Chapter 394 Big Ben comes on stage, and the advantage is first established!
Faced with such a cautious opponent, Tracy McGrady naturally did not dare to slack off.
So he dribbled the ball to two meters outside the three-point line and slowed down.
Jefferson knew that the opponent had to observe the defense and then decide how to attack.
[Should I go up and force it?]
He thought in his heart.
But the next moment, he immediately rejected the idea.
[Tracy's first step is too fast, I'd better stay away, otherwise it will be embarrassing if I get passed by one step...]
Jefferson thought to himself.
These two thoughts happened within a second, but when he came back to his senses, what he could see was McGrady's lower body!
Jefferson was shocked.
He quickly looked up, only to see McGrady already drawing his bow and arrow in mid-air, shaking his wrist and taking action...
The basketball left t-mac's fingertips and spun at high speed, drawing a beautiful arc in the air...
"Shua~"
Hollow into the net!
10:6, McGrady’s goal is very crucial!
Jefferson, on the other hand, stood still.
Faced with McGrady's sudden thrust, he didn't react at all.
At this moment, Jefferson didn't even dare to look back.
Because he knows that Popovich will most likely be like a raging lion, roaring at him from the sidelines...
In the Spurs, no one can be without fear of Popovich, just like the West cannot live without Jerusalem!
No matter what you say, Jefferson is still a veteran who has been in the league for many years and still needs face.
He gritted his teeth and ran directly towards the Rockets half court.
[Call back quickly, Bobo won’t be too angry.]
Jefferson decided silently.
Ever since, after Parker dribbled the ball through half court, Jefferson took the initiative to call out a tactic and used Duncan's screen to come out and successfully catch the ball outside the three-point line.
After the others pulled away, Jefferson started playing singles.
Facing George's defense, he was very cautious, and his center of gravity when holding the ball was much lower than when attacking.
"boom..."
"boom..."
"boom..."
Jefferson feinted and changed his rhythm when dribbling very skillfully.
However, these fake moves didn't seem to have much effect in front of George.
When Jefferson suddenly accelerated, Pickle moved sideways and blocked his way.
"Bang~"
Jefferson ran into George's arms.
In desperation, he could only half-turn around and attack from behind.
"George's defense should be the best among this year's rookies. If Jefferson wants to beat him one-on-one with the ball on the outside, it may be difficult to achieve results."
Su Qun explained in time.
After Jefferson switched to a back attack, he still didn't have much to do.
Almost five seconds passed, and he was still dealing with George on the same spot.
On the court, other Spurs players also saw Jefferson's dilemma.
Ginobili made a counter run, threw off McGrady by half his body, and rushed to meet him.
Jefferson seemed to have seen a savior. Without thinking much, he passed the ball with a flick of his wrist...
But his intention to pass the ball was too obvious. George behind him suddenly stepped up to grab the basketball and stopped it the moment it left Jefferson.
Another prejudgmental steal!
After George took control of the ball, he immediately accelerated.
The Rockets' counterattack once again hit the Spurs half like a tide.
Jefferson suddenly felt bad and ran back with all his strength.
George's running speed while dribbling is naturally not as fast as Jefferson's running without the ball.
After the latter caught up to him, Paojiao slowed down and observed the situation on the court.
He was a little surprised to find that there were Spurs defensive players in front of his teammates.
Especially Curry and McGrady, both of them have difficulty connecting with the ball now!
"Paul, hit one."
George suddenly heard Yao Ming's voice.
Looking up, he saw that the latter was signaling him to attack on his own.
Pickle Pepper nodded and immediately switched to attack mode.
When Jefferson saw this, he breathed a sigh of relief.
In the first two rounds, he made consecutive mistakes and was worried that he could not find a chance to make up for his mistakes.
The opposite George is a 3D player, basically a fixed-point shooter on the offensive end, and it is difficult to have a chance to target.
Unexpectedly, an opportunity suddenly appeared - this rookie wanted to play in singles with the ball!
[For a first-year rookie to be able to defend so well, he must have spent a lot of time and energy.]
[On the offensive end, it should be difficult to make any achievements, right? It's probably the same skills he used in college...]
Jefferson thought to himself.
NCAA level offense?
Isn’t that food delivery?
When Jefferson thought of this, the corners of his mouth unconsciously raised slightly.
Seeing his expression, George couldn't help but wonder: [What's wrong with the old guy? He just stole two balls from him and he was so stimulated that he had a mental problem?]
But he didn't think much and immediately started to attack.
First, he dribbles the ball to his left hand with a crotch dribble, and then moves the opponent's center of gravity with a suspended dribble.
Seeing that Jefferson was unmoved, George suddenly lowered his center of gravity, stepped out with his right foot, and then made multiple crotch dribbles in succession.
This spanking really shook Jefferson quite a bit.
I have to say that George's dribbling has a special kind of beauty.
If I had to use one word to describe it, it would be...silky!
His range of movements is not large, his use of ball protection is not very good, and his speed is even slow...
But if the defensive player really wants to intercept his ball, it doesn't seem to be easy!
For example, Jefferson took two shots and tried to steal.
But without exception, they were all George's fake moves.
Those two shots directly caused Jefferson to lose focus and have messy steps.
Obviously, he has fallen into George's trap!
Seeing that the time was right, Paojiao suddenly lowered his center of gravity and stepped out with his right foot, making a breakthrough.
Jefferson quickly stepped back, trying to block him.
But the next moment, George took a step back, bounced directly outside the three-point line, and decisively shot a three-pointer...
"Shua~"
The basketball hit the net.
13:6.
The Rockets gave the Spurs another 6-0 shock wave!
"Okay~ If even George opens it, it will be difficult for the Spurs!"
On the sidelines, Zhang Weiping said with a bright smile.
"Yes, now all five of the Rockets players on the court have scored. It can be said that there are more flowers!"
Su Qun added.
At the same time, on the Spurs coaching bench, Popovich frowned slightly.
So far in the game, the most active member of the Rockets is Paul George.
This was completely beyond his expectation!
This also gave Popovich a rare feeling of powerlessness in his heart.
The depth of this Rockets team seems to be deeper than he imagined!
[Now we can only see if our old guys can withstand it...]
Thinking of this, Popovich turned to look at Tim Duncan on the court.
Stone Buddha still looked calm at this time.
He patted Jefferson on the back and silently ran towards the Rockets half court.
............
Such is Duncan's style.
He won't use too many words to motivate his teammates. He will only quietly go to the front line and use practical actions to prove the value of a leader.
Like now!
After the transition from offense to defense, Duncan moved to the low post.
Parker passed the ball with a lob, and Shi Buddha once again trained Griffin one-on-one.
This time, Duncan switched to facing the frame after receiving the ball.
He stepped out with his right foot and took two tentative steps.
Although Griffin was not deceived, his focus was inevitably a little off.
Duncan saw this and decisively chose to take action.
After the basketball left his fingertips, it did not fly directly to the basket, but fell into the net after hitting the board!
13:8.
In the next round, Griffin also wants to challenge Duncan in the low post.
However, although the young man has an advantage in athletic ability, every move he makes is predicted by Duncan.
In the end, Griffin made a strong layup under the basket, but Duncan ruthlessly pinned him on the backboard.
Split reacted quickly and immediately protected the rebound.
The Spurs also took advantage of the situation and started a transition attack!
During the fast break, Ginobili advanced with the ball.
I saw him wave his hand, and a pass with strong spin flew towards the Rockets half court.
And at the front was Jefferson, who had made many mistakes before.
George chased after him.
When he saw the basketball flying at low altitude, he subconsciously wanted to intercept it.
Unexpectedly, the ball bounced at a weird angle after contacting the ground.
George didn't react in time and watched helplessly as the basketball passed by his fingertips and flew towards Jefferson.
This turned out to be an outswinging pass!
Jefferson couldn't care less about being surprised after catching the ball.
He jumped hard and fully stretched his body in the air...
"bang!"
A powerful and heavy one-handed dunk helped the Spurs score another two points!
"Roar!!!"
After the goal, Jefferson roared wantonly toward the stands.
So far in the game, he is definitely the most depressed one!
This roar can be regarded as venting out the long-pent-up emotions.
Of course, 90% of the credit for this goal should be attributed to Ginobili who passed the ball.
This wonderful pass from the Pampas Condor basically put the cake in Jefferson's mouth!
At 13:10, the score difference returned to within one round.
In the stands, Shen Fei watched the game calmly.
In his opinion, at least so far, the Spurs have not shown the potential to defeat the Rockets.
They did make a lot of preparations.
Whether it is targeting weak positions on the offensive end or retreating in time on the defensive end, they are all effective ways to deal with the Rockets.
But these alone...are not enough!
The Rockets' starting lineup is very strong, but it is the bench lineup that often widens the points difference.
In Shen Fei's view, if a team wants to defeat the Rockets, it must establish a certain lead at the beginning of the game.
In the transition period, the substitute lineup must try to maintain its advantage, maintain the point difference as much as possible until the end of the game, and then take away the victory through super performance!
So far, in Shen Fei's memory, only the Lakers have done it.
Sure enough, the stalemate between the two teams quickly changed due to a substitution by Mark Jackson.
The Rockets coach replaced Griffin with Ben Wallace to strengthen interior defense.
Not only that, Mark Jackson also adjusted the matchup, letting Yao Ming defend Duncan, while Ben was responsible for assisting defense.
This will undoubtedly maximize the defensive capabilities of the two!
Ben is invincible in jumping, but limited by his height of about two meters, it is difficult for him to fight against heavy insiders for a long time.
Yao Ming has the most terrifying lower body strength in the league (Hayes can compare with it), but his explosive power is average, resulting in fewer blocked shots.
Therefore, the best situation is to let Yao Ming cover the opponent's big man, while Ben waits for opportunities to help block shots.
However, since both of them move slowly, it will be more troublesome to deal with the opponent once they have a spatial inside line.
It is relatively rare in the current league to use the traditional "twin towers" like the Spurs.
And this is the combination that Yao Ming and Ben would like to meet the most!
In the first round after Ben came on the court, Duncan once again chose to play in the low post.
But under Yao Ming's defense, it was difficult for him to make an easy shot.
In order to avoid Dayao's long arms, Duncan used multiple footwork techniques and finally used a beautiful turn to get a little space for shooting.
However, the moment Shifo threw the ball, Ben appeared out of nowhere and slapped the ball into the stands!
On the next possession, Duncan mentioned the free throw line as a pivot.
Parker suddenly made a reverse run while walking, threw Curry away, and went straight to the basket.
Duncan flicked his wrist and led with the ball, giving the French sports car an easy layup opportunity.
Unexpectedly, Ben Wallace, who was on the other side of the basket, moved in front of Parker in one step...
"Snapped!"
With his extremely fast bullet speed, Ben once again blocked the shot.
And this time it’s a nail board hat!
He quickly took off twice, protected the ball, and handed the ball to Curry on the side.
The cute god holds the ball and advances at high speed.
After arriving near the three-point line, he used a no-look-pass to pass the ball to Yao Ming who was following up.
Yao Yao drew his bow and arrow and shot a three-pointer...
bingo!
"After Ben came on the court, he has already blocked two shots. Compared with Griffin, his deterrence in the interior is too strong!"
Su Qun sighed.
"I'm afraid Duncan has to think of a better way. It's not easy for him to beat Yao Ming alone, and now he has a big boss watching him, ready to make up defense at any time..."
"Duncan's situation reminds me of a devil's joke."
Zhang Weiping said with a smile.
"Oh? If Director Zhang has any jokes, please share them with us."
Su Qun asked.
"This joke is very old. It can be considered a joke from 10 years ago. It said that Jordan came back with the Wizards and met the Lakers who were an OK combination."
"Kobe is responsible for defending Jordan, and O'Neal is always ready to help defend inside."
"In one round, Jordan tried to break through, but he encountered the good results of the OK combination."
"Jordan was already 40 years old at that time, and Kobe and O'Neal were both in their prime. How will Jordan get over it?"
Zhang Weiping couldn't stop laughing and asked while smiling.
"How to get there..."
"I really can't think of it."
Su Qun thought for a moment and then shook his head.
"Fainted, hahahahahaha~"
Zhang Weiping said with a smile.
Su Qun was speechless, but then he thought about it and said:
"Director Zhang's joke is very cold, but Duncan's situation is indeed similar to Jordan in the joke."
"The Spurs need other people to step up and help him share the pressure!"
............
The game continues.
After Ben came on the court, the Rockets quickly established their lead.
Tracy McGrady, Curry, and Yao Ming launched attacks one after another, leading the team to a 15:5 spurt, and the score difference reached 28:15!
Popovich frowned on the sidelines.
He turned around and looked at the bench, looking left and right, but he still couldn't find a surprise player who could turn the situation around.
But the situation on the court has been completely controlled by the Rockets. If no substitutions are made, the point difference will only get wider and wider!
In desperation, Popovich had no choice but to choose a general from the shorter ones and let George Hill and Gary Neal wait at the technical table.
Both of them are good shooters. If they can score a few three-pointers on the offensive end, maybe the situation will be different!
Soon, relying on a dead ball opportunity, George Hill and Gary Neal came on together, replacing Parker and Split.
In the stands, Shen Fei couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly when he saw the Spurs' personnel changes this time.
"If we play well in these few minutes, the victory may be established."