Yao Ming jumped up and easily won the duel with Howard.
There is no way. Fighting for the ball is more of a test of the players' static physical fitness.
With Yao Ming's height and wingspan, as long as he takes off normally, he can basically win the jump ball.
The Rockets attack first.
Yao Ming and Howard moved to the penalty area together.
"Long time no see, Dwight."
Dayao smiled and said hello.
He has been away from the NBA for a year, and during his absence, Howard has gradually become the number one center in people's minds.
"Brother Yao, just call me Xiao Huo."
Howard smiled innocently.
Since joining the league, he has been fearless. Even if he encounters O'Neal, he can survive two moves.
Only when meeting Yao Ming, Howard failed time and time again.
The physical fitness that he was so proud of could hardly be put to use on Dayao.
Someone who had a similar experience to Howard was Ben Wallace, the man who created a no-fly zone inside the Pistons.
During an All-Star game a few years ago, a "world famous painting" appeared.
In the eyes of ordinary people, Ben, who is extremely powerful, stands in front of Yao Ming, but he is as petite as a defender.
A Chinese fan added text to this picture——
Yao Ming: "Isn't this Big Ben?"
Ben Wallace: "Just call me Xiao Ai (Big Ben's hair style was the same as Ai's at that time, and they looked somewhat similar from a distance)."
This shows how huge Yao Ming is, who is 2.26 meters tall!
............
Yao Ming and Howard chatted for a while and then came to the low post together.
At this time, Lowry was already at the top of the key, organizing his teammates to run tactics.
After a series of passes, the Rockets cleared the left side, leaving only Yao Ming.
The little steel cannon shot a high lob and passed the ball to the inside.
Yao Ming received the ball steadily while using his back as usual to feel the defense behind him.
Howard's upper body strength is very strong, far beyond the comparison of PJ Tucker.
But low-post confrontation depends on more than just upper body strength.
Whether the bottom plate is stable is equally important!
I saw Yao Ming relying on the ball, and soon he was pushing Howard and came to the vicinity of the three-second zone.
He used his broad shoulders as a barrier to separate the ball from his opponents, and threw the ball with a small hook with his right hand.
Howard kicked off his feet and jumped hard.
No matter in terms of jumping height or bullet speed, he is the best.
If an ordinary center dares to use such a simple and crude defensive shot in front of Warcraft, he will only be greeted by a big block.
But Yao Ming is different.
His shooting point is too high, reaching a height beyond the reach of ordinary people!
Howard watched the basketball pass over his fingertips, but he was helpless.
The ball hit the backboard and bounced into the net.
2:0, the Rockets took the lead!
"Oh, beautiful! Yao Ming scored his first goal after his comeback! You can see that he is in good physical condition."
Zhang Weiping said in surprise.
"Yes, the whole set of movements was completed very smoothly, and the body felt very light."
"It seems that Yao Ming has taken good care of his foot injury in this year!"
Yang Yi was also very excited.
Offense and defense transition.
Howard reached for the ball in the low post.
This was beyond Yao Ming's expectation.
In the previous games, Howard would not choose to play hard in the low post unless he had to.
Nelson didn't hesitate, passed the ball to the team boss with a hit pass.
"I'm different from before, Yao."
"I am... someone who has reached the finals!"
As he spoke, Howard turned around and started attacking from the frame.
He suddenly stepped out with his right foot, and then made a cross step to break through to the left.
From tentative steps to accelerating to pass, Howard's speed is very fast, far beyond the comparison of ordinary centers.
However...the three-second zone is small after all, and Yao Ming, who was passed by, turned around and covered the Warcraft again.
Even though Howard tried his best to take off, he was still like the Sun Wukong who couldn't escape from Tathagata Buddha's five-finger mountain. Yao Ming slapped the ball down.
Warcraft was unable to complete the dunk, but he still held on to the basketball with both hands.
"Beep!"
Both sides compete for the ball!
Yao Ming easily won the jump ball again and gained the ball for the Rockets.
The game continues.
McGrady received the ball from the outside and faced Quentin Richardson's defense.
t-mac holds the ball with one hand and makes a tentative step.
Richardson was afraid of McGrady's breakthrough ability and quickly moved sideways to prevent being passed.
But the moment he moved, t-mac directly chose to pull out his hand.
There wasn't much kneeling movement, the upper body was in an almost rigid state, and the last kick was the ecstasy scissors kick...
Maddie's dry pull explains what "morbid beauty" is.
Richardson quickly adjusted his center of gravity, jumped up, and tried to block the shot.
But McGrady's bounce height during the pull-up is ridiculously high.
Richardson struggled to take off, but he could only reach his elbow.
The basketball left McGrady's fingertips and spun at high speed, drawing a beautiful arc in the air...
"Shua~"
Hollow into the net!
At the same time, the referee's whistle sounded.
Richardson made an elbow foul, scored a three-pointer, and got an additional penalty!
McGrady stepped to the free throw line and made the free throw steadily.
Toyota Center instantly turned into a sea of joy.
Fans rejoice!
First, Yao Ming singled out Howard, the Defensive Player of the Year, and then McGrady performed a wonderful four-pointer!
The two core players of the team both showed excellent competitive condition, which made Rockets fans start to wonder:
"Hey, you said...the Rockets are not really going for the championship this year, right? I think Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are both in better shape than in previous years!"
"That's true, but I still feel that compared to the Heat and Lakers, we still lack something."
"Indeed...but at least I can be sure that the tweet the day before yesterday was not just a joke!"
...
After McGrady scored 4 points, the score reached 6:0.
However, the Magic players had experienced the playoffs after all, so they did not panic.
During the transition between offense and defense, Carter started a pick-and-roll with Howard at the top of the key.
"The Magic have changed their offensive strategy!"
"Old fans all know that Dayao's footsteps are slow and it is difficult to guard the perimeter when guarding pick-and-rolls. The Magic want to use Dayao's weakness to launch an offense."
Yang Yi commented timely.
However, what the Magic players expected was that Yao Ming did not huddle under the basket, but followed Howard to the three-point line!
Carter was obviously unprepared and was delayed by Yao Yi. He failed to break through or pass the ball in time, so he was quickly double-teamed by Yao Ming-George.
The sight of the "demigod" was blocked by two pairs of long arms, and he was forced to collect the ball.
Yao Ming and George were not in a hurry to attack, they just covered Carter.
The attack time passed quickly, and seeing that there were only 24 seconds left, Carter chose to make a desperate move and forcefully took off.
With his terrifying jumping ability, he just looked at his teammates not far away from his long arms.
Carter waved his hand and passed the ball to Quentin Richardson, who was in the open.
Seeing his teammates about to catch the basketball, the demigod smiled slightly.
[For Quentin, this kind of open shot opportunity is almost like giving away points.]
Carter thought in his mind.
However, in the lightning space, a short and stocky figure suddenly burst out and straddled the passing route.