basketball left his fingertips and spun at high speed, drawing a beautiful arc in the air...
"Shua~"
Hollow into the net!
Seeing his teammates score, Nowitzki breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, he had just been forced into a desperate situation by Da Ben.
[I haven’t encountered such an oppressive defense for a long time...]
The driver thought to himself.
This year, his game has improved even further and he rarely suffers any setbacks on the offensive end.
But since the second half, Ben has made him feel a sense of oppression that he hasn't seen in a long time!