rpbooks Chapter 414 Continued Oppression
Chapter 414 Continued Oppression
Chapter 414 Continued Oppression
George mentioned the top of the arc, folded his hands in front of him, formed a screen to block Ariza, and let D'Angelo Russell switch to Xu Tian.
There are many special rules in the league, and no post for rookies is one of them.In addition to targeting Howard, the Lakers also targeted D'Angelo Russell by the way.
D'Angelo Russell's talent on the offensive end is worthy of the pick, but the defensive end is not good enough. He can match Xu Tian in height, but his experience is too poor. After only two seconds of defense, Xu Tian directly got rid of him.
Ariza had to give up on George's defense and quickly move laterally to form a quick make-up defense.
Xu Tian's pass was fast and accurate, and it went directly to George.
George has basically never experienced the peak period of Warcraft Howard, and naturally he does not know his defensive power. He dribbles and rushes directly to hit the inside.
Both Terrence Jones and Howard were in the penalty area, and the two jumped up one after another, trying to block George.
The Lakers' offensive tactic is to hit the inside hard. Naturally, George will not back down. Against Howard's defense, he pulls the bar in the air and picks the basket in a collision.
This is the Staples Center, which belongs to the Lakers.The referee still gave face, whistled Howard for a thug foul, and sent George to the free throw line.
Bickerstaff saw that the Lakers were targeting Howard, the defensive core, on both ends of the offense and defense, but due to Howard's status in the league, he did not dare to replace him prematurely.This is related to the dignity of superstars and cannot be easily challenged.
Howard has been playing very aggrieved since the start of the game. When the referee whistled for a foul, he got a little angry and argued angrily, saying that he didn't foul just now.It's just that the slow motion played on the big screen above the venue showed that he just hit George's arm firmly.
The Staples Center was not friendly to Howard, and there was a strong booing immediately, and even many extreme fans began to call him a softie.
Standing at the top of the arc, Xu Tian looked at Howard, who had an uncertain face, and knew that their targeting had begun to work.
There is a high probability that a single game in the regular season will not affect the ranking, but the playoffs are different. Every game is very important, and even a small loss may have a great impact on the final result.Therefore, it is not only necessary to block opponents tactically, but also mentally to make them uncomfortable.
George made two free throws!
4-5!
Danjilo Russell had just received the serve, and before he started dribbling, he heard the referee's whistle-Thackeray made another move on Howard.
Howard was fouled consecutively, and the anger in his heart could not be suppressed, so he vigorously pushed Thackeray, who had been pasted again.
Thackeray received Xu Tian's secret teaching before the game, and he knew how to manipulate the opponent's mentality. He was not annoyed at all, and posted it again with a smile.All kinds of hidden tricks appeared frequently, which continued to put pressure on Howard's mental state.
Howard is not a player with a big heart, how could he stand such continuous pressure, his mentality gradually became unbalanced, and he almost wanted to hit Thackeray.However, he thought that this was the playoffs, so he endured it.
Xu Tian's defense against D'Angelo Russell was really an unequal matchup, and he quickly forced the latter to stop the ball and almost completed a steal.In desperation, D'Angelo Russell could only call a timeout.
Harden has strength. He has been running back and forth in these two rounds, and he has some emotions in his heart. When he walked off the court, he communicated with D'Angelo Russell and asked him to pass the ball.
Bickerstaff didn't expect the Lakers' defensive strength and pertinence to be so high, and he panicked for a while, not knowing how to deal with it.The problem of his inexperience was highlighted in the first game of the series.
Barkley said: "I don't think the strength of the two teams is at the same level, or even close at all. If the Rockets don't realize that they have to pass the ball to James Harden, they will have a disastrous defeat tonight."
Kenny Smith said: "This is not an even series at all. Dwight Howard has a free throw weakness, and James Harden and D'Angelo Russell have flaws defensively and will be picked out by the Lakers perimeter players. Fight. I don’t know what the Rockets can rely on to win against such a matchup.”
"Three points!" Barkley laughed. "Darrell Morey is superstitious about the magic ball theory. If they want to win a game in this series, they must break out with three points."
"Will the Lakers give them a chance to shoot threes?"
"I don't think so."
The two commentators couldn't help laughing when they said this.
The scene in front of the benches of the two sides is very different.Although the Rockets lead by one point, the atmosphere is very dull, as if they have already been led by a big score, and there is no hope of a comeback.
The Lakers are also very quiet here, but everyone is listening carefully to the tactical arrangement and is very confident in the offensive and defensive rounds after the timeout.
Anthony Brown has gradually lost playing time, but this time he replaced Bryant and replaced Thackeray on Howard's consecutive fouls.Now that the targeting has begun, Bickerstaff must be replaced by Howard.
Clint Capela is Howard's backup center, but he hasn't fully grown up enough to take on a big role in the playoffs. Once he replaces Howard, the Rockets' defense is basically useless for the Lakers.There are two bottles of poison placed in front of Rocket, and he has to take the same one.
Pause ends, game continues!
Anthony Brown knew why he got playing time, rushed towards Howard decisively, and fouled directly.The team's accumulated times are full, and Howard is sent to the free throw line.
Howard had no choice but to bite the bullet and stand on the free throw line and execute the free throws he was least good at.
Lakers fans designed slogans in advance. When Howard made free throws, they kept shouting "Happy Basketball" and "Damian Moment", stimulating him with Howard's previous words and experiences.
Howard was not good at free throws, and he was continuously targeted on and off the court, and his mentality was already out of balance.Two free throws, all three misses.
Xu Tian stood at the top of the arc and applauded loudly, indicating that it was a good shot.
Howard and Xu Tian were unusually at odds, and the two had no interaction in private. Hearing his ridicule, the anger in his heart grew stronger.
Xu Tian received a serve from his teammate in the backcourt, and said to Bickerstaff who was standing on the sidelines: "***, you should use another player to defend me, at least he should be more decent than Trevor, otherwise I really can't feel the defensive strength. .”
Ariza hadn't run to the frontcourt yet, and when he heard Xu Tian's words, he was also aroused, and planned to teach Xu Tian a lesson on the defensive end.
Xu Tian bent over to dribble the ball at the top of the front court, looked at Ariza's serious face, and said relaxedly: "Trevor, what's the result of our four matches this season?"
Ariza knew that the Lakers swept the Rockets in the regular season, but he refused to show weakness at all, and responded with words: "Don't be complacent, I'll let you go around tonight!"
Xu Tian suppressed his smile, his legs burst out instantly, and he directly passed Ariza who lowered his center of gravity.
Both Harden and D'Angelo Russell have poor defensive awareness and cannot form supplementary defenses.
Terrence Jones was pulled away by Josh Smith, also far away from Xu Tian.
Howard was the only one left in the Rockets penalty area. He used his legs hard and gritted his teeth to block Xu Tian's attack.
(End of this chapter)