After Kobe Bryant left the game, the heavy responsibility of guarding Tracy McGrady was handed over to Ci Shiping.
Ci Shiping, whose real name is Artest, Chinese fans are more accustomed to calling him Artest.
As the best defensive player ever, he has amazing upper body strength.
A pair of ruthless iron hands, as long as they touch the ball, they can basically complete the interception.
In the Finals a few months ago, Ci Shiping completed the task of guarding Pierce well and helped the Lakers win two consecutive championships.
But that doesn't mean his defense is perfect.
On the contrary, as he gets older, it is difficult for Ci Shiping to keep up with the pace of speed players.
In other words, if you ask Artest to support Pierce and a heavy forward like James, he can do the job perfectly.
But asking Artest to defend the little Kuailing defender would definitely make things difficult for him.
And McGrady, who has returned to his peak form, is not known for his speed, but in terms of the speed of the first step when breaking through, he is ranked second, and no one in the league dares to be ranked first!
Tracy McGrady, who has been playing in the NBA for many years and has rich experience, naturally quickly realized this.
Ever since, in the Rockets' next offensive round, he took the initiative to ask for the ball from outside the three-point line and signaled his teammates to pull away and he wanted to play singles.
Soon, all the other Rockets players pulled to the other side, completely clearing the right half of the court, giving McGrady enough space to launch his attack.
"Come on, just give it a try!"
I haven't seen Ci Shiping for a long time, and someone dared to name him.
As soon as he finished speaking, McGrady moved!
The lightning-fast first step made Artest, who was originally full of confidence, look panicked.
Seeing that his opponent was about to pass him to the left, Ci Shiping immediately turned around, forced a sideways move, and hit McGrady hard.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle sounded to block the foul.
"Wow, this is a typical tough foul, McGrady should be in a lot of pain now."
Yang Yi commented timely, with some worry in his tone.
After all, McGrady has been plagued by injuries in the past two years, giving people a very "brittle" impression.
But t-mac's physical condition is no longer the same.
This kind of intense confrontation was a common occurrence during his magic period.
Moreover, McGrady's attitude towards aggressive defense is somewhat similar to Kobe's - as long as it's not an intentional move to hurt someone, I won't be angry with you.
Therefore, after being hit, t-mac shook his head noncommittally and threw the ball to the referee.
Looking back, he said to Artest with a relaxed look: "You are old and your reaction is slow."
"you!"
Ci Shiping's eyes widened in anger.
You know, the two are actually the same age, and McGrady's words are obviously provocative.
The Rockets served, and McGrady continued to choose singles.
Ci Shiping bullied himself forward and kept pressing forward with his chest, trying to seize McGrady's space.
But t-mac is still very calm.
He was seen holding the ball in one hand, placing it behind him, and leaning on Artest with his torso.
The next moment, he suddenly turned around and opened up half the space in an instant.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Ci Shiping quickly moved sideways.
Unexpectedly, McGrady retracted his left foot and returned to the original position.
But in this round and round, he had gotten rid of Ci Shiping's close pressure.
Bend your knees, jump, take action../
McGrady's movements were done in one go and smoothly.
bingo!
The basketball hit the net hollowly and turned the net upside down.
After scoring the goal, McGrady smiled slightly, backed away, and spread his hands "helplessly".
Seeing this scene, Shen Fei in the stands could not help but raise the corners of his mouth, obviously in a good mood.
"How is McGrady's condition now compared to when you first became teammates with him?"
Shen Fei asked.
"em...let me think about it..."
"Judging from the games in this quarter, Tracy's speed seems to be faster than when he first came to the Rockets!"
Yao Ming replied after thinking for a moment.
Shen Fei nodded upon hearing this, which was consistent with his expectations.
This means that the Yao-Mai combination and Tracy McGrady are fully activated!
Shen Fei then asked: "Then how is your body recovering?"
Yao Ming was stunned when he heard this, knowing that the other person was asking about his ankle injury.
"So far, there is no obvious pain, but there is always a strange feeling."
Yao Ming said frankly.
"I understand Chinese medicine."
Shen Fei said suddenly.
"The first time we met, I knew that if you didn't lose weight and come back immediately at the beginning of the season, you might only have a few months left in your career."
The Asian young man had a serious expression and was not joking at all.
Yao Ming looked at Shen Fei with a look of disbelief on his face.
But when he thought about it for a moment, he remembered the period before the start of the game.
At that time, although Yao Ming received permission from the team doctor, he was able to participate in the team's normal training.
But after every training session, he could feel a strong soreness and numbness in his ankle.
Yao Ming also tried to communicate with the team doctor and even sought advice from other orthopedic experts.
But without exception, they all told Dayao that all the tests were normal and you have recovered.
Dayao reluctantly believed it and returned to the team, but he still had some worries in his heart.
Now, combined with what Shen Fei just said, Yao Ming only felt scared for a while.
"But now that you have met me, everything will be fine. Just prepare yourself. I will treat you in one or two weeks."
"By then, all your injuries will be cured."
Shen Fei vowed emphatically.
"Really? Like Maddie?"
Yao Ming's tone was full of joy.
"It's absolutely true. I've finally collected the medicinal materials used for treatment."
Shen Fei joked casually.
After the preseason, Shen Fei counted his current reputation points.
In a total of 8 preseason games, the Rockets had 7 wins and 1 loss, and accumulated a total of 70 reputation points. After deducting the 10 points used on Hill, there were still 60 points left.
In other words, as long as he wins 4 games in the regular season, Shen Fei will be able to accumulate enough reputation points to purchase the Deadwood Spring Card!
[There seems to be a lot of the Chinese medicinal materials I bought when I treated Maddie last time at home, so I will use them together next time.]
Shen Fei thought to himself.
............
While the two were talking, the game had reached the last minute of the second quarter.
Kobe was well rested and went into battle again.
On the Rockets' side, Mark Jackson replaced Danny Green, who had just joined.
In the time since joining the Rockets, Green has been training and gradually gained the trust of his coach and teammates.
In fact, Mark Jackson initially regarded Green as an alternative player at the end of the team's rotation.
But it didn't take long for him to discover that Green was not only an excellent three-pointer, but also had good awareness on the defensive end.
What makes Mark Jackson even more gratified is that Green actually showed some leadership during training!
Although he had just arrived and did not have any team status, he dared to communicate loudly with his teammates during defense and pointed out some loopholes in a timely manner.
The veterans in the team initially scoffed at the young man's reminder.
But as Green's judgment was verified time and time again, over time, his teammates gradually began to trust his command.
Mark Jackson was overjoyed. The Rockets have many defensive heroes, but most of them are strong in individual defense.
And Danny Green, a player who has both awareness and skills, and can also organize his teammates to participate in defense, is definitely a great complement to his defensive system!
This is why Mark Jackson allowed a player who was the "Patron Saint of the Water Cooler" last year to play in such an important game in the season opener!