Since the Celtics were inconspicuous last season, they were not involved in the attention-grabbing Christmas Day game. Whether it was the showdown between the Heat and the Cavaliers or the feud between the Lakers and the Suns, they had nothing to do with them.
No matter what, the Celtics players are having a very good time this Christmas. {xiaoshuoyd text}
But on the second night, they had to fly to Sacramento to challenge the Kings away from home. Pierce met his opponent, Ron Artest, one of the representatives of powerful small forwards.
No one benefited from the two powerful men colliding together. Ron Artest only scored 15 points, and Pierce was not much better. He only scored 16 points. But the Celtics were obviously not
Relying on Pierce alone, the whole team flourished. No one scored 20 points, but five scored in double figures.
Except for Perkins, all the starting five scored in double figures. Young, who came on the bench and played 27 minutes, also scored 12 points without any mercy. The most exciting goal came in the third quarter, when he received
Dunk after a pass from Ray Allen completed 21.
The Kings' inside line did not pose much of a threat to the Celtics, which also allowed Rivers to use more lineups with one big and four small in this game. Of course, this was also affected by Perkins' finger injury.
In the end, the Celtics defeated their opponents on the road without any hindrance at 90:70. The score speaks for itself. The Kings did not gain any advantage against the Celtics' iron-barreled defense.
The result of this game was expected by the outside world. The two "problem figures" Yang Shuai and Artest did not create much friction, so it did not arouse much interest from the media.
Most people's attention is focused on the next game. The Celtics are about to visit the SuperSonics and Ray Allen will face his old club for the first time after the trade. However, this is not the most concerning thing.
The focus is on two rookies.
Kevin Durant and Yang Shuai!
A second overall pick and an undrafted player, a weak team's future hope and a strong team's substitute, these two people should not attract too much attention, let alone be compared together, but in fact, many people in the industry have already
Set his sights on Seattle.
The reason is actually very simple. Kevin Durant is known as the first offensive player among rookies, while Yang Shuai is known as the strongest defensive player among rookies. However, these two still play the same position.
As a result, the current situation was formed. In the eyes of most people, this is a duel between spear and shield.
"Kevin, China Yang's defense is great, how do you think your performance will be tonight?" Hearing this question, Durant shrugged inadvertently. He couldn't remember which day this was in the past two days.
I personally asked him about Yang Shuai. Update
Although Durant has an unassuming personality, he is still ranked second in the rankings. Even if he does not become arrogant because of this, in his eyes, talents such as Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, and James are his goals, and he believes that he can definitely match them.
Go to them. As for Yang Shuai, although he has a good reputation recently, most of it is a bad reputation. Even though many people say that he is strong defensively, he does not think that a blue-collar player, especially a substitute, is worthy of such a big comparison with himself.
Although he was a little disapproving, Durant's character dictated that he would not say anything extreme.
"The defense of the Celtics players, including Young, is very good, so tonight is a big test for me. I will take every game seriously. As for the result, I will only know it when the game is over."
Compared with Durant's more satisfactory answer, Yang Shuai's answer obviously liked the media more.
"Kevin Durant? That's a great guy, but as long as I'm on the court it will be difficult for him to score. What I'm more eager to do is face off against Kobe Bryant."
"The game is about to start, let's take a look at both sides, Boston Celtics: Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo,
The Green Army's main lineup is already very stable. If no injuries occur, this lineup will stay with them throughout the season.
Seattle SuperSonics center Chris Wilcox, power forward Kent Thomas, small forward is the second best this year, NBA rising star Kevin Durant, hehe, another Kevin; shooting guard Damian Weir
Kings, Al Watson after possession. This lineup looks very different from the Celtics. I wish them good luck. Okay, let’s talk about other topics. Jeff, what do you think of Young and Kevin?
Many people think they are the protagonists tonight."
The game was broadcast live on ESPN. Mike Breen introduced some situations and then immediately turned the topic over to the newly joined former Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy.
Jeff Van Gundy did not touch his bare forehead like he did when he was a coach, nor did he frown as before, but smiled and said: "Mike, Kevin's offense is great, very good, he has talent and basketball.
IQ, so he will have a very good future, but you know, I like Yang better even though he has a lot of problems."
"Jeff, is it because of defense? Now that you are no longer a coach, why do you still talk about defense?" Mark Jackson, another commentator on the side, said disapprovingly.
"Jeff, maybe I can understand you. The past few years of getting along with Yao have given you a good impression of the Chinese, but I think your good impression is used in the wrong place. This Chinese boy does not have Yao's humility. He always seems aggressive.
, he is arrogant, what else does he have besides a slightly better defense? If he were not with the Celtics, he would not even have a chance to play. The Celtics have no substitutes on the outside, which is why he is so lucky. And Kevin
- Durant, an outstanding scorer, will become the next superstar in the league."
After listening to Mark Jackson's words, Van Gundy shook his head, "Mark, your words are too absolute. Young's defense is not slightly better but very good. He also has the skills to shoot open shots. His current performance is very normal.
Boston just got this good performance out of his head."
Mark Jackson still wanted to refute, but Mike Breen had already interrupted: "Both of you, I think this can best be expressed in the context of a game. Now, let's turn our attention to the field. The game is about to begin."
Perkins jumped the ball with Wilcox and won the ball for the Celtics, but the Celtics' first attack failed to score, and Garnett's single failed to put the ball into the basket.
basket.
Durant has spent two months proving his scoring ability, so the Sonics have now developed tactics around him, and he is the first point of offensive choice on the court.
Watson dribbled the ball to half court and waited for an opportunity outside the three-point line, while Durant began to run non-stop. As his best scoring method, catching and shooting is also his first choice.
It's somewhat similar to Ray Allen.
Durant's running was effective. He drilled out from the middle distance on the right side and took a step away from the defensive player Pierce. Watson's pass was delivered in time. Durant took the shot without hesitation after receiving the ball.
"Beautiful, Kevin's first shot, a hollow hit!" Mark Jackson shouted loudly.
Pierce followed and took off, but it did not affect Durant. With his impressive height at the small forward position, coupled with his super long wingspan, Durant's shot looked a bit weird, but it was
Extremely difficult to prevent.
Seemingly stimulated by Durant's shooting, Pierce returned to the offensive end and took the initiative to get the ball.
"Is Paul going to fight back? Breakthrough, layup, the ball goes in! Compared with the offense, the defense of the second place seems to be too different." Van Gundy shook his head and said, although his role has changed, he still did not forget to put the defense on the line.
On the side of the mouth.
"Good job, Paul, teach this kid a lesson!" Yang Shuai shouted to Pierce on the court, which caused a burst of boos from the SuperSonics fans behind him, but Yang Shuai didn't care at all and waved his hands vigorously before resuming.
Sat down.
"This defense is not at the same level as mine." Yang Shuai curled his lips and muttered to himself. Pierce tore through Durant's defense with just a simple change of rhythm. In Yang Shuai's view, Duran
Te's defense is simply terrible.
As if he really heard Yang Shuai's shouts, Pierce's offense on the court was very effective. After the SuperSonics missed a shot, Pierce, who returned to the half court to get the ball, took a tentative step to get rid of Durant and then directly made a three-pointer.
Hit the ball, and then assisted Ray Allen for a layup. The Celtics took the initiative at the start.
After 7 minutes and 52 seconds of the first quarter, the Celtics led by 5 points at 18:13. Pierce scored 9 points alone. At this time, handsome young man was replaced. Garnett and Celtic were replaced.
At this time, the players on the court became Perkins, Pierce, Yang Shuai, Tony Allen, and Rajon Rondo, which was another big lineup with four small ones.
Pierce, who was feeling hot, still stayed on the court, but the task of defending Durant was given to Yang Shuai. The Celtics attacked, Pierce took the ball and went straight to the inside to get a foul. After two free throws, the Celtics would take the lead.
expanded to 7 points.
"The strength of the two teams is very different. It seems that it will be difficult for the SuperSonics to create difficulties for the Celtics today." Van Gundy shook his head and said.
Mike Breen nodded, and then smiled: "It doesn't matter, we should focus on the other aspect. Look, Kevin Durant and Young are facing each other, the strongest offense and the strongest defense among the rookies.
I can’t wait for the conversation.”
"Tsk tsk tsk, second place? Man, your defense is too weak. You are like a wooden stake on the court. Paul simply does whatever he wants. But it doesn't matter, I will teach you." Yang Shuai looked at Durant who was about to run to catch the ball.
He said in a loud voice.
Durant glanced at Yang Shuai but did not speak. Instead, he suddenly started running to the other side, running in a zigzag line in the penalty area. Durant ran to the right side of the three-point line. Delonte, who came on as a substitute -
West took a look and quickly threw the ball over. But the moment he took the ball away, his expression suddenly changed.
"Kevin, be careful!" Durant stretched out his hand and was about to take the ball, but he heard West yelling. Before he could react, a figure flashed in front of him, and the ball that was about to reach his hand was suddenly
Someone cut it off.
"Yang, great steal! Kevin was too careless. He definitely didn't expect that Yang would suddenly take a step forward."