Not only Wen Hao, but other Rockets players are also preparing for the playoffs. With the Rockets' current record, it is certain to enter the playoffs. Now it depends on where the Rockets can rank. The Rockets
The goal of the team players is of course to eventually catch up with the Spurs, surpass the Thunder, and become the leader of the Western Conference.
To achieve this goal, all the Rockets players began to train hard. In the past, they came to the training hall after nine o'clock, but now they come to the training hall after seven o'clock every day as long as there is no game. Harden practices his right-hand breakthrough and three-pointers, Parson
Si practiced his passing and cutting skills, Warcraft practiced free throws, Dayao practiced mid-range shots, Wen Hao practiced his defense...
The entire Rockets team worked together and became one. Even Harden, who had always been at odds with Wen Hao, although he didn't usually talk to Wen Hao, he began to cooperate with Wen Hao for the sake of the championship.
.
Words are long, words are short. Soon, a month passed in the blink of an eye. In this month, Wen Hao's physical fitness increased by 18 points, which means that his current physical fitness is already at n**
A is above the average level. Whether it is jumping, speed or strength, it has been significantly enhanced. Against the average NBA point guards, at least he will not suffer physically. Of course, with Westbrook's
**except.
In this month, Wenhao's average points per game decreased, to 22.6 points, 14.3 assists and 1.3 steals. He still maintained an All-Star level performance. This made all his fans excited.
In a month when all playoff teams were competing fiercely for rankings, the Rockets surged forward and achieved an impressive record of 18 wins and 1 loss. After their 81st game of the season, their record was 61 wins and losses.
.
The Thunder also achieved a record of 17 wins and 3 losses this month. Although this record is also very proud, it is precisely because they lost two more games than the Rockets, so their total record is the same as the Rockets at 61 wins and losses.
Tied for first place in the Western Conference. However, because the Thunder have a record of 2 wins and 1 loss against the Rockets this season, they are temporarily ranked ahead of the Rockets.
And on April 18, the last day of the regular season, the Rockets and Thunder will have one last battle. And this last battle will determine who is the real leader in the Eastern Conference.
The Rockets have nothing to say. Naturally, they will fight to win this battle. Because as long as they win this battle, they will become the number one in the Western Conference and gain home court advantage over all Western Conference teams in the playoffs. And as long as people who understand basketball
, all understand how important home field advantage is.
But the Thunder are not easy to deal with. They also want the home court advantage. And in addition to the home court advantage, they have another reason to win, that is, in this year's regular season MVP competition, Durant is still neck and neck with James.
And what's different from previous years is that James was always stronger than Durant. Last year, although he only had a slight advantage over Durant, he still had the upper hand in the end.
This year is different. The Heat have finished their regular season. Their record is 62 wins and losses, ranking first in the league. If Durant loses this game and the Thunder's record is not as good as the Heat, then Durant is likely to win again.
They lost the MVP they should have won once. And if they beat the Rockets, their record would be the same as the Heat, with 62 wins and losses. It is not certain who will win by then.
In order to help Durant win the MVP trophy, the Thunder also made up their mind to win against the Rockets.
This game was played at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the Thunder. Many basketball fans may have heard the name of other teams’ home arenas, but they are unfamiliar with the name of the Thunder’s home court. Chesapeake is the second largest basketball league in the United States.
The natural gas company bought the naming rights for the Thunder's home court for 12 years, which is why the Thunder's home court has such a mouth-watering name.
When the Rockets players entered the stadium, they were in a trance for a moment, as if they had fallen into a sea of white. All the more than 19,000 fans were wearing white T-shirts.
The Rockets players suddenly felt a huge sense of oppression coming towards them.
Just imagine, being in the middle, surrounded by white waves that are more than ten or twenty meters high and coming toward you, how powerful that must be.
"In previous years, we could only see such scenes of home fans in the playoffs. I didn't expect that the Thunder would start such a massive campaign at home in the last game of the regular season. It seems that Thunder fans attach great importance to this game.
, we pay as much attention to it as the playoffs." In the CCTV live broadcast room, Yang Jian has already begun his explanation.
Director Zhang Weiping nodded in surprise: "That's true. Although people had thought before the game that the Thunder would attach great importance to this game, they didn't expect it to take it so seriously. But if you think about it, you will understand that the Rockets
The momentum is building this year, and the Thunder are very likely to face an opponent in the playoffs. As the playoffs are about to begin, whoever can beat the opponent in this game will gain a psychological advantage, and at the same time,
It will gain home court advantage over the other side, so both sides attach great importance to this game."
"It seems that this game will be very exciting, let's wait and see." Yang Jian was already gearing up.
Amid the anxiety and expectation of the audience, the match between the two sides finally started.
The Thunder still started with their regular players, and there were no changes. As for the Rockets, as soon as their starters came on the field, the Chinese fans were excited. The Rockets' lineup was: point guard Wen Hao,
Shooting guard Harden, small forward Parsons, power forward Howard, center Yao.
The reason why Chinese fans are excited is because Yao is on the Rockets' starting roster.
Since Dayao returned to the game, he has never played a starting role. Although his condition has gotten better and better and has almost reached 80% of the level of the year, McHale still did not let Dayao start. This is not Mike
Haier looked down on Yao out of protection for Yao. He hadn't played for so many years, and he was afraid that Yao's body wouldn't be able to handle it if he started playing as a starter and took on too many tasks as soon as he came back.
And now, after a season of hard work, Dayao's body can finally withstand the intensity of NBA games. And McHale finally let Dayao start in this crucial game.
Of course, apart from this, there is one thing that makes Chinese fans excited. That is, there are actually ** people in the Rockets' starting lineup. Just looking at this starting lineup can make people feel that the Chinese have finally stood up. At least, China
The level of basketball has been greatly improved compared to before.
Soon, with the cheers of nearly 20,000 fans at the scene, the match between the two sides finally started.
The on-site commentators also began to comment. The Thunder's commentators are an old white man, Brown Davis, and former NBA player Grant Long. Since these two people both have the word "lang" in free translation, some Chinese fans call them "Lang".
For the old wolf and the little wolf.
As soon as the game opened, the Thunder showed off their special skills. The pace was so fast that it was difficult for the eyes to keep up. Durant kept rushing into the Rockets basket during fast breaks and dunking. Westbrook was even more crazy.
After a steal, he performed a dunk, instantly igniting the Thunder's home court. The fans who had just sat down stood up again, roaring crazily and waving their arms.
The old wolf deliberately picked his ears and made a surprised expression: "My ears are almost going deaf. These people are too noisy."
Coyotes smiled knowingly and said: "Whenever Westbrook comes on the court, the fans will be shocked."
"But, having said that, why did the Rockets suddenly change their formation? They took away the faster power forward and replaced it with Yao, who was much slower. This will inevitably slow down the Rockets' rhythm. This is
The Rockets are looking for death, they are the kind of team that doesn't know how to play if they slow down."
"Who knows what McHale was thinking. But I'm sure that what he did was definitely wrong. No, within two minutes of playing, we went 9-0. Oh my God, I
I really don’t want the second quarter to become garbage time.”
…
Wen Hao, who was dribbling the ball on the field, heard the sarcasm of the two commentators, and a sneer appeared on his lips. He would definitely use facts to prove that what these two commentators said was completely wrong.
After dribbling the ball past half-court, Wen Hao faced Westbrook who came forward to press. He did not choose to play in singles, but handed it to Dayao who was already in position on the side. Dayao had his back to Ibaka.
Just a slight shake to the left. The nervous Ibaka was sent flying. Dayao took the opportunity to dribble inside and made a dunk to open the scoring.
The reason why the Rockets made consecutive mistakes just now was because Howard got the ball and Westbrook took it away twice in a row. This time, it was handed over to Dayao for a single, and he finally succeeded.
Now that the Rockets scored, the Thunder couldn't make a fast break. They could only keep passing the ball from the outside. Finally, Durant barely rushed to the free throw line and barely made a shot. Of course, he barely scored.
The rebound was naturally controlled by the Rockets' twin towers, and was handed over to Wen Hao to continue to the frontcourt.
This time Wen Hao still handed the ball to Dayao. He is not a point guard like Westbrook who relies on breakthroughs, but an organizational guard with strong breakthrough ability. He will only break through when the team needs him to break through.
Normally, he would organize the offense with peace of mind. It is his responsibility to hand the ball to the most suitable and confident position.
Sure enough, Dayao turned his back to Ibaka this time, took two steps back, and then turned over and shot a jumper. Although Durant came to cover up the defense, it was still to no avail. Dayao was too high.
In the central live broadcast room, Yang Jian saw this and said: "I thought that a player like Wen Hao who loves fighting would definitely get excited when facing a passionate point guard like Westbrook. I didn't expect that Wen Hao would be like this.
Calm down, this self-control ability is really not something that ordinary players can have."
Director Zhang said: "That's true. But don't underestimate Wen Hao because of this. I dare to say this. In this game, he will definitely let us see the scene between him and Wei Shao." (To be continued.)
