Chapter 429 The battle is in full swing, McGrady vs Durant!
Tonight, Shen Fei arrived at the arena early and was already waiting for the game to start in his exclusive box.
In his opinion, this series is very interesting.
In addition to the game itself, Shen Fei actually wanted to see Harden's situation.
Because in the original time and space, after the end of next season, Harden will be sent to Houston by the Thunder in a way that is almost "swept out".
Harden and the Rockets have a deep bond.
But because of the emergence of Shen Fei, the Rockets' situation is very different from the original time and space. They are no longer the weak team that needs Harden to save them.
But this does not mean that the Rockets no longer need Harden.
On the contrary, the Rockets are bound to undergo a major overhaul next season!
If Harden can join, he, Curry, George, Griffin, and Kawhi Leonard, whom Shen Fei plans to select in this year's draft...
With such a young lineup, the future of the Rockets will be extremely bright!
Moreover, Shen Fei himself admires Harden quite a lot.
In his view, the Rockets led by Harden and Paul are the only team that threatens the "Cosmic Warriors" (the Warriors when Durant is healthy).
However, the bearded golfer has repeatedly performed shockingly in key matches, which has also caused his career reputation to decline a lot.
You know, Harden is not only the MVP, but also a terrifying existence who averaged 36.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in a single season!
In Shen Fei's view, Harden should have received more praise.
If there is support from the current Rockets lineup, his various regrets may be able to make up for it!
Of course, these are all things for later.
At present, Harden and the Rockets still have a hostile relationship. Whether and how to join in the future are still unknown.
[Will the Thunder make the same mistake again and give up Harden?]
Shen Fei was very curious about this.
............
While Shen Fei was thinking about it, the starting players from both sides had already walked to the center of the court one after another, waiting for the game to start.
For this game, CCTV still sent Zhang Weiping and Xu Jicheng to the scene to explain the game.
"Hello all viewers, tv-5 brings you the broadcast of NBA games."
"I am Xu Jicheng!"
"Hello everyone, my name is Zhang Weiping."
In the broadcast room, two commentators started.
"What we bring to you today is the highlight of the second round of the Western Conference - the Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder!"
"Director Zhang, can you give us a brief analysis of this game?"
Yu Jia asked.
"Ok, no problem."
"I have just got the starting lineups of both sides, so I will introduce them to you."
"The Rockets still have the regular starters: Curry, Tracy McGrady, George, Griffin and Yao Ming."
"On the Thunder side: Russell Westbrook, Sefolosha, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, and Perkins."
Zhang Weiping introduced.
"You can see that the starters of both teams are very young. It's hard to imagine that they can reach their current heights at such a young age."
"It is true that every country has its own talented people, and the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead..."
Xu Jicheng sighed.
"There are a lot of things to watch in today's game."
"For example, the showdown between the new MVP McGrady and the youngest player on the team - Kevin Durant."
"Another example is the matchup between Ibaka, who ranks second in this year's shot-blocking list, and Griffin, the dunk king."
Zhang Weiping said with a smile.
"There is another matchup that is also very eye-catching, and that is the showdown between the two teams' point guards!"
"Westbrook, who is known for his physical fitness and whose game is full of violent aesthetics, faced off against Curry, the unparalleled shooter and the most improved player this season..."
"I think this can be regarded as a classic showdown between physical talent and acquired skills!"
Xu Jicheng said expectantly.
Zhang Weiping nodded repeatedly when he heard this and said in agreement: "Both sides have many excellent players, and tonight's game will definitely be exciting!"
"Yes! The game is about to start now, let's hand the camera to the front!"
After that, Xu Jicheng waved his hand, and the screen turned to the Toyota Center Arena.
............
As the referee throws the ball high, the game officially begins!
Yao Ming relaxed his arms and won the jump ball with Ibaka.
Rockets attack first!
Curry held the ball through half the court and came to the top of the arc to organize.
In the first attack, he handed the ball to Yao Ming inside as usual.
After Dayao received the ball in the low post, he felt a big hand pressing against his waist.
You don't need to think about it to know that this is Perkins defending.
As one of the few centers in the league today who does not have any scoring methods, Perkins can start in the Thunder because of his inside defense.
He is very good at guarding big centers.
Even for Yao Ming, it is not easy to rely on strength alone to defeat Perkins after losing weight!
Dayao knew this very well.
Therefore, he quickly turned around and turned to face the basket to attack. Then he faced Perkins' defense and shot on the spot...
"Duang!"
The ball hit the front edge of the basket and bounced out.
After resting for a few days, Yao Ming's hands seemed a little cold.
Ibaka and Griffin jumped up at the same time under the basket.
Ibaka, who clearly has the advantage in wingspan, was superior, picked off the rebound, and handed the ball to Westbrook next to him.
Westbrook immediately accelerated after receiving the ball and rushed towards the Rockets half court immediately.
In the pre-game combat meeting, Thunder head coach Brooks repeatedly emphasized that once there is a counterattack opportunity in the game, Westbrook and Durant must resolutely push the fast break!
Westbrook strictly followed the coach's instructions.
At this moment, he was advancing at full speed, and his speed could only be described as lightning fast!
During the march, Westbrook first changed hands and dribbled past Curry, and then turned around and passed George.
Soon, there was only one defensive player left in front of Thunder No. 0...
It's Maddie!
The new MVP is guarding the basket at the moment, waiting for Westbrook to arrive.
[If we can deduct one from Tracy McGrady...our morale will definitely skyrocket!]
Westbrook sprinted, thinking in his mind.
With this thought, he increased his speed to the highest level, then took three steps and "flyed" towards McGrady!
Not to be outdone, t-mac pushed his feet hard, as if stepping on springs, and instantly reached the height of the flat basket above his head!
"Snapped!"
In the flash of lightning, McGrady's hand was firmly pressed on the basketball.
Westbrook didn't give up and continued to exert force on his hands, trying to force the ball into the basket!
But he still underestimated McGrady's power.
t-mac has a slender figure and doesn’t look like a strong player, but when the two were wrestling in the air, he turned out to be the one with the advantage!
In the end, the basketball was knocked down by McGrady.
However, after the two struggled in the air, they both lost their center of gravity and fell to the ground.
At this time, Curry and Durant happened to run to the free throw line at the same time.
Rockets No. 30 reacted quickly, jumped forward, and flew towards the basketball.
Durant followed closely behind, and regardless of his height of nearly 2.1 meters, he flew toward the basketball.
"woo..."
The fans at the scene exclaimed.
They didn't expect that the competition would be so fierce as soon as it started!
Curry was faster and took control of the ball first.
But as soon as he hugged the basketball, Durant stretched out his hands and tried to grab it.
Fortunately, Curry reacted quickly. With a flick of his wrist, he passed the ball to McGrady, who had just gotten up from the ground.
T-mac immediately pushed forward after receiving the ball, followed by Westbrook who was chasing after him frantically.
McGrady saw this, dribbled the ball to two meters outside the three-point line, and then suddenly pulled it up...
Westbrook didn't react in time and bumped into T-Mac from behind who had already taken off.
"Beep!"
The whistle sounded and the Thunder committed a defensive foul.
At the same time, McGrady relied on his strong core strength to forcefully complete the shot while losing his center of gravity...
The arc of the ball was very flat, but its trajectory was very positive, and it finally fell straight into the net!
After scoring the goal, McGrady punched the air hard.
The response was deafening cheers from the Toyota Center!
If you score a three-pointer, there will be an extra penalty!
McGrady walked to the free throw line amid cheers and made the extra free throw.
4:0.
The Rockets take the lead!
During the transition between offense and defense, Westbrook handed the ball to Durant at a 45-degree angle on the right.
After KD got the ball, he assumed a triple threat posture, and then began to observe George's defense.
Pickled pepper spreads his hands, his center of gravity sinks, and his defensive posture is very standard.
"again and again!"
"again and again!"
Durant took two consecutive test steps, but George remained unmoved.
When kd saw this, he suddenly pulled out his hand...
George reacted quickly and reached out to interfere.
"Shua~"
The basketball hits the net!
4:3.
After the ball was scored, Durant looked calm, while George raised his right hand to apologize to his teammates.
On the sidelines, Tony Allen, who was still wearing a plaster on his hand, stood up and shouted: "Get up, pg!"
George nodded slightly when he heard this.
The game continues.
Curry and Griffin were playing a pick-and-roll at the top of the key.
With the help of the latter's cover, Meng Shen successfully got rid of Westbrook's defense.
But Ibaka quickly moved sideways and stood in front of him.
Curry suddenly paused and looked up in the direction of the basket.
The next moment, Ibaka flew out directly.
A road leading to the penalty area was exposed in front of Curry.
Curry smiled slightly and accelerated towards the basket.
Westbrook, who had been passed before, wanted to make up the defense, but as soon as he started, he ran into Griffin's pick-and-roll again.
Curry rushed forward and suddenly realized that this was a good opportunity for a dunk!
You know, he didn't even complete a single dunk in the first round, and even left one "Five Embarrassing" failed dunk.
Thinking of this, Curry kicked the ground with all his strength and jumped up...
"bang!"
He succeeded!
Curry made a one-handed dunk, rewriting the score to 6:3.
"Oh, the Thunder's defense is so wide open! Curry was allowed to rush in and dunk like this!"
Zhang Weiping commented with surprise.
"The main reason for this goal is that Curry's shooting threat is too great."
"Look at the slow motion...Curry just raised his head and didn't even bother to make fake movements with his hands, and Ibaka flew out! If it were someone else doing this action, they wouldn't have this effect at all!
"
Xu Jicheng added.
............
On the court, Westbrook silently shook his head after seeing Curry dunk.
Easy side battle again, Guigui decisively launched an attack on the Rockets restricted area!
He first relied on his explosive power and passed Curry in one step.
After rushing to the penalty area, Westbrook faced Yao Ming and prepared to hit hard.
But after flying into the air, Thunder No. 0 suddenly discovered that it seemed impossible to get past the defense of the little giant from the East.
In desperation, Westbrook could only rely on his strong waist and abdominal strength to forcefully change his shooting method and adopt a difficult pull-up layup.
However, the ball did not fly into the net after hitting the backboard, but bounced out.
Yao Ming pointed his toes, protected the rebound, and then passed the ball to McGrady
The Rockets launched a counterattack!
The Thunder retreated quickly, and all four players except Perkins quickly returned to their own half.
During the transition between offense and defense, Durant switched to defend in front of McGrady.
When t-mac saw that Durant was guarding him, he immediately became interested.
It's like trying to dunk McGrady on the first ball against Westbrook.
At the beginning of the battle between the two armies, if you can take advantage of the opponent's general, it will be of great benefit to the entire team!
Ever since, McGrady got into a posture, stood with his feet in front of one another, and then continued to dribble the ball under his hips.
When he dribbles, his center of gravity hits the ground, and the ball rebounds below his knees.
At the same time, every time McGrady dribbles the ball, it will be accompanied by a very rhythmic shaking.
This left Durant a little confused.
He was worried that McGrady would suddenly speed up and pass him, but he was also worried that the opponent would directly pull out and catch him off guard.
Just when kd was hesitating, Tracy McGrady moved!
He hit the ground with both feet at the same time, suddenly accelerated, and left Durant behind.
[So fast!]
Durant was shocked.
He turned around quickly, trying to catch up with McGrady.
But t-mac has already left and reached the Thunder restricted area!
Ibaka took a step sideways and stood in front of him.
But at this moment, Tracy McGrady is on the verge of firing and has no choice but to take action!
He took a step forward and then took off with both feet, directly engaging in a talent showdown with Ibaka.
Ibaka is young and strong, and his jumping ability is equally amazing.
But McGrady is not a reckless man. He tightened his belly in the air and "flyed" past the opponent's blockade, then flicked his wrist...
Westbrook did this action not long ago.
But Westbrook seemed a little stiff when doing the same action, but McGrady completed it as smoothly as silk!
The basketball didn't even fly toward the backboard, but fell directly into the net...
8:3.
The Rockets continue to expand their lead!
On the sidelines, Thunder coach Brooks frowned slightly.
This current node is actually very dangerous for them.
If the Rockets continue to expand their advantage, the Thunder will be extremely passive!
But calling timeout now is a little too early.
Brooks couldn't help but set his sights on his favorite general Durant.
In this crisis moment, he is the most trustworthy person in the Thunder team!
Durant also knows this very well.
After running into the frontcourt, he dropped directly to the low post and opened his hand for the ball.
George was very close this time.
He exerted a lot of physical contact before Durant even caught the ball.
Soon, Westbrook made a lob and successfully handed the ball to KD.
"If you use more force, you still won't be able to guard against me."
Durant was using his strength to confront George while spewing trash talk.
"I'm afraid I'll knock you apart."
With that said, George secretly gave Durant an elbow.
kd felt a bit pained, but he also found an opportunity.
He followed the direction of George's force, turned around, and successfully wiped the latter.
Pickled pepper secretly thought something was wrong and quickly moved sideways to block Durant's path.
But the next moment, Durant made an emergency stop and shot from mid-range...
"fxxk..."
George knew he was caught in the trap, but with his center of gravity tilted forward, he was unable to interfere with Durant's shot.
The basketball left his fingertips and spun at high speed, drawing a beautiful arc in the air...
"Shua~"
Hollow into the net!
8:5.
In the stands, Shen Fei watched the game calmly.
He knew that this series would never be as easy as the first round.
This young Thunder team is bound to bring many "surprises" to the Rockets.
Now, the first thing the Rockets have to solve is how to restrict Durant!