After being targeted by Kirilenko, it became more difficult for Zhang Zhiyuan to score.
For two consecutive rounds, he didn't get a good chance and didn't make a shot.
But he wasn't impatient, this was purely normal.
What's more, he has now scored 5 points, accounting for one-third of the team, which is quite a lot.
Without a good opportunity, Zhang Zhiyuan contained Kirilenko on the outside and destroyed the Jazz's defensive system.
Kirilenko's greatest contribution to the Jazz was to assist in defense. Pulling him out of the three-point line would make the Jazz very uncomfortable.
Yao Ming was trying to gain position under the basket, while Alston carefully protected the ball, waiting for the opportunity to pass it to Yao Ming.
This tactic is too monotonous, and the Jazz can defend in a targeted manner.
Okur was behind Yao Ming, and Boozer was ready to double-team or block shots at any time.
This was Kirilenko's job, but now it falls to Boozer.
Alston passed a "high ball" over. Although Yao Ming successfully caught the ball, there were people sandwiching him in front and behind him, and there was no room to adjust his shooting posture.
Then he didn't even take off and just threw the ball away.
The basketball fell into the basket and 2 points were obtained.
Being tall means you can do whatever you want.
Of course, this is also thanks to Zhang Zhiyuan taking Kirilenko away. If it was Kirilenko, this ball would most likely be blocked.
Although the ball was scored, Van Gundy was not happy.
If the Rockets have to have such a hard time scoring every time they attack, then this game will be on the line.
"Back to defense, defense."
Van Gundy loudly reminded the Rockets players on the court that this was the only thing he could do at the moment.
The Rockets retreated quickly, Deron and Boozer played a pick-and-roll on the outside, Deron blocked Hayes, and Boozer caught the ball and broke through.
Zhang Zhiyuan knew that this guy would definitely not get to the basket. He would definitely take a few steps before stopping for a jump shot.
So, he moved quietly and ran towards the position where Boozer was about to take off.
Sure enough, Boozer took off.
"Watch your back."
Kirilenko quickly shouted a reminder, but it was too late.
Zhang Zhiyuan jumped up from behind Boozer and slapped the basketball.
The basketball flew directly to Yao Ming, and Yao Ming caught the ball. It was unclear whether it was a rebound or a steal.
A successful defense and the Rockets counterattacked.
Alston called Zhang Zhiyuan to play pick-and-roll, but unfortunately the Jazz changed defense quickly.
After the change, Halprin defended himself in front of Zhang Zhiyuan.
Halprin is also a strong defensive player, but Zhang Zhiyuan still took action decisively.
There are not so many good opportunities, so you can almost shoot. When facing Halprin, at least you don't have to worry about being blocked. Whether you can score or not depends on your touch.
This time Zhang Zhiyuan was unlucky and missed the ball.
The Jazz counterattacked, and Boozer's touch began to decline, and he hit the ball angrily.
Then Yao Ming and Alston took a break, and Rutherhead and Mutombo came on.
This also means that Van Gundy gave up chasing points in the first quarter and was considering the overall situation to save Yao Ming's physical strength.
There were 2 minutes left in the first quarter. Zhang Zhiyuan wanted to take over the game, but he couldn't do so. He was not strong enough to shoulder such a heavy responsibility.
Facing a tight siege, Zhang Zhiyuan ran wildly and continued to play without the ball.
His teammates are helping him cover. After all, Zhang Zhiyuan is the most confident person in the Rockets at this time.
With the help of his teammates, Zhang Zhiyuan received the basketball in an open position, but the hole in front of him was quickly filled by Boozer.
Zhang Zhiyuan broke through directly. There was also a change of direction during the breakthrough. He deceived Boozer, rushed to the basket, and dunked directly.
Jazz backup center Jaylon Collins was a step slower and luckily escaped being dunked.
In the next round, Zhang Zhiyuan was double-teamed by the Jazz.
Double-teaming an undrafted draft pick is simply insane.
Being ignored, Lutherhead happily rushed to the penalty area and succeeded in a layup.
Jerry Sloan was so angry that he directly replaced Millsap and asked him to temporarily play center.
Jaylon Collins let him down and couldn't even last a few minutes.
Although Millsap is highly disadvantaged, it is difficult for the aging Mutombo to defeat him alone.
Moreover, the Rockets' attacks are now focused on the outside.
With Millsap coming on the court, the Jazz's defense suddenly improved to a new level, and the Rockets didn't score again.
Fortunately, the Rockets' defense did a good job and did not allow the Jazz to score again.
After the first quarter, the Jazz led the Rockets by 6 points 26 to 20.
Zhang Zhiyuan made 3 of 6 shots and scored 7 points. He was the only player in the team with a positive win-loss value, with a win-loss value of 5.
After he came on the court, he helped the team catch up from 11 points behind to 6 points behind.
"Zhang's performance is still outstanding."
Smith commented.
"The Rockets are very good at Taobao. Both Zhang and Hayes were undrafted. One has an annual salary of 2 million and the other has an annual salary of 660,000. At this time, they stood up when Yao Mai was in poor condition and scored 13 points together. This money was well spent.
It’s so worth it.”
Barkley complained.
Other teams would laugh if they had a low-paid, high-powered player, but the Rockets have two here.
"They are just happy this year. Zhang's salary will definitely increase dramatically next season."
Smith.
They chatted for a while, and then the second quarter of the game started.
The Rockets lineup includes Luther Head, Tracy McGrady, Zhang Zhiyuan, Juwan Howard, and Hayes.
Van Gundy accidentally ranked among the five deadliest players. Hayes, who plays center, is only 198cm.
This is not because Van Gundy is talented or has a sudden inspiration, he is purely forced.
Mutombo's performance just now was not very good. He was always one step behind the opponent on the defensive end, and Van Gundy didn't dare to use it again.
Coincidentally, the Jazz's lineup is not very tall.
Fisher, Gilisek, Halprin, Kirilenko, Millsap.
Millsap, who plays as a center forward, is only 203cm tall.
When the Jazz attacked, Fisher controlled the ball on the outside and looked for opportunities for his teammates.
In the end, the ball went to Millsap, and after all, it seemed that he had a slight advantage over Hayes.
But Fisher thought too much.
Van Gundy dared to let Hayes play center, so naturally he was not completely messy. At least this guy was strong enough to block Millsap's position and prevent him from getting close to the basket.
In the end, Millsap could only take the shot a little far away from the basket, and the ball missed.
As a rookie, Millsap was still too young and did not have strong offensive ability.
The basketball bounced towards Zhang Zhiyuan, who picked up a rebound in vain.
Then the Rockets attacked and McGrady showed off his strength and directly drove past Jilisek and went to the basket to score 21.
One is an All-Star starter, and the other is a substitute for the team. The gap is quite big.
Jilicek couldn't guard him, and McGrady took shots one after another, sweeping away the slump in the first quarter and shooting with a good shooting percentage.
Jerry Sloan had no choice about this. He couldn't let Deron play 48 minutes every game. He had to let Gilisek take the lead for a while.
The Rockets began to chase points, and the six-point difference was quickly erased.
As Zhang Zhiyuan hit a mid-range shot, the Rockets took the lead.
32 to 33, the Rockets lead by 1 point.
Then Jerry Sloan couldn't sit still anymore and replaced Deron, Boozer, and Okur. Replaced Fisher, Gilisek, and Millsap.
The Rockets also added Yao Ming, Battier, and Alston.
The battle between the strongest lineups of both sides begins.
The Jazz attacked, Okuro pulled outside the three-point line, Yao Ming followed, and Deron broke through to the basket. Zhang Zhiyuan made a defense, but Deron still changed his direction and passed him.
Then Delong scored a layup, but Zhang Zhiyuan missed it.
"My pot."
Yao Ming took the initiative to take the blame, he should not have followed the ball.
If Okur wants to shoot a three-pointer, let him shoot it in the penalty area and outside. There is really no way to take care of it at the same time.
The Rockets counterattacked, and it was the Jazz's turn to have a headache.
When the basket was in single defense, Yao Ming took the ball and shot.
Double-teamed under the basket, McGrady took a mid-range shot.
Marking Tracy McGrady, Zhang Zhiyuan will be vacated in the bottom corner.
If the Lakers' tactics are called the triangle offense, the Rockets' tactics can be called the three-point offense.
The three firepower points are distributed in the penalty area, mid-range, and outside the three-point line, allowing the Jazz to focus on one thing and lose another.
The Jazz did not dare to ignore Tracy McGrady and Zhang Zhiyuan, so Yao Ming got a one-on-one opportunity.
After receiving the ball, he turned his back, passed Okur directly, and then took a step to put the ball into the basket.
The bulkiness of centers is actually only relative to those of defenders. In fact, they are much more flexible than ordinary people.
It's no big deal if O'Neal dribbles the ball from his own side to the opponent's basket quickly.
Yao Ming's change of hands and direction when sprinting with the ball is also a basic skill.
The Jazz counterattacked and Okur continued to try to shoot a three-pointer.
Yao Ming was guarding the basket, and Battier was relatively close to Okur, leaving his opponent behind and running to interfere.
Okur made a shot, but the ball missed. Yao Ming blocked Boozer, and Zhang Zhiyuan picked up the rebound.
When the Jazz need to rely on Okur to gamble on three-pointers, it means that there is already a problem with their offense, and there is no way to face the Rockets' iron-barrel penalty area.
After encountering Zhang Zhiyuan, Boozer's mid-range shooting efficiency also dropped sharply.
On the other hand, the Rockets' offense was still smooth, and three firepower points caused the Jazz endless pain.
"Three-pointers, beautiful. The addition of Zhang has made the Rockets the team that shoots the most three-pointers per game in the league."
Smith exclaimed.
Prior to this, the Suns took the most three-pointers per game, averaging 24 times per game.
The Rockets shot about 23 times, which is not much different, but the shooting rate is lower.
After Zhang Zhiyuan joined, the Rockets' average three-point attempts per game has increased to 25.4, and the overall shooting percentage has also increased by 2 percentage points.
"We have strong points both internally and externally, and the Jazz have no hope."
Before the first half of the game was over, Barkley couldn't wait to announce the Jazz's death sentence.
However, there are quite a few fans who agree with his views.
Soon, the two teams finished the last few rounds of the second quarter, and the first half of the game was over.
In the first quarter, the Jazz only took a 6-point lead thanks to Boozer's outstanding performance. In the second quarter, Boozer's magic stopped, Yao and Mai recovered, and the Rockets beat their opponents 28 to 17 in a single quarter.
43 to 48, the Jazz trailed by 5 points in the first half.
Zhang Zhiyuan made a total of 5 of 9 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and scored 12 points.
"It's so stable. Xiao Zhang has nothing to say. As long as I see him take action, I feel like the ball is there."
Zhang Lili sighed with emotion.
"It's true. As an outside player, his overall shooting percentage is as high as 52%, his three-point shooting percentage is as high as 43%, and he takes a lot of shots.
It can be said that those who have voted more are not as accurate as him, and those who are more accurate than him are definitely not as accurate as him."
Sun Zhengping reported Zhang Zhiyuan’s detailed data to the fans.
The data is the most intuitive and convincing.
When fans judge whether a player is strong or not, they mainly look at the data.
They can't see the more profound things either.
In North America, the commentators and guests are also praising Zhang Zhiyuan's high-level statistics such as shooting percentage, efficiency value, win-loss value, etc.
"The Jazz have to find a way to limit Zhang, otherwise they can't win this series."
Smith commented.
He was standing and talking without pain in his back. Jerry Sloan didn't know it, but he really couldn't help it.
If you just want to simply restrict Zhang Zhiyuan, this is very simple, just let Kirilenko mark the whole court.
However, in this way, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady will definitely get good opportunities to perform.
"Andre, in the second half, you keep an eye on Zhang, and the others speed up the rotation. Double-team Yao and quickly cover up the defense. Don't let any loopholes appear..."
During halftime, Jerry Sloan arranged new defensive tactics.
The translation of the new tactics into the vernacular is: run faster, work harder, and be lucky.
After the break, the second half of the game begins.
Zhang Zhiyuan was severely guarded, but both Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady got many opportunities.
After the Jazz were empty inside, McGrady made frequent breakthroughs, fouled the Jazz one after another, and got to the free throw line.
In the third quarter, McGrady made 8 free throws and Yao Ming made 4 free throws, making a total of 11 of 12 free throws.
The Jazz couldn't stand this kind of efficiency, and they quickly lost in the third quarter.
21 to 30, the Jazz lost another 9 points in a single quarter and were already 14 points behind in total.
Zhang Zhiyuan only took one shot in this quarter, and he didn't make a shot.
With 0 points in a single quarter, Zhang Zhiyuan was very depressed.
Although containment is also helping the team, Zhang Zhiyuan still prefers scoring and statistics.
In the last quarter, because he was ahead by more than ten points, Zhang Zhiyuan no longer played so rigorously. On some balls that could be shot and passed, he
They all chose to take action, and sometimes took the initiative to ask for the ball in singles.
He must average 20 points per game and have more say in choosing the team next season.
Although the difference between 18, 19 points and 20 points is not big, it gives people a different feeling.
18 or 19 points in the playoffs feels like a reliable role player, while 20 points feels like the core.
Zhang Zhiyuan took more shots, and some balls were not even played according to tactics, but Van Gundy did not replace him because the situation was still under the control of the Rockets.
As a coach, you have to know how to deal with the world. Although replacing Zhang Zhiyuan will allow the team to win this game more reliably, what about the next one?
If Zhang Zhiyuan is dissatisfied and does not work hard, then it is a small gain but a big gain.
Zhang Zhiyuan is no longer a dispensable role for the Rockets.
Therefore, it was not until the last 120 seconds left in the game that Van Gundy replaced Zhang Zhiyuan.
Although he still leads by 11 points, he wants to stabilize.
"It's the last two minutes. We need to protect the frame better to ensure victory."
After the replacement, Van Gundy did not forget to explain to Zhang Zhiyuan.
"Coach, you are worrying too much. No one wants to win more than me. I know what to do when."
Zhang Zhiyuan said with a bitter smile.
He also knew that his crazy shot just now scared Van Gundy, but he really didn't mess around.
If Van Gundy hadn't replaced him, he would have controlled the tempo in the final two minutes.
Van Gundy was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then he remembered that it seemed that Zhang Zhiyuan really did not cause the team to be reversed because of his disorderly behavior.
"Little slippery head."
Van Gundy muttered to himself.
Van Gundy's substitution at the last moment confused many people, but it didn't matter. Anyway, the Rockets won the game in the end, and they won quite a lot.
88 to 101, the Rockets won by 13 points.
Jazz's Boozer performed well, shooting 14 of 28 from the field and scoring 32 points including free throws.
But except for him, everyone else collectively pulled away.
Okur made 2 of 9 shots and Deron made 3 of 10 shots.
Looking back at the Rockets, the output of the Big Three is still so stable.
Yao Ming made 9 of 20 shots and scored 25 points and 13 rebounds including free throws.
McGrady made 8 of 22 shots, which was a bit low, but he made 6 of 8 free throws, plus two three-pointers, and ended up with 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Zhang Zhiyuan made 5 of 9 shots in the first half and 4 of 11 shots in the second half, totaling 9 of 20 shots. Fortunately, he made 3 of 7 three-pointers. Plus two free throws, he also had 23 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
When the Big Three scored 72 points together, Hayes also broke out, scoring 8 points on 4-of-4 shooting. Alston performed generally, scoring 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting.
The five of them scored exactly as much as the entire Jazz team.
Rutherhead, Battier, Juwan Howard and Mutombo scored 13 points in tears.
Bunch Wells, Coco Snyder, Lucas III and others stood by the water cooler with tears in their eyes.
Steve Novak, Spalinos, and Tsakalidis cried in the toilet because they were not included in the 12-man roster.
