On the evening of the 11th, there was another game worth watching, that is, the Houston Mosaics challenged the Sacramento Kings away from home.
The highlight of this game is actually the Mosaic team.
Currently, the Mosaics have a negative regular season record and are ranked third in the Western Conference. Tonight is their penultimate game of the regular season.
It is worth mentioning that the previous best regular season record in team history for the Houston Mosaics was a single-season losing record led by Olajuwon as the core.
As long as he wins this game tonight, Harden will be able to match Hakeem Olajuwon, the first player in the history of the Mosaic team...at least in terms of leading the team, they can tie.
Therefore, this game is of great significance to Harden's mosaic career.
You don't have to think twice to know that he will definitely give his best tonight.
In fact, as early as 2015, Harden led the Mosaic team to create the second-best negative record in team history. At that time, many fans said that Harden would one day be able to break Olajuwon's best record in team history.
Achievements.
But what no one expected was that this day came so quickly.
Tonight's opponent, the Kings, just suffered a loss to Los Angeles during the All-Star weekend, and now only Andrew Wiggins is the only one on the team who can make a move.
Since Rondo left, Wiggins' usage rate has skyrocketed in the second half of the season. Not only has his playing time increased, but his number of shots has also increased significantly. Before the All-Stars, he averaged 26.8 points per game. After the All-Stars, he has increased
On the premise of taking 5 shots, his scoring average increased to 28.5 points per game.
As the genius No. 1 pick in 2014, Wiggins grew into a super scorer averaging close to 30 points per game in his third year in the league. Wiggins' growth trajectory in this time and space is completely beyond Wang Zelin's inherent impression of him.
If I remember correctly, Wiggins’s performance in the Minnesota Timberwolves season was 23.6 points, 4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1 steal, and 0.4 blocks per game. Compared with the rookies in the same period, he was definitely the top one, but he was definitely not as good as he is now.
the height of.
A third-year NBA player averages 28.5 points per game, almost close to 30 points. Even if you look at the entire league, he can be called a super scorer, not to mention he is still so young.
All I can say is that the environment really changes a person.
Precisely because Brother Zui is so ambitious, he now has the support of the league, and he has the appearance of being the first small forward on the perimeter of the new generation, the absolute leader of the new generation of supernovas.
Even though the Kings' record plummeted after the All-Star Game and they fell out of the Western Conference playoff contenders early, the Kings' games still attracted a lot of traffic and fan attention.
Tonight, their opponent is the Mosaic team, one of the top teams in the Western Conference. The league is also very generous and has arranged a live broadcast across the United States. The media even posted the title "one force can defeat two guns".
What's the meaning?
It is Wiggins who is about to single-handedly compete with the super scorer combination of Harden and Melo.
Will the young supernova defend the home court?
Or will the Lantern Melon Group teach the young king how to be a good man?
Everything is unknown.
At 6:40 that evening, the Kings’ home court was at Arco Arena. It was a star-studded night.
On this day worth remembering, the Houston management specially invited Hakeem Olajuwon, the first player in team history, to come to watch the game, and some famous players from the series were also invited to watch the game.
Yao, who is the number one blue shoe brother in China, couldn't resist the warm invitation from his home team. He took time out of his busy schedule and flew to Sacramento overnight.
With the arrival of Yao Yao, this game began to be widely circulated among the Chinese fans.
Although Wang Zelin's achievements in the NBA and international arena have surpassed Yao's and any previous Chinese men's basketball legend, this still cannot change Dayao's unshakable status among Chinese basketball fans. special meaning.
Da Yao is here, and many domestic entertainment stars also come to join in the fun.
On the Kings side, Ajiali, the daughter of Kings owner with an angelic face and a devilish figure, will undoubtedly become a bright pearl that shines at the Arco Arena tonight.
In addition to Ajiali, many Hollywood stars also appeared at the scene, some invited by the alliance and some who came spontaneously to support.
It can also be seen from this that the league really attaches great importance to this game and is very optimistic about Wiggins' prospects, which is why it praises him and the Kings so much.
All in all, the stage has been set, it’s just waiting for the players from both sides to get into position.
At 7 o'clock that night, the battle broke out as scheduled.
In this battle, Mosaic's three generals Eric Gordon, Nene and Ariza were on the rotation list, so theoretically speaking, the Kings encountered an incomplete Mosaic team and had certain hope of defeating them.
But after the game started, the obvious gap in the overall strength of the two teams became apparent.
The Mosaic team started with a hot outside touch. Anderson hit all of his first four three-pointers. The Mosaic team quickly established a double-digit advantage, including Harden's buzzer-beating three-pointer before the end of the first quarter.
After the first quarter, the Mosaic team led the Kings.
Among them, the Mosaic team made 9 of 15 three-pointers in a single quarter, tying the team's season single-quarter record with 9 three-pointers.
In the second quarter, the two teams' offenses were in full swing, and the offense and defense transitioned very quickly. Wiggins showed his style as a quasi-super scorer. First, he completed a explosive dunk, causing the opponent to foul and score 2+1, and then continued to score points. Help the team narrow the score.
Perhaps due to his partnership with Rondo for a period of time, Wiggins' organizational skills have improved rapidly. After Rondo left the team to join the Clippers, he took on all the offensive responsibilities of the team, not only himself To score, you must also help your teammates score together.
In addition, individual defense and outside assist defense on the defensive end must be taken into consideration.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Playing with the Kings, Wiggins now really feels like James in the 1.0 Cavaliers period... He is both a father and a mother on the court.
Compared with previous ridicules such as Wolfberry Mamba and Health Mamba, Wiggins now fully matches the James template that the media predicted for him during the draft, and deserves to be called the favored man of heaven.
There is no doubt about Wiggins' talent, which is of an absolute historical level. Perhaps his organizational talent is not as good as James', but his other talents are no less than James's. Coupled with the guidance of the famous teacher Rondo, his organizational ability has now reached the same position in active service.
The position players are at the mid-to-upper level, which may not be enough when leading a strong playoff team, but he is in the Kings team after all, and he is still barely enough to lead the Kings teammates.
At the end of the first half, thanks to Wiggins' outstanding performance of 24 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, the score came to a close. The Kings trailed the Mosaics by 13 points, barely holding on to the point difference.
You know, this season's Mosaic team is an out-and-out offensive team. They scored at least 70 points in a half 10 times in the regular season, and 70 points in a half only happened once last season.
Facing such an ultimate magic ball team, it is not easy for Wiggins to lead a single-core team to this level.
The only flaw is probably the irritating 5 turnovers in the half. Assists and turnovers were almost the same.
But young people always have to pay tuition fees for growth, which is understandable.
In front of a 24-8-6 halftime score, Cricket made 5 mistakes, which is totally worth mentioning.
Back in the second half, the Kings scored 6 points in a row at the beginning of the third quarter, bringing the score to single digits.
Just as the Kings fans at Arco Arena were cheering, "Melo" Anthony suddenly stood up and scored two three-pointers to stop the Kings.
In his previous life, this season was Anthony's last year with the New York Knicks. At that time, he was able to average 22.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists at the All-Star level. Melon has not turned into a poisonous melon, and he is still sweet.
This is why when he joined the Thunder in his first season, the outside world called him, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook the Thunder's Big Three.
During this period, Melo's scoring ability did not need to be questioned by the outside world at all. Even after joining Mosaic, he was still an offensive kaleidoscope.
Perhaps considering that he is getting older and further and further away from his championship dream, joining Mosaic and teaming up with Harden may be the last window of his career to win the championship. The once proud Melo not only settled the differences with his former coach D'Antoni, but also in order to be positive
After being integrated into the magic ball system that D'Antoni carefully built for the Mosaic team, he actually... took the initiative to choose to lose weight and transform.
Yes, you heard it right. After Anthony joined Mosaic at the age of 33, he decided to lose weight and undergo a transformation after careful consideration.
For Anthony, this actually serves multiple purposes.
First of all, Anthony's weight is an absolute heavyweight among players at the third position, and he is more than enough to even play at the fourth position. Losing weight can enhance his mobility and defensive switching ability on the court, and can also extend his career age.
Then there's the transformation into a three-point shooter.
To put it simply, the magic ball system is to greatly reduce the mid-range in addition to efficiency. Shooting, three-pointers and finishing at the basket are the team's main offensive options, and then pursue the ultimate offense.
With Harden as the core, if you want to cooperate with him to play the magic ball well, perimeter players must have one hand and three-point ability.
The three-point ability fits well with the current NBA offensive trend. Anthony can complete the transformation several seasons earlier than in his previous life, which will also allow this once traditional offensive kaleidoscope to better transition quickly to the new version.
The reason why Anthony in his previous life declined rapidly after leaving the Knicks, to the point where he could no longer play ball, was mainly because his technical characteristics had become decoupled from the small-ball era where three-pointers were the main focus.
Anthony's offensive characteristics are almost all designed for one-on-one challenges. In the small ball era, except for a few players who can have specific one-on-one challenges, all other players must serve three-pointers and defense.
After Anthony left the Knicks, he didn't have a stable three-pointer, and he was a famous defensive end. He didn't touch either side. No wonder he almost couldn't hit the ball.
If he can complete the transformation in advance and develop a stable three-point shooting, his career lifespan will be greatly extended.
There is no doubt that a historical super scorer like Anthony will not be able to practice three-pointers?
In the future, some people will say that when Jordan reaches the small ball era, his playing style will be at best an enhanced version of DeRozan?
Without considering the background play styles of different eras of the NBA, simply making cross-era comparisons is an extremely absurd hooliganism in itself.
If Gang Leader Qiao really grew up in the small ball era, with his talent and touch, it would be impossible for him not to be able to practice three-pointers.
Even the theoretically more difficult mid-range shots can be practiced to an unprecedented level. Among them, the field goal percentage is more than 50%, which is the only one in history among outside players. There is no reason why people can't practice three-pointers.
.
Therefore, it is not unacceptable for Anthony to develop three-pointers after joining Mosaic.
His shooting talent is already outstanding, but in the past it was just due to the needs of the version, more importantly in the mid-range.
As we all know, if a player wants to see whether he has shooting talent, he often looks at free throws.
Carmelo Anthony, a player with a career free throw percentage of over 80%, there is no doubt about his shooting talent.
What's more, Anthony's shooting percentage in his previous career has not been so bad that it can't be seen. Except for the first four years of his rookie contract, his shooting percentage fell below 30% in three years, and the three-point shooting percentage in the remaining years has basically remained above 30%.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! After the season, the lowest shooting rate was 31.6%, and the highest year was 42.4%. That was the season, when he averaged 4.6 three-pointers per game and hit 2
ball.
Judging from a large sample of career data, he can practice three-pointers.
The key is that while Melo has shot 39.6% of his three-pointers this season, he has not lost the mid-range shots that he was once proud of.
CIC was once a weapon of God, and it was also a skill that was refined after being tempered on the big stage of the playoffs. It is also the best cost-effective choice for superstars to save their face as they age. With such special skills, Melon will naturally not give up easily.
In the third quarter of the game against the Kings, Anthony felt explosive and showed textbook shooting skills.
No, to be precise, it should be the art of shooting.
After scoring two consecutive three-pointers, after a timeout, the Kings had just launched an 8:2 attack wave, hoping to tie the score in one fell swoop.
At the critical moment, after noticing that his teammates were struggling with their three-point shooting, it was Anthony who stepped up again.
But the difference from before was that this time he chose to fire from the mid-range, hitting two consecutive mid-range jumpers on both sides of the free throw line, pouring cold water on the young Kings.
Pay special attention to the fact that including the first two three-pointers, Anthony has scored 10 points in the third quarter, and all of them were scored on the head of Kings star Wiggins.
Facing the veteran Anthony, all the defensive skills Wiggins learned from his big brother Rondo were all in vain at this moment, and he was inevitably a little frustrated.
But this cannot be blamed on Wiggins. Basketball is essentially a scoring game. Now Anthony has obviously improved his shooting touch. Let alone Wiggins, even if Leonard comes, it may not work.
Thanks to Anthony's magical performance of scoring 18 points in the third quarter, this high-profile battle finally turned into a one-sided game for the Mosaic team.
After three quarters, the point difference between the two sides had been widened to 24 points. Anthony clocked out three quarters early, and his personal score was fixed at 33 points.
Harden also clocked out of get off work in the third quarter, but he still sent out a game-high 11 assists and got a double-double in assists.
Relying on the outstanding performance of the lighting combination, the Mosaic team finally defeated the Mosaic Loud King and won their 58th regular season victory.
So far, under the leadership of the two men, the Mosaic team has successfully tracked down the best regular season record in team history created by Olajuwon this season.
At the press conference after the game, the ambitious lighting team stated that the next game is the last stop of the regular season, and the Mosaic team will target Portland!