Shen Fei sat in front of the TV, holding the coffee that his assistant had just brewed for him, watching the game quietly.
9 points difference, the last 10 minutes...
This is definitely a good opportunity to test the quality of the Heat.
Shen Fei is very clear about the strength of the Mavericks, they are truly championship level.
Although the Heat have formed a seemingly dreamy "f4", it is still unknown whether they can perform a dominant performance.
When the game reaches this level, it is impossible for both teams to stay focused, and they will inevitably play to the highest level at the moment.
And this is definitely good preparation material for the Rockets.
Shen Fei knew that Mark Jackson would take the players to watch carefully and analyze in detail.
He will also study the game from the perspective of a time traveler to see if he can give the team some out-of-the-box suggestions!
Soon, the game restarted, and the Heat served from the baseline.
James directly advanced with the ball and came to the top of the arc to organize.
Chalmers plays the role of running without the ball and plays as a 3D player.
Such changes have expanded the Heat's court space.
With the ball in hand, James feels much more comfortable.
But the Heat still have three players on the field who are not good at shooting, so the Mavericks' defensive strategy is very clear - shrink the inside!
Except for Terry, who was keeping an eye on Ray Allen throughout the game, the other four Cowboys were always ready to help defend.
Therefore, James organized at the top of the arc for a long time, but in the end he did not find a good passing opportunity.
So he waved to the inside, and Howard immediately took it up and set a screen for him.
With the help of the pick-and-roll, James passed Marion in one step and accelerated towards Chandler.
When the boxing champion defends the pick-and-roll, choose "Sink and retreat".
At this time, he was near the free throw line, waiting for James to arrive.
Seeing the latter approaching, Chandler turned slightly.
In this way, it would be difficult for James to take the initiative to have physical contact with him.
By avoiding unnecessary physical contact, Chandler can not only avoid the danger of fouling, but can also take off smoothly and use his height advantage to "defend the air".
This is the experience of a mature interior defender!
When James saw this, he took three steps directly.
I saw him kicking the ground hard with his left foot, and the next moment he was flying into the air...
Both of them took off with all their strength.
In this competition between height and jumping, the latter ultimately won.
James tightened his abdomen in the air and successfully avoided Chandler's block by staying in the air. With a flick of his right wrist, he sent the ball into the basket.
At 80:69, the Heat regained a double-digit lead.
In the transition from offense to defense, Nowitzki once again got the ball in the low post.
The difference from before is that the Heat decisively adopted a double-teaming tactic this time.
James stepped up, and Wade arrived in an instant.
The physical talents of these two are self-evident...
Nowitzki was forced into a desperate situation almost instantly.
In a flash of lightning, the German tank jumped up hard and threw the ball towards Marion in the bottom corner.
Unexpectedly, his passing intention was predicted by Howard.
The Warcraft leaped forward and intercepted it directly in the air!
The moment Howard succeeded in stealing the ball, Wade turned into lightning and accelerated towards the enemy's hinterland.
Warcraft understood, and with a wave of his hand, he threw the ball towards the Mavericks half.
His passing technique is rough and his control of strength is average.
The on-site commentator saw this and shouted: "It's over, I'm afraid Wade won't be able to catch it!"
But the Flash's speed can always exceed expectations.
He took three steps and two steps at a time, and actually got the ball back from the baseline.
However, Wade also leaned forward and was on the verge of falling out of bounds.
In desperation, Wade could only jump up with the ball and turn around in the air.
At this time, James was running towards him at full speed.
On both sides of him are Nowitzki and Marion.
When Wade saw this, he slammed the ball to the ground.
"Pa~"
The ball bounced very high.
James accelerated again, successfully double-crossed the defensive players next to him, and jumped high...
"bang!"
Another one-handed chop that dominates the world.
The American Airlines Center was also in a state of excitement because of James' dunk!
And LeBron on the court was also very excited.
He first hammered his chest and roared passionately into the stands, and then high-fived Wade for his wonderful pass.
Finally, James and Way both extended their index fingers and pointed at Howard, who had made a wonderful steal.
In the round just now, the three of them performed a series of defensive tasks such as top defense, flanking, blocking, and stealing!
This successful defense also aroused discussion among the Rockets generals.
"The cooperation between the three of Zhanwejo on the offensive end is still relatively raw, but there has been a chemical reaction on the defensive end."
"Their defensive intensity is probably the highest level in the league."
Tony Allen commented.
As a defensive expert, the fact that he can give such a high evaluation already explains a lot of problems.
"We can also defend ourselves so well."
Ben Wallace, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up.
When it comes to defense alone, Ben has never been afraid of anyone.
"They might suddenly be so defensive about me or Yao in a certain round."
"We're going to practice some double-team breaking tactics."
Maddie said calmly.
"Leave this to me and I will arrange it."
Mark Jackson said with a smile.
He is very confident in the design of tactics.
Even if he couldn't think of a good solution himself, Shen Fei would give him a lot of very good suggestions.
Coincidentally, as soon as Mark Jackson thought about Shen Fei, the latter called him.
"Hi, boss, do you have any advice?"
Mark Jackson asked with a smile.
"You are also watching the game, right?"
"If nothing else happens, the Heat should win this game."
"I will briefly mention two points. You can do targeted exercises in training later."
Shen Fei said straight to the point.
"Okay, you say."
As Mark Jackson answered, he picked up a pen, opened his notebook, and prepared to record.
"Overall, the Heat's style of play is similar to before."
"Their most lethal part is using high pressure to press, causing the opponent to make mistakes or miss shots, and then use Janeway's athletic ability to counterattack."
"When these two counterattack, it will be difficult to defend against the gods. Even if we train our retreat speed to the extreme, we still cannot solve the fundamental problem."
"So, the focus of the next stage is to improve the success rate on the offensive end."
Shen Fei gave a conclusion after a simple analysis.
"Well...that's true. What you said makes sense."
Mark Jackson thought for a moment and agreed with Shen Fei's point of view.
"The other thing is the training of the ability to play the ball when encountering double teams."
"Tragi McGrady has always done a good job in this regard, mainly Dayao and Steph. They still need to improve this ability."
"I will send you some tactical illustrations in a moment. They are what I have been thinking about recently. Take a look and try them if they are useful."
Shen Fei continued.
Mark Jackson's eyes suddenly lit up and he thought, "There's something good again!"
The two chatted for a few more words, and Shen Fei hung up the phone.
.............
The subsequent course of the game was very different from what Shen Fei predicted.
The Heat have maintained a lead of about 10 points.
The Mavericks were united and in the last three minutes, the point difference was once close to 6 points.
But with Ray Allen hitting two consecutive three-pointers, the Heat stabilized the situation again.
In the end, the Heat defeated the visiting Mavericks 110:101.
After winning this powerful meeting, this South Coast powerhouse is 3 games ahead of the second-place Bulls and continues to be at the top of the Eastern Conference.
After the game, Heat coach Spoelstra attended the press conference with his two new players, Howard and Ray Allen.
When the three people arrived at the venue, the scene was already full of "long guns and short cannons."
Ray Allen and Spoelstra both wear suits and ties.
But Howard was wearing a hoodie and jeans, and with his signature laugh, he still looked like a big boy.
Reporters are all seasoned journalists. One look at the appearance of these three people and they will know who is going to get the most powerful information from their mouths.
t.n.t reporter - Gini Taimei, the first one to raise his hand!
She came with a mission today.
Now both NBA officials and major media are building momentum for Rockets vs. Heat.
No one wants to see these two "Galactic Battleships" meet in the finals.
As media people, what Gini Taimei and others have to do is to build momentum for this war!
"Dwight, you defeated the Mavericks, who are second in the Western Conference tonight, what do you want to say about that?"
After taking the phone, he asked Howard a question.
"em... You know, our lineup has undergone some changes. I'm very excited to beat such a strong opponent without fully adjusting!"
Howard responded with a smile.
"The Mavericks are considered one of the favorites to win the championship this year. Do you think today's game will be a preview of the finals?"
Gini Taimei continued to ask.
"It's too early to say this now. It is indeed possible for the Mavericks to make it to the finals, and we also have a chance, but no one can guarantee that they will make it to the end."
"We just play hard."
Howard suddenly stopped smiling and answered seriously.
Gini Taimei was stunned when she heard this. This simple "big boy" who seemed to have no scheming intentions didn't fall into the pit she dug!
"In your opinion, which team is most likely to make it to the finals? Let's talk about one team from the East and the West!"
Gini Taimei still didn't give up and asked again.
She knows that the Eastern Conference team that Howard chooses must be the Heat!
Because no one would think that their team cannot make it to the end.
"I know what you want to ask." Howard smiled slightly, picked up the Gatorade in front of him and took a sip, and then continued: "You want to know what I think of the Rockets?"
Gini Taimei smiled awkwardly, but still nodded.
"I know that everyone wants to see us and the Rockets meet in the finals."
"My brother, LeBron, should know this situation best."
"In the past few years, he has been pushed forward by '23vs24' and has been under a lot of pressure."
"But until now, it has not gone as everyone expected."
"So... fans can look forward to our showdown with the Rockets. But as players, we will take it one step at a time and not think too much about the future."
Howard's tone was firm, without his usual playful smile at all.
At this time, Ray Allen also picked up the microphone and said calmly:
"We aim for the final championship, but we will also respect every opponent along the way."
"If we can really meet the Rockets in the finals, then we will go all out and work hard to provide a wonderful game for the fans."
Ray Allen's words can be said to be watertight.
Gini Taimei was stunned for a while, then slowly sat down.
The campaign...failed!
At this time, ESPN reporter Dracula took the microphone and said:
"Lei, I want to ask you, out of 100 points, how much do you think the Heat's condition is today?"
Ray Allen thought for a moment and replied: "Let's say 60 points. We tried our best to win, but there are still many details on the field that have not been done well. We still have a lot of work to do."
Dracula nodded and continued: "Some time ago, the Rockets also played against the Mavericks. Unlike tonight, the Rockets won very easily that day. What do you think of this?"
"When I play basketball, I never look at how many points I have won."
"As long as it is victory in the end, that is the best result."
"Moreover, there are uncertainties in every game, and the players' status is not constant."
"The Bobcats have defeated the Rockets, so if we beat the Bobcats in the future, will it mean that we are better than the Rockets?"
Ray Allen's words have a clear idea, which not only avoids disputes, but also shows confidence. It can be called a textbook speech!
Dracula was left speechless by the question and could only sit back in his seat.
Coach Spoelstra, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke after seeing some tension among the players and reporters:
"From the beginning of the season, the Heat have had only one goal, and that is to win the championship."
"It was the same at the beginning of the season, it's the same now, and it will still be the same in the future."
"No matter who the opponent is, as the coach of the Heat, I have the confidence to lead my players to defeat them!"
Spo's impassioned speech attracted bursts of applause from the audience.
This press conference also came to an end in a warm atmosphere.
.............
Time flies, more than a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and it’s mid-April!
For more than a month, the Heat and Rockets have been moving forward in an orderly manner with their own goals.
Let’s talk about the Rockets first.
Mark Jackson followed Shen Fei's suggestions and made targeted arrangements starting from "improving the offensive success rate" and "improving Curry and Yao Ming's ability to break double teams."
In order to practice tactics, the Rockets lost some games that they could have won.
For example, the number of push counter attacks has been reduced.
The Rockets intentionally converted some potential fast break opportunities into positional attacks in order to train the success rate of the offense.
Another example is to significantly increase Curry's ball-holding time.
In past games, Meng Shen played the role of running without the ball and shooting after catching the ball in at least half of his rounds.
But in the past month or so, he has increased his proportion of attacking with the ball.
In this process, Curry's points and turnovers increased significantly, while his efficiency dropped slightly.
But what is certain is that his ability to attack with the ball and break double teams has been significantly enhanced!
Up to now, in Shen Fei's view, Curry's level has been as good as it has been for a while!
Let's talk about the Heat.
The new "f4" gradually formed a chemical reaction in each game.
Their defensive efficiency has been rising steadily, and they are now number one in the league!
On the offensive end, James has become the absolute core.
Wade gave up part of the ball, increased his movement without the ball, and often used air cuts as an offensive method.
Ray Allen and Chalmers have become typical 3D players.
On the defensive end, the two guard each other's outside arrows, and on the offensive end, they simply catch and shoot.
As for Howard...he alone supports the Heat's defensive system.
His large coverage area on the defensive end allows James and Wei to boldly press and flank...
Anyway, even if he is passed, Howard will help defend from behind!
After the team's division of labor was clear, the Heat's strength made a qualitative leap.
At the end of the season, they achieved the achievement of "checking in in three quarters" in many games!
All in all, both the Rockets and the Heat have accumulated strength during this period.
They are all waiting for the playoffs to come!
.............
Just like that, the season comes to an end.
The Rockets, with 72 wins and 9 losses, ushered in their last opponent of the regular season-the Oklahoma City Thunder!