Chapter 412 A strong opening, breaking the doubts!
Marc Gasol reacted extremely quickly, took off first, and palmed the ball back to his own half.
Grizzlies attack first!
Conley held the ball through half the court and came to the top of the arc to organize.
The Grizzlies' opening strategy is very clear, which is to start from the inside.
Therefore, Randolph dropped directly to the low post to get the ball.
Griffin, who was facing him, stood still and fought with all his strength.
Since the second half of the season, Rockets No. 32 has been training with Ben and has made great progress in defense.
This point was even confirmed by Shen Fei himself.
Shen Fei watched several Rockets games at the end of the season.
In his opinion, today's Griffin is much better than him in the original time and space in terms of defensive awareness and defensive skills!
For example, now, Randolph is advancing from behind.
If it had been in the past, the big black bear might have gone to the basket unimpeded, just like he ravaged the Clippers inside in the original time and space.
Although Griffin has great talent, he has almost no skills in defending back-up play, and his strength is not top-notch, so naturally he cannot guard Randolph.
But now Griffin puts his little hand on Randolph's waist, and then sneaks his knee forward, not being polite to the black bear at all!
Although Randolph was still able to get closer to the three-second zone with his advantage in tonnage, it could be seen from the way he gritted his teeth and exerted force that it was not easy for him!
Finally reaching the shooting range, Randolph turned to the left with force, raised his right hand and shot with a hook...
Griffin spent all his strength on the confrontation and found it difficult to take off.
But, a huge figure suddenly appeared from behind him...
"Snapped!"
The basketball was slapped away by a palm.
The person coming is none other than Yao Ming!
He followed the arrangement before the game and helped Griffin defend.
Randolph also spent most of his energy on confrontation, and his jump was not sufficient.
This directly caused the shooting arc to be lower than usual, making Yao Ming's shot blocking much less difficult.
After the ball was slapped away, Curry was the one who reacted fastest.
He controlled the ball immediately and launched a counterattack immediately.
The next moment, McGrady and George flew together on both wings, and Griffin and Yao Ming also followed behind Curry at high speed.
At the same time, the Grizzlies generals returned to defense at full speed.
Mike Conley rushed to Curry's side immediately, trying to delay it.
But the Rockets didn't give him a chance on the 30th.
Curry suddenly took a step to the right, blocking Conley's path, and then raised his butt slightly, firmly blocking Conley behind him.
Conley was very anxious after losing his defensive position. He took small steps and tried to get in front of Curry from the side.
But the cute god seemed to have eyes on the back of his head, constantly making fine adjustments laterally, always blocking Conley's path.
In this way, Curry slowly moved towards the Grizzlies penalty area, while Conley was "dancing" behind him.
In the Grizzlies penalty area, Gasol realized something was wrong and immediately turned sideways to defend Yao Ming while being ready to make up defense at any time.
As the "white bear" among the two bears, Garfield is the absolute defensive core of the Grizzlies.
His individual defense ability may not be top-notch, but his defensive awareness and assist defense ability are both excellent. He is a solid defensive level defender.
But this time, Kawhi has to defend Yao Ming and Curry at the same time!
In such a situation, even if it is replaced by Howard to defend, it will be difficult to balance the situation.
Curry suddenly braked suddenly, and Conley accidentally hit him behind him.
"Beep!"
The whistle sounds.
At the same time as the referee blew the whistle, Curry flicked his wrist and made a throw that just passed the fingertips of Xiaojia and flew towards the backboard.
The ball hit the board and hit the net.
Two points scored, plus a penalty!
"yes!"
After scoring, Curry, who was knocked to the ground, punched the air.
For a rookie, what could be more satisfying than using a 21 to start his first playoff journey in his career?
The fans at the scene were also extremely excited:
"Beautiful, this doesn't look like a second-year rookie, it's clearly the performance of a veteran in the playoffs!"
"Stephen, you are my god!"
"Those who think the Rockets will overturn in the playoffs will be slapped in the face tonight!"
...
The fans were talking to each other, and the more they talked, the more excited they became.
In fact, their mood has a lot to do with public opinion on the Internet.
Although the Rockets are unstoppable in the regular season, before the start of the playoffs, some people are still not optimistic about this team from Houston.
They feel that the Rockets' record is indeed the best in the league, but there are too many newcomers in the team and they may not be able to adapt in the playoffs. The team's main players, Yao Ming and McGrady, also lack the experience of winning in the playoffs.
What's more, it also brought out the curse of McGrady not being able to pass the first round.
In their eyes, the Rockets are still the same "nervous" team they were in the past that could collapse at any time.
The human heart is actually very easy to be shaken.
Some Rockets fans also began to worry after seeing these public opinions.
And Curry's strong start undoubtedly gave them a shot in the arm!
............
Amid cheers from the sky, Curry stepped onto the free throw line and made the extra free throw without a hitch.
3:0.
The Rockets take the lead!
In the transition between offense and defense, Conley passed the ball to Mayo on the wing.
The latter immediately called for a screen and started a pick-and-roll with Xiaojia.
With his thick body and excellent pick-and-roll effect, he helped Mayo firmly block defensive players.
Mayo took the opportunity to accelerate the breakthrough.
But the moment he started to speed up, George, who was guarding him, suddenly turned around and bypassed Xiaojia's blockage.
Then, he reached out with his ghostly hand and cut the ball from behind Mayo!
The ball bounced off the ground and flew toward the baseline.
Griffin had quick eyes and quick hands, bent down to intercept the ball, and then prepared to pass the ball to Curry.
But Conley reacted quickly and immediately stood in front of Meng Shen, not giving the latter a chance to catch the ball.
Griffin had no choice but to turn his head and look to the other side...
There was also a Grizzlies player in front of McGrady.
Look at George again...
After the ball was intercepted, Mayo immediately defended Pickle, obviously trying to make up for it.
During the hesitation, the attack time has passed 4 seconds, and the 8-second violation is not far away.
[Can't wait any longer...]
Griffin thought to himself, so he started dribbling the ball forward.
Grizzlies small forward Sam Young saw this and immediately felt that this was a good opportunity to intercept.
He stepped forward and stretched out his hand towards the ball...
Unexpectedly, in the flash of lightning, Griffin used a light dribble behind his back to pass Sam Young cleanly!
"woo..."
This incredible feat also aroused exclamations from the fans at the scene.
After completing the pass, Griffin had a smooth road in front of him.
He lowered his head and accelerated towards the Grizzlies half court.
At this time, both the fans and the Grizzlies players knew very clearly that if Griffin was not stopped, his showtime would be next!
A shocking dunk can have an impact far beyond just two points.
It will boost the morale of your teammates and maybe even set the tone for the game!
In order to prevent Griffin from dunking, Gasol decisively gave up his defense on Yao Ming and approached Griffin.
At the same time, Dayao turned around and ran towards the left corner.
At first glance, it seems that he is trying to create space for Griffin to attack the basket.
But the reality is...
This is one of the fast break tactics specially designed by the Rockets for Yao Ming!
Griffin saw Xiaojia approaching and passed the ball to Yao in the corner without hesitation.
After receiving the ball, Yao Ming drew his bow and arrow and shot a three-pointer!
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 Rockets got off to a dream start!
In the next round, the Grizzlies adjusted their offensive strategy.
They no longer play in isolation with the ball, but instead let center forward Garfield go to the top of the arc to organize the offense.
Point guard Conley turned into a shooting guard and started running without the ball.
At the same time, Mayo, Sam Young and others also moved according to the tactics.
But the strange thing is that Xiaojia dealt the cards at the top of the arc for more than ten seconds, but he didn't find a suitable passing opportunity.
In desperation, the White Bear had no choice but to switch to offensive mode and take tentative steps outside the three-point line.
But Yao Ming was not afraid of his breakthrough at all, so he was not shaken.
Seeing that there was very little offensive time left, Kawhi gritted his teeth and shot a three-pointer from the spot...
His shooting posture tends to be upside down.
If he is an ordinary center, Xiaojia can easily complete the shot due to his height advantage.
But standing in front of him now is Yao Ming, who is 2.26 meters tall!
Dayao stretched out his right hand, but before he could even take off, Xiaojia was so frightened that he changed his hand shape and forcibly raised the arc...
"Duang!"
The ball hit the front edge of the basket hard and bounced out.
McGrady stood exactly where the basketball landed and angrily picked up a rebound.
3 seconds later, t-mac suddenly stopped outside the three-point line and still shot a super long three-pointer...
"Shua~"
Three more points!
9:0!
At this time, Grizzlies coach Hollins could no longer sit still and called the first timeout of the game.
............
Taking advantage of the pause, the two CCTV hosts discussed the opening.
"Director Zhang, I haven't seen the Rockets so serious in a long time!"
"Ever since the All-Star Game, the Rockets seem to have begun preparing for the playoffs, practicing a lot of tactics in games."
"This directly led to a decline in their performance in the later period, giving people the illusion that they could challenge."
"But today's strong start is equivalent to telling the Rockets' future opponents that the Rockets are still an insurmountable mountain for them!"
Xu Jicheng said excitedly.
"Yeah! I watched almost every Rockets game."
"In the games in March and April, they obviously slowed down the pace of the game. There are obviously many fast break experts in the team, but the Rockets gave up many opportunities to counterattack and fell into positional warfare to practice tactics."
"But today, their offense is back to normal! That rocket that counterattacked like mercury on the ground is back!"
Zhang Weiping commented with a smile.
............
The timeout ends and the game continues.
After returning to the game, the Grizzlies once again increased the intensity of their game, hoping to use high-intensity physical confrontation to affect the Rockets' rhythm.
Their main target is the Rockets' young point guard - Stephen Curry.
In the first round, Mayo moved Curry in front of him through a pick-and-roll, and then started a singles play.
This former No. 1 high school student in the United States, who has high hopes, has unique post-up skills!
I saw Mayo first dribbling to a 45-degree angle on the right side, then turning his back and leaning hard, trying to crush Curry with his body.
But after the first physical confrontation between the two, Mayo suddenly discovered that the seemingly thin Curry behind him could actually withstand his back blow!
But Mayo is not a reckless man who can only rely on strength to crush him.
He immediately changed his moves and launched a fadeaway jumper with a swaying shoulder.
Curry was slightly shaken off his center of gravity, but he still jumped up and tried to interfere.
Although he failed to complete the block, Mayo's line of sight was obviously blocked when he took action.
There is no doubt that this is an extremely difficult move!
But this time, luck favored Mayo.
The basketball circled the frame three times before finally falling into the net.
9:2.
The Grizzlies finally broke the deadlock.
After the goal, not only Mayo, but other Grizzlies players were also very excited!
They regarded this ball as a clarion call for counterattack and prepared to launch an even bigger counterattack.
But things went counterproductive...
The following games were still dominated by the Rockets!
The first one to stand up and give the Grizzlies a hard blow was Tracy McGrady.
After the transition between offense and defense, t-mac faced the defensive player from outside the three-point line and took a shot...
Hit!
In the next round, McGrady used his super-quick first step to successfully break through the defense and successfully layup in the paint.
This is not over yet!
One minute later, t-mac turned over in the low post and succeeded in a jump shot, causing Sam Young to foul.
After the extra free throw, the score became 17:2!
In just two minutes, McGrady used his personal ability to score 8 points in a row, helping the Rockets establish a double-digit lead in one fell swoop!
Seeing this, the two CCTV hosts couldn't help but sigh again.
"It's so scary. Is this the Rockets who are doing their best? The Grizzlies, who are always known for their tenacity, are actually helpless!"
Xu Jicheng sighed.
"Whether it's offense or defense, it can be seen that the Rockets are fully prepared."
"They are not proud of their regular season glory. This is what a championship team should have!"
"It's hard to imagine that a team with a lot of young players would behave so maturely!"
Zhang Weiping was also very emotional.
In the following games, the Rockets still maintained their strength and continued to widen the point difference.
Time flies and the first quarter is coming to an end in a blink of an eye.
At this moment, a figure appeared in the arena.
He walked lightly and went straight to his exclusive box.
This person is naturally Shen Fei!
Just at this time, the game entered an official pause. The on-site director was worried that he had nothing to do, so he discovered his boss.
He immediately ordered the photographer to turn the camera.
The next moment, Shen Fei's figure appeared on the big screen.
A second later, the Toyota Center Arena erupted into warm applause.
The sound was so loud that the resting players were startled!
The players were confused and looked up at the big screen, wanting to know what was going on.
On the Rockets bench, Curry looked up at the big screen and shouted excitedly to his players: "Isn't that the boss?"
"He just arrived at the arena, right? Something must have delayed him."
Yao Ming said with a smile.
"Being late for the first playoff game is too much for the boss!"
Lori said jokingly.
And Shen Fei in the stands also found that he was photographed on the big screen.
He stopped and waved generously in the direction of the camera.
"Shen!"
"Shen!"
"Shen!"
...
Rockets fans chanted his name in unison.
As Shen Fei walked towards the box, he kept waving.
In this arena, he is like a king.
Perhaps Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Curry and others can receive applause and cheers from Rockets fans.
But if the decibel level is higher than the cheers, Shen Fei is definitely the number one existence in the world!
The applause lasted for a long time, and Shen Fei almost walked to the box.
The on-site director just stopped when he was ready and turned the camera back to the stadium.
In the box.
............
Shen Fei was indeed late.
The reason for being late is the new arena.
After a series of work, China Times Arena officially started the "first phase of the project."
Shenfei’s plan is to build an epoch-making arena!
First of all, this arena must be big enough, otherwise it will be called "Chinese Times" with such a domineering name.
Secondly, the facilities in the arena must be as modern as possible!
Such as a big screen.
Shen Fei plans to customize a large screen that is 82 feet 9 inches (approximately 25.22 meters) long, 52 feet 8 inches (approximately 16.05 meters) wide, and has an area of 9,699 square feet (approximately 901.07 square meters).
There is no doubt that this will be the largest screen in any arena in NBA history!
Another example is the wooden floor of the stadium.
Shenfei specially customized a latest high-tech composite floor.
This kind of wooden floor is the industry leader in terms of toughness and grip!
It can absorb the sweat dripping from players during the game to the maximum extent to prevent accidents.
Moreover, with this special material, the friction of the sneakers will be greatly improved.
This feature can greatly reduce the probability of players suffering from sprains, slips and other injuries!
In order to finalize these facilities, Shen Fei started working early this morning. Unexpectedly, he still failed to arrive on time to watch the Rockets' first playoff game.
However, he firmly believes that the efforts are worth it.
In the original time and space, Curry sprained his knee due to sweat on the court.
With this high-tech floor, something like this may be avoided!
............
After sitting down comfortably in the box, Shen Fei raised his hand and glanced at his watch.
He was so busy interacting with the fans that he didn't notice the time displayed on the big screen.
[Fortunately, I wasn’t too late. I probably didn’t even finish the first quarter.]
Shen Fei thought to himself.
Then, he looked up at the scoreboard...
"!!!"
Rao was as calm as Shen Fei, but he was a little surprised by the score.