At this time, Howard didn't have the strength to compete with Yao Ming, and Brand had always kept a low profile, so the main highlight of the game between the Magic and the Rockets was the contest between two peak guards - Nash vs. Kidd.
And these two people did not keep a low profile or restrain themselves because of the public attention. After Nash completed the assist, he returned to defense and glanced at Kidd provocatively.
Faced with Nash's behavior of looking for trouble, Kidd naturally couldn't bear it, so he began to prepare to regain his position.
Nash is quick, but Kidd is quick with the ball
In fact, Kidd's early years were probably around the last century. At that time, Kidd's physical fitness was amazing. In addition to his strong body, his speed was also one of the best among defenders in the league. He also had a strong sense of the ball. He also had an ankle injury back then.
One of the players just injured his left knee in a later game and lost his lightning speed.
It is said that a few days before the injury, the Nets and Spurs had a regular season game. At that time, the third uncle did not move his legs. He only looked at Kidd's knee meaningfully after a breakthrough, and then more than ten days later, Kidd
In another game, Germany hugged his knees and fell to the ground in pain. Seriously, kill one person in ten steps, leave no trace for a thousand miles, just throw away your clothes when the matter is over, and hide your body and name deeply.
Although people can no longer run fast, Kidd's heart is still there, so when you look at Kidd's current dribbling, the ball is placed very far forward. This is a reflection of his desire to run.
However, although people's speed cannot increase, Kidd has raised his passing speed to the extreme and is the top long passer in the league.
Moreover, Kidd can grab rebounds, which is an advantage. After grabbing backcourt rebounds, he can directly launch a fast break. Like Nash, he has to wait for Howard to pass to him first, which sometimes delays things. Talking about Kidd's strength, plus
His passing awareness is basically within his effective passing range outside of his own paint area. If his teammates are unable to run away, then look at it, Kidd is really like playing rugby.
So when he saw Nash pass a half-court pass, his first reaction was to return it to the full court. But it is a pity that the current Rockets are a half-court team. Van Gundy does not expect to make a fast break, and the players on the court
None of the personnel can play fast break.
Kidd could only dribble the ball angrily across half court and prepare to take position.
Originally, the Rockets' half-court offense was the best in the league. If it was the first quarter, it could even be said to be the strongest in the league. But with the departure of Yao Ming, the Rockets are no longer so strong.
However, the starting lineup composed of Mourning and Uncle Huo is also one of the best in the league.
Because he was facing his old club, Uncle Huo, who always acted like a good old man, was also very active. Before Kidd could make a gesture, he took the initiative to help him play Iguodala from outside the three-point range, and then quickly ran back to the high post to prepare for the role.
access point
After Kidd got rid of Iguodala, as soon as he got to the basket, he saw Howard coming up to fill the position.
Kidd, who was old and almost demonic, was very sober. He did not force his way in, but made a very wise and popular decision - passing the ball back to Uncle Huo in the high position.
The second uncle's skills are very good. After getting the ball, he swayed to get space for his shot, and then he made a half-shot shot easily and skillfully.
After Uncle Huo scored the goal, three commentators who had all played for the Rockets started talking about it.
Dream Olajuwon, as a relatively reliable insider, nodded slightly and said, "Although Juwan is not courageous enough, his offensive skills are still very good. Dawson did a good job in this transaction in the summer. I
Now I’m really looking forward to watching the high and low coordination between the two of them after Yao Ming’s comeback.”
"In addition to this, I also saw some other changes in the Rockets. Did you notice that when Howard took action, the other Rockets players, including Mourning who was not in place, all retreated quickly and did not rush to the frontcourt.
"The meaning of rebounds." Kenny Smith has a special insight into the situation of players fighting for offensive rebounds. This may be related to the fact that he is an outside shooter. When he shoots, if there are no teammates to rush for the rebounds, he may not shoot the ball himself.
No confidence...
Although Barkley and Olajuwon did not discover this problem, with their golf intelligence and game experience, they quickly reacted after listening to Kenny Smith.
"What you mean is that this is Van Gundy's pre-game arrangement, but it is indeed possible. The Magic are good at fast breaks. The Rockets' players are too slow. Once the players do not get rebounds in the frontcourt, they will not be able to retreat.
The Magic's counterattack is accurate and the Magic have Howard and Brand inside. The Rockets only have one Mourning, and it is difficult to grab offensive rebounds. They simply give up, seize the time to retreat, and do not give the opponent a chance to make a quick move. Van Gundy's
This tactical arrangement is very targeted and makes sense." When Barkley is serious, he has a good grasp and analysis of the game situation.
The commentator discovered this problem, but the Magic did not notice it immediately. After all, all teams are now guarding their fast break, and Van Gundy's team has always been known for its defense, so their return defense this time was in the hands of Edison and others.
It looked normal in his eyes, and even Thibodeau didn't notice anything unusual.
In the past, if the Magic encountered the Rockets who retreated and defended in time and tightly, they might have been more afraid, but now with Brand, the team's position is not empty at all.
Keep your butt in position, raise your hands to request, catch the ball, dribble one step closer, shake, turn, and roll up for a layup. Brand used a perfect set of low-post moves to defeat Uncle Huo who was guarding him, and sent the ball into the basket.
In this way, the game between the Rockets and the Magic kicked off from the inside attack.
In fact, both sides can only play from the inside. Everyone knows that the Rockets always attract double-teams from the inside, and then distribute the ball to the outside to create space and score opportunities. The Magic is because the Rockets' outside defense is really tight.
Relatively speaking, the defense inside is relatively poor, so players have the habit of tending to the weak and avoiding the strong, and frequently send the ball near the paint area.
It's just that the Rockets Mourning defended Howard very well. Whether it was a pick-and-roll or a back-up, Howard was like a shark entangled in a fishing net. He had no strength and desire to attack, but he couldn't use it at all.
Nash could only give the ball to Brand, and Brand was in very good shape this time and succeeded repeatedly.
"Mourning has guarded Howard to death. Isn't it possible to just point at Brand and fight alone?" Thibodeau walked to Edison's side and said slightly anxiously.
"It doesn't matter. Don't worry about Brand's physical condition. The Rockets have greater physical risks than us and Mourning maintains this high-intensity defense. He will be off the game soon. If his body cannot bear the Rockets' substitution, no matter what
Whether it's Swift or anyone else, it doesn't matter." Edison was unusually calm. Although he attached great importance to the Rockets before the game, as soon as he stepped onto the court, he was particularly confident about beating the Rockets. This confidence comes from
He defended Yao Ming forward, and this confidence has been deeply rooted in his bones, so even if Yao Ming is not here, he does not treat the Rockets as a dish.
And just as Edison expected, in less than 7 minutes, Van Gundy replaced Mourning and replaced him with another physical man Swift.
Swift's physical fitness is absolutely unparalleled. When he was drafted, all the team owners drooled. But he only has a physical body and no basketball IQ. He doesn't know where to go on offense or where to defend.
Station, can only be a role player who consumes the opponent's players' physical energy.
Let me say a few more words here. Ignoring other factors such as body and technology, only considering the brain aspect. For a player, football quotient is the most important, followed by IQ, and EQ is the least important. An example of reference is Swift who has no football quotient.
Special, McGee, who has no IQ, and Cousins, who has no emotional intelligence, the status and performance of the three of them have well verified the above inference...
"Here we go again, this time it's Howard. The double Nash pass after the pick-and-roll, and Howard's wonderful alley-oop. The two of them cooperated so well." Kenny Smith looked at Howard's thunderous dunk just now and couldn't help but applaud.
"It's not so much that Nash and Howard cooperate well, it's better to say that Swift cooperates well. Look what he did. He followed Howard everywhere stupidly, and then stood there in a daze when someone picked and rolled. I really doubted him.
Is there something in your head?” Buckley started slamming the table after watching Swift’s poor performance.
And Olajuwon also started to support, "Charles is right. When Howard goes out to block Nash, he will quickly turn around and go to the basket, so you can't follow him out. With his speed in the paint, you
As long as he runs out, he has already been lost. If the defensive defender comes to cover from the wing, Nash will quickly pass the ball to the open space on the outside looking for a three-pointer. If he does not come to cover, Howard can easily make an air cut, as long as he
When the ball is passed to the position near the basket, no matter how high it is, Howard can handle it. The beginning of this series of chain reactions started when Swift chased Howard, so if he didn't follow him, he would have a high chance of defending.
Howard's cutting line prevents him from getting close to the basket. In fact, that's what Mourning did just now, and it was very good."
"Of course, this kind of defense also requires a lot from Kidd on the other side. He must insist on bypassing the pick-and-roll and sticking to Nash, but doing this is not a particularly big problem for Kidd," Kenny Smith added.
, "In short, the Rockets have a big problem with their defense now."
And little Van Gundy on the sidelines also noticed this. He shouted to Swift on the sidelines without listening, and gestured with his hands without listening. But it was a pity that Swift's face was dull and he didn't care at all.
Understand, still performing poorly
"It seems that your old partner is having a hard time this season. He has a lot of headaches." Edison said to Thibodeau like a thief who stole a chicken.
Thibodeau looked at his old friend on the other side of the court. He shook his head helplessly, and then firmly answered Edison, "Jeff is very capable. The current problem is temporary. I believe in him."
"Is that so? Then I have to take advantage of his current problem and quickly win a victory." As he said this, Edison turned around and waved his hand, calling Roy.
