Chapter 411 Rocket debut, first battle with Grizzlies!
And our protagonist Shen Fei also turned on the TV at this time.
He had just finished handling the development of the Rockets' new arena and missed the Heat game.
Fortunately, I didn't miss the Mavericks game.
"Come on, Nowitzki promax super version."
Shen Fei said jokingly.
At the beginning of the game, Chandler won the scrimmage and the Mavericks took the lead.
Kidd passed half court with the ball and came to the top of the arc to deal the cards.
With the help of his teammates' cover, Terry successfully caught the ball outside the three-point line and hit a three-pointer...
"Shua~"
The basketball hit the net.
3:0, the Mavericks took the lead!
In the first round, their tactics were very clear, and the pick-and-roll and passing timing were all just right.
This also made the Hornets' defense seem like air.
Wasps attack.
Paul started a pick-and-roll tactic with Landry at a 45-degree angle on the right side.
For most of the regular season, it was David West who played the pick-and-roll with Paul.
Unfortunately, towards the end of the regular season, West accidentally sprained his knee after a dunk. After a subsequent examination, he was diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament and was reimbursed for the season.
And his substitute, the old Rockets "magic bird" Landry, although he has good athletic talent, his overall strength is far inferior to West.
For example, now, after Paul bypassed the pick-and-roll, the two defensive Mavericks players, Kidd and Nowitzki, decisively attacked him.
Landry saw this and immediately stepped down.
Paul led the team with the ball and passed the ball to the ground, helping the Magic Bird smoothly enter the Mavericks penalty area.
Landry jumped high after catching the ball and "flyed" straight to the basket.
But at this moment, a big hand suddenly appeared...
"Snapped!"
There was a crisp sound, and it was Chandler who stretched out his hand and slapped the ball away!
In fact, if this ball had been handled by West, the result might have been different.
But these are no longer important.
Chandler fanned the ball far away, but Marion was the one who reacted fastest.
He jumped up quickly, protected the ball, and handed the ball to Kidd next to him immediately.
The moment Kidd received the ball, he looked at the positions of the players on both sides.
Among them, there is Terry who stole the fast break!
Kidd waved his hand and made a long pass across the half court, accurately finding the Jets running near the enemy's three-point line.
At the same time, Paul quickly returned to defense. At this time, he had already rushed back to his own half and was stepping on the free throw line to prepare for defense.
Unexpectedly, after Terry received the ball from outside the three-point line, he did not hit the basket, but took off and shot from the spot...
Yes, in a one-on-one fast break, he actually gave up the opportunity to attack the basket and instead took several three-point shots from the front line!
With this kind of choice, if you enter, you will be an expert and bold; if you don't, you will be a fool*.
And the results show...Terry belongs to the former!
The basketball left his fingertips and spun at high speed, drawing a beautiful arc in the air...
"Shua~"
Hollow into the net!
6:0.
The Mavericks continue to expand their advantage!
At this time, Paul gritted his teeth and decided to fight one himself.
So, after the transition between offense and defense, he held the ball in front of Kidd in singles.
I saw Paul mobilizing all his body functions and making an Iverson-style crossover!
Kidd was shaken and his center of gravity shifted.
Paul took a step forward and was about to make an emergency jump shot.
But just as he jumped up to take the shot, Marion suddenly shot out from the side, stretched out his long arm, and hit the basketball in Paul's hand.
Paul secretly thought something was wrong.
The opponent's assistance in defense was so quick, obviously they were fully prepared.
If you forcefully take action at this time, there is at least half a chance that you will be blocked!
In a flash of lightning, Paul twisted his waist in the air, turned his shot into a pass, and passed the ball to Belinelli on the side.
But the latter was not ready to catch the ball.
After hastily catching the ball, Belinelli chose to break through the basket.
But the moment he dropped the ball, Terry stepped up to meet him and at the same time stretched out his right hand and almost intercepted the ball.
Belinelli, who escaped, staggered and continued to rush inside, and finally chose to face Chandler for a layup.
Such a difficult layup was obviously a bit difficult for Belinelli.
This ball finally ended in a strike.
Chandler took off for the second time, collected the rebound, and the Mavericks launched another counterattack!
This time, the Hornets retreated quickly and returned to their own half, killing the Mavericks' fast break in the cradle.
But at this time, Nowitzki had already dropped to the low position, easily stuck Landry behind him, and opened his hand for the ball.
Kidd flicked his wrist and sent the ball over with a lob.
After getting the ball, Nowitzki turned to face the frame and shot a three-pointer directly from the spot...
"Shua~"
The basketball hit the net again.
8:0, the Mavericks made a dream start by hitting all their first three shots!
Hornets coach Monty Williams saw the situation was not good and decisively called a timeout.
Yes, less than two minutes into the game, the Mavericks were so dominant that they stopped the game.
Seeing this scene, the Rockets generals as far away as Houston couldn't help but express admiration.
"As expected of the strongest opponent appointed by the boss, they started strong and are both offensive and defensive. This year's Mavericks are indeed different from the past..."
T-mac held his chin with his right hand and analyzed carefully.
"Their configuration is very balanced. Among the starting five, Kidd-Marion-Chandler focuses on defense, while Nowitzki and Terry are the core of offense."
"And looking at the temperament the Mavericks showed today, they do have the style of a championship team."
"If we really meet in the Western Conference Finals... they will definitely be a tough opponent!"
Mark Jackson nodded.
"The Hornets' interior is not as good as before. They sent away Chandler and injured West, and the interior collapsed immediately."
"I'll make a bold prediction... Unless Paul explodes, the Hornets won't win two games in this series!"
Tony Allen said confidently.
"My opinion is similar to yours. If there is no change after the timeout, the Hornets may have to explain it here tonight."
Yao Ming added.
............
It has to be said that professional players' judgment of the situation on the field is still very accurate.
After returning from the timeout, the Hornets still could not open up the situation on the offensive end.
There is no other reason. As long as Paul plays the pick-and-roll, the Mavericks will resolutely adopt a flanking tactic.
This made the 183 masked man extremely uncomfortable. Later, he could only reduce the frequency of pick-and-rolls to avoid double-teaming.
But this means that Paul needs a lot of singles.
There is no doubt that this style of play consumes a lot of money on him.
In addition, the Hornets had no second point to stand out, and Paul entered a physical bottleneck period in the second half of the second quarter, and his offensive efficiency dropped sharply.
The Mavericks took advantage of the situation and expanded their score advantage.
After halftime, they already had a 20-point lead!
In the second half of the game, the Hornets worked hard to organize a counterattack and played a long-lost smooth offense, but they were still unable to prevent the Mavericks from scoring.
Whether it was Nowitzki, Terry, or Butler on the bench, they all played to a very high level.
The point difference between the two teams has remained at around 20 points.
In the last three minutes of the third quarter, Nowitzki suddenly showed strength.
He scored in three consecutive rounds at a 45-degree angle on the right, the bottom line on the left, and the bottom corner on the right.
Among them, the first two goals were scored against Landry's defense, and the third goal was an open three-pointer through excellent running.
After King Nuo scored 7 points in a row, the Mavericks entered the final quarter with a 25-point lead.
Only three minutes into the fourth quarter, Hornets coach Monty Williams saw that the situation could not be reversed, so he called it quits and withdrew all his starters.
The game also entered garbage time.
............
Back to Houston.
Mark Jackson turned off the big screen and asked the players: "How is it? After watching the two games, how do you feel?"
Everyone looked at each other, and finally McGrady spoke first.
"From a chemical reaction point of view, the Mavericks are a more mature team. Their offense is very smooth, and they also have players like Nowitzki in the team who can solve problems through their personal abilities."
"The Heat are a different style of basketball. They have explosive talent and high-intensity defense."
"In general, no matter which team we encounter, we cannot take it lightly."
t-mac concluded seriously.
"I can see from the Pacers the difficulties we may encounter tomorrow when we fight the Grizzlies."
"Both of their teams are extremely resilient and are good at using physical confrontation to affect the opponent's rhythm."
"So the start of tomorrow night's game is very important. We must withstand their fierce defense."
Yao Ming added.
One of them is "far-sighted" and the other is focused on the present. They have already summarized it very comprehensively.
At this time, everyone focused their attention on Curry again.
I don’t know when, but this second-year young point guard has won the trust of his teammates.
Both George and Griffin seem to have acquiesced to the fact that Curry has become the team's third man.
"I looked at the offensive patterns of the Heat and the Mavericks."
"Whether it's Wade, James, Terry, or Nowitzki, they are all very good at finding weak points in the opponent's lineup and then punishing them with singles."
"Personally, I'm probably the weakest defensively among the starters."
Speaking of this, Curry smiled bitterly.
"So I've been thinking about how to deal with them defensively."
"This problem has actually bothered me for a long time."
"I have consulted the coach and boss about this issue before."
Curry continued.
"The only way I can think of is for your teammates to help you defend at any time."
"After all, basketball is a sport of five people. Behind you, there are teammates who support you."
"I'm more curious, what advice did the boss give you?"
Mark Jackson said.
"He... suggested that I gain some muscle mass."
Curry said with a smile.
"No wonder you've been in the gym for more than a month." Lowry approached Curry, squeezed the latter's biceps, and said with a smile: "But won't this affect your shooting? Then
But your greatest weapon."
"Fortunately, I only gained 3kg of muscle, and my shooting has basically no impact."
"So, I am now looking forward to testing the results of muscle gain."
Curry said excitedly.
3kg, which is 6 pounds, is not much, but if it is all muscle, it will greatly improve the resistance ability.
Obviously, Curry has regarded tomorrow's game as a touchstone!
"Okay, it's getting late. Let's go back and rest. It's our turn tomorrow!"
"Let's shout a slogan together to cheer us up."
Mark Jackson said with a smile.
Everyone nodded, stood up and stood together.
"one.two.three!"
"go.rockets!!!!"
............
Time flies and the next day arrives in a blink of an eye.
April 18, Beijing time, Toyota Center Arena.
The first game of the series between the Rockets and the Grizzlies has arrived as scheduled!
For such an important game, CCTV will naturally not be absent.
This year they specially sent a broadcast team to the beautiful country to broadcast Rockets games!
In other words, when this group of people will return to China depends on what stage the rocket can reach.
"Hello dear viewers, TV5 brings you the broadcast of NBA games."
"I am Xu Jicheng!"
"Hello everyone, my name is Zhang Weiping."
The two hosts opened the show as usual.
"Today we also came to the Toyota Center Arena to explain this game to everyone on the spot."
"I don't know if you can hear the sound of the arena. The Toyota Center is also crowded today, and the scene has once again turned into a sea of red."
"Obviously, everyone is looking forward to the performance of this Rockets team in the playoffs! Director Zhang, can you briefly analyze this game for us?"
Xu Jicheng asked.
"No problem at all."
"Actually, today we just want to see if the Rockets, who were nearly invincible in the regular season, can continue to perform strongly in the playoffs."
"The Grizzlies team has a tough style of play and strong strength, but it lacks superstars."
"So, as long as the Rockets can play at their due level, I don't think winning is a big problem!"
Zhang Weiping analyzed.
"Indeed, I am very optimistic that the Rockets can win this first game."
"There's another interesting thing."
"It is said that Jeremy Lin performed extremely well in the Rockets' recent team training. He once defeated Curry, Tracy McGrady, and George in singles in a row during the game!"
Xu Jicheng said with a smile.
"Oh~ This is beating up all the Rockets' starting perimeter players."
Zhang Weiping said slightly surprised.
"Yes. And this is just a microcosm of Shuhao's recent outstanding state."
"It is rumored that Mark Jackson placed his rotation ahead of Lowry!"
When Xu Jicheng said this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but raise.
Who is Jeremy Lin? He will be the main point guard of the Chinese men's basketball team in the future!
That he can be ranked ahead of potential All-Star players like Lowry shows his strength!
"It seems that the young players have figured it out, and they have gained a lot of goals in one go."
Zhang Weiping guessed.
"Yes, so I am very much looking forward to Shuhao's performance in this playoffs!"
"Okay, now the game is about to start, let's turn the camera to the stadium!"
After saying that, Xu Jicheng waved his hand and the screen switched to the stadium.
At this time, the starters from both sides were already standing in the center circle waiting for kick-off.
The Rockets still have the regular starting lineup: Curry, McGrady, George, Griffin and Yao Ming.
The Grizzlies are: Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Sam Young, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol.
As the referee throws the ball high, the game officially begins!