Wen Hao used Rondo's signature behind-the-back fake fax layup to deceive Rondo and score a layup. The entire Rockets players were excited, but the North Shore Garden Arena was silent, and the fans at the scene were speechless.
The opponent used their ace's signature move to score a goal on their ace's head. How could they not remain silent? And more importantly, the Rockets' two consecutive defensive counterattacks expanded the difference to 8 points. They
Had to be silent.
Celtics head coach Stevens quickly called a timeout.
In the third quarter, a timeout was called after only half a minute and two rounds, which only shows that the Rockets' offensive was too fierce.
Stevens had already seen the way the Rockets defended just now, and said to the Celtics players: "In these two rounds, the Rockets adjusted their defensive strategy. They deliberately let you enter the inside, and then let their tall players
The center went to cover up the defense. So we couldn't make it both times."
"What should we do? Are we just going to sit back and wait for death?" Babu asked anxiously. He is a typical player who is brave and foolhardy.
"No, of course we have a way," Stevens said. "As long as we make a shot from the outside, we don't have to break through to the inside. Barb, you are a player with outside shooting. You and the small forward and power forward
They all shoot from the outside. Rondo, your outside is not very stable, so you continue to pretend to break through, and then distribute the ball to the outside. You must let the outside shoot open."
"I know." Rondo said.
After the timeout, the Celtics attacked. Rondo faced Wen Hao, and he passed Wen Hao with another step. But this time he did not continue to go deeper. Seeing Howard coming to cover, he suddenly passed the ball
Passed to Babu on the outside.
After Babu got the ball, he was going to shoot according to the coach's instructions, but when he shot, he suddenly discovered that Harden did not retreat to the inside to cover up the defense, but was always right in front of him. In desperation, he had to
The ball was passed to their small forward, who had a higher three-point shooting percentage than him.
But when he passed the ball, he discovered that Parsons of the Rockets was also stepping on the three-point line, preventing the Celtics from shooting a three-pointer.
As a result, the Celtics had no chance to take a three-point shot. They had to keep passing the ball and finally made a hasty shot when the attack time was about to expire. Naturally, they couldn't hit it.
The Rockets attacked. Although Jones missed a three-pointer, Howard grabbed the rebound, attacked twice, and scored another goal. The Rockets had opened the point difference to 10 points.
The Celtics continued to attack, and this time Rondo dribbled the ball while observing carefully. He finally realized that the Rockets' defense was basically aimed at their offense. Defending on the three-point line prevented them from shooting three-pointers.
.But if they rush in and there is a tall center inside to defend, they still can't take action.
Rondo was dribbling the ball while thinking of a way. Suddenly, his eyes fell on their center Joel Anthony.
The Rockets guarded against their breakthroughs and three-pointers, but they did not guard against their cooperation with the center. As long as Joel Anthony can get through this, then the rest will be easy to handle.
Thinking of this, Rondo once again broke through Wen Hao and passed Wen Hao with another step. Facing Howard who came to cover, he threw the ball high. The basketball passed over Howard's head and came to the unguarded Joel?
When Joel Anthony saw this opportunity, he couldn't let it go. He took the ball and started playing.
But at this moment, Howard, who was still two steps away from him, suddenly turned around, took a short run, leaped high, like an eagle catching a sparrow, and shot down Joel Anthony in the air.
Rondo was shocked. It seemed that he underestimated Howard's defensive ability and overestimated Joel Anthony's finishing ability. The next ball must not be played like this.
Turning around, the Rockets attacked and Wen Hao missed a shot. The Celtics got the rebound and came to the frontcourt. Rondo faced Wen Hao again.
Wen Hao guessed that Rondo had failed to attack the inside several times just now, and this time he was likely to shoot a jumper, so he pressed higher to prevent Rondo from shooting.
But he didn't expect Rondo to slip and burst in from him again. When Howard came to cover inside, Rondo hit the ball in his hand and passed it from Howard's feet to Joel Anthony. This is what he thought of
Method. They pass the ball faster. Once Howard leaves, it will be difficult to chase him back. Anthony should have dunked in this time.
But what he didn't expect was that after Howard lost his position, he immediately turned around and rushed towards Anthony.
Originally, Anthony had a chance to dunk, but maybe he was a little scared because of Howard's block just now. When he saw Howard rushing over, he quickly took the ball down and shook it.
But as a center, once the ball is picked up, it is difficult to pick it up again. With Howard covering it above and Harden and Parsons constantly picking it up below, Joel Anthony can't handle the ball at all. A moment later, the referee
The whistle sounded - a three-second offensive violation!
At this moment, the entire North Shore Garden Arena was shouting, and the fans kept yelling at the referee. But the referee did not waver at all and gave the ball to the Rockets.
The Rockets did not waste this opportunity. During the offense, Wen Hao and Howard completed an extremely clever cooperation. In the end, Howard sent an alley-oop to Wen Hao. Wen Hao's bounce was limited, and after receiving the ball in the air, he only
I can throw the ball into the basket, but I can't dunk it directly. But even so, this is an excellent cooperation.
At this time, the Celtics head coach had to call a timeout again. They were already 12 points behind. If they didn't call a timeout, it would be a waste of time. After the timeout, Stevens just kept encouraging the players not to lose their fighting spirit.
, don't lose confidence. But as for what method to use to break the Rockets' defense, he has no idea at all.
In the Xinlang live broadcast room, Ke Fan was a little strange: "The Rockets' defense was very good today, but it doesn't quite resemble McHale's style."
"It's true," Yang Yi said, "McHale is a coach who focuses on offense and ignores defense. But today the Rockets' defense did a good job, preventing the Celtics' outside shots.
Their inside breakthrough left the Celtics with nothing to do. Although they still made many more mistakes than the Celtics, with their excellent defense, they are now 12 points ahead of the Celtics. The Celtics must
They have to find a way, otherwise it will be difficult for them to win if they enter the last quarter with a score difference of more than ten points."
But the Celtics have not thought of any good way to attack at this time. Although there is a way worth trying, it is too risky. If it fails, the Celtics will be defeated miserably. He cannot do it in front of the home fans.
Putting the Celtics into a disastrous defeat.
After the timeout, the Celtics attacked. Rondo was still in possession of the ball. He did not rush forward, but slowly advanced forward while thinking of a way. Although the head coach failed to come up with any good ideas.
, but as the leader of the team and the 17th captain of the Celtics, he cannot just watch the Celtics lose and do nothing. He must do something, and he must let his opponents know,
Even if they lose, they have to lose standing.
Finally came to the frontcourt, facing Wen Hao's defense, Rondo passed Wen Hao in one step and entered the inside. Seeing that Howard of Warcraft was about to come over to defend, he was not afraid at all, gritted his teeth and rushed towards Howard.
.The other person had already jumped up, but he did not release the ball in his hand. When his body collided with Howard, he finally released the ball.
Naturally, Howard fouled and Rondo got two free throw opportunities. He stepped to the free throw line and made steady hits.
On the next ball, Rondo still rushed into the paint and went straight to Howard, causing another foul on Howard. In this way, Howard, who had only one foul in the first two quarters, quickly received three fouls.
Seeing this, Gorman, the commentator on the sidelines, finally had a smile on his face that had been covered with a layer of gray for a long time: "So that's it, Rondo knows that the Rockets are powerful inside, so he wants to keep attacking the inside, causing Howard to foul.
Howard keeps fighting, he's smart, he's so smart."
"Yes, Rondo's basketball IQ is very high. In the current situation, he can only rush in and cause damage. Not only can he get stable free throws, but he is also likely to beat Howard. But with such a smart play,
Why didn't he use it before? Didn't Stevens think of it?"
"No, it's not that I didn't expect it, but I didn't dare to use it. Although this style of play is good, it is the kind of play that kills one thousand enemies and damages oneself eight hundred. Rondo's play like this may also cause his own foul or
A mistake. If that happens, the score will be further widened."
"I see. But now there is no other way but this method. Fortunately, it was Rondo who caused Warcraft's foul instead of himself..."
But before the commentator finished speaking, Rondo got an offensive foul. Now he has three fouls.
So in the next attack, he signaled Barb to rush inside to attack Howard. Barb's ability was slightly weaker than Rondo. He finally got a foul from Howard even though he had to pay two fouls himself.
McHale had no choice but to replace Howard, who committed four fouls.
As soon as Howard came off the court, the entire North Shore Garden burst into cheers. The Celtics players also breathed a sigh of relief. Without Howard, they faced much less pressure.
However, before they could relax for a few seconds, they faced a stronger sense of oppression because McHale sent Yao, who was taller than Warcraft.
Although Dayao's athletic ability is slightly worse than that of Warcraft, he is more than ten centimeters taller than Warcraft and weighs more than Warcraft. When such a giant is on the court, the pressure he causes on his opponents is almost suffocating.
"What should I do?" Babu asked Rondo.
"What else can we do? Let's fight." Rondo replied, making up his mind to attack Dayao using the same method he used to deal with Warcraft. (To be continued.)
