Chapter 98 Martin comes on the court, Harden realizes it!
At this time, Westbrook is neither the triple-double king or MVP in the future, nor the happy comedian of the Lakers era.
Now he is just starting out, and relying on his terrifying physical talent, he has become a hot and popular player in the league!
Seeing Westbrook taking the initiative to ask for the ball, Durant did not refuse, but just smiled and said: "That's up to you."
"Do not worry!"
Westbrook responded confidently and immediately dribbled the ball through half court.
And what greeted him not far away was Tracy McGrady, who was also famous for his terrifying explosive power!
This kind of duel is naturally something that fans talk about.
Facing T-Mac's defense, Westbrook did not choose to play in isolation, but waved to the inside and asked his teammates to help him pick and roll.
Generally, when players use pick-and-rolls, they bypass their teammates and then rely on their teammates to block the opponent.
When Westbrook passes the pick-and-roll, he is like a gust of wind, directly "passing" through his teammates and opponents!
With the help of Ibaka's cover, he ejected and took off half a step away from McGrady, and by the way passed Tucker who was following him.
"The move was too fast! Westbrook's move was like an arrow from the string, passing two defenders easily."
However, McGrady did not give up defense, but followed him closely.
Westbrook broke through all the way to the free throw line, but saw that the inside line was blocked, so he had to choose a pull-up jumper.
From bending his knees, raising his elbows, to the final shot, Westbrook's entire set of movements was very tight, as if a zombie was completing a shot.
This is the famous zombie jumper!
Although the posture is not beautiful enough, coupled with Westbrook's powerful bullet speed, the shooting speed and shooting height are very good.
If you are an ordinary player, you may be daunted by such a height.
But Westbrook is facing McGrady at his peak!
I saw t-mac kicking his feet and jumping vertically.
As if stepping on springs, his feet reached the highest point in a "swipe" and touched the basketball behind Westbrook.
Seeing such a wonderful defense, Yang Yi couldn't help but exclaimed in the CCTV commentary box:
"Beautiful! McGrady takes off better than Westbrook, but can still cover the basketball!"
"In this duel of talents, Westbrook attacked beautifully, but Tracy McGrady was a step above and defended even better!"
The basketball was controlled by Tucker, and the Rockets launched a counterattack.
All of a sudden, the five members of the Rockets rushed toward the Thunder's half court.
The five people walked in unison and at about the same speed, instantly giving people the feeling of thousands of troops rushing at the same time.
The young men of the Thunder had never seen such a battle before, and they were inevitably a little panicked when they retreated.
They made a mistake in the rush and missed Tucker squatting in the bottom corner.
The latter received McGrady's long pass and decisively 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!
............
The attack failed, but the opponent counterattacked.
This time, it's equivalent to five minutes spent.
Westbrook was naturally dissatisfied with this situation.
He immediately came to the baseline and directed his teammates to serve the baseline ball quickly.
Then, Westbrook held the ball and advanced at high speed, running rampant and heading straight into the heart of the Rockets.
It has to be said that the speed of turtles in this period is really abnormal.
With just one acceleration, Tracy McGrady was passed cleanly (t-mac has the fastest first step, but its absolute speed is not the top).
Fortunately, Tony Allen, who was originally guarding Durant, suddenly intervened in Westbrook's path and reached out to try to steal.
Westbrook reacted quickly and immediately changed hands to dribble behind his back to avoid being intercepted.
However, due to his excessive speed, the basketball escaped his control at the moment of changing direction and rolled directly out of bounds.
Turtle was helpless and quickly raised his hand to signal to his teammates that the ball was his problem.
But in the next round, Westbrook made the same mistake again.
After he reached the Rockets penalty area, he suddenly found that he had no room to take action.
But at this time, Westbrook had already taken off and could only barely pass the ball in the air.
George anticipated Westbrook's passing route early, ambush in advance, and blocked the ball.
The Rockets took advantage of Westbrook's two mistakes and launched two successful defensive counterattacks.
30:20!
This time, the score difference between the two teams suddenly reached double digits.
Thunder head coach Scott Brooks on the sidelines had no choice but to call a timeout.
............
Thunder bench.
Brooks did not blame any team members, but kept encouraging them.
"We have to play with impact and speed, but that doesn't mean we don't need to pass the ball!"
"Run, move, and pass the ball one more time! Do you understand?"
"James, get ready and replace Sefolosha in a moment."
After saying that, he looked towards a man with a thick beard not far away.
This person is none other than the future MVP winner-James Harden!
Harden stood up from the bench with a bang, immediately took off his sports coat, and said excitedly: "Leave it to me, coach."
Brooks smiled slightly when he heard this and was very satisfied with his disciple's attitude.
............
At the same time, in the Rockets manager's office.
After Shen Fei saw Harden, his eyes lit up.
At this time, the bearded golfer has a stocky figure, but without a trace of fat, giving people a feeling of being both light and explosive, but his face is still a little childish.
This image is very different from the Harden in Shen Fei's impression.
The Asian young man smiled and asked Roy: "Brandon, do you know anything about Harden?"
Roy nodded and said: "He is a young man with a very high basketball IQ. His talent may not be as high as Kevin (Durant) and Russell (Westbrook), but his future achievements may not be as high as theirs."
Two people are low.”
"Oh? The rating is so high?"
Shen Fei was a little surprised, after all, this was Harden's second season.
At present, he doesn't know how to draw fouls, nor has he been taught the concept of "magic ball". His scoring average is just over 12 points per game.
"I played against James."
"He has strong scoring ability, rich offensive methods, and amazing organizational skills."
"If he can get more ball rights and tactical support, over time, he will become a comprehensive and sharp attacker."
Roy analyzed carefully.
Shen Fei nodded and thought to himself: [It seems that there are still many people who know about football.]
You know, Harden at this period is still
As a time traveler, Shen Fei naturally knows Harden's future heights, but Roy can make such a judgment now...
"It seems that it is still a bit difficult to intercept Hu Harden at a low price."
Shen Fei murmured to himself.
"what did you say?"
Roy asked.
"nothing."
Shen Fei replied, still thinking about the possibility of a transaction in his mind.
............
His eyes returned to the playing field.
While the Thunder were deploying their troops, the Rockets were also replacing substitute players one after another.
Kevin Martin and Luis Scola all appeared.
Interestingly, after Harden came on the court, he faced off against the older generation of porcelain masters - Kevin Martin.
The first confrontation between the two masters of foul-making came soon.
Thunder's offensive possession.
Harden caught the ball outside the three-point line, broke into the paint with the help of a screen, and succeeded in a European-step layup.
Throughout the entire process, Martin's defense was like air and had no impact on the bearded golfer at all.
During the transition between offense and defense, Martin also got an opportunity to attack.
He assumed a triple-threat stance, and after feinting a few times on his test steps, he suddenly raised his hand as if to take a three-pointer.
Harden was afraid of Martin's shooting range and quickly stepped forward, preparing to interfere.
Unexpectedly, this is another fake move by the latter.
After hitting Harden, Martin made a cross step and rushed towards the Thunder penalty area.
Ibaka quickly put the defense in place and blocked his way.
In a flash of lightning, Martin suddenly raised his hands upward, and at the same time his whole body leaned towards Ibaka...
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle blows and there is a defensive foul.
Martin smiled slightly and walked to the free throw line.
And Harden, standing behind him, his pupils were shaking, as if he had discovered a new world!