rpbooks Chapter 442
Chapter 442
Chapter 442
After analyzing the trend of the game and the points that the Lakers and Rockets need to pay attention to on both offensive and defensive ends, the two commentators of ESPN put photos of the starting lineups of the two sides on the broadcast screen to let fans understand the matchup.
Lakers: Xu Tian, George, Warren, Josh Smith, Tyson Chandler.
Rockets: Harden, Beverly, Ariza, Capela, Howard.
In order to increase the dominance of the penalty area, Bickerstaff put Capela in the starting lineup for the first time. As for the effect, he has no idea.
When Xu Tian ran into the stadium from the player tunnel, he was immediately booed by all the fans.He is not welcome in Houston, such treatment is really a normal phenomenon.
In the shooting warm-up session before the game, Xu Tian made every shot and hit almost all the shots steadily.Such a state makes Houston fans unconsciously a little worried.
Howard still has the hidden worry of unstable free throws. Standing on the free throw line, he urgently practiced free throws with the help of the shooting coach.This is tantamount to remedying the situation before it is too late.
In the pre-match introduction session, the rocket host's introduction to Xu Tian was also very sloppy, which made people not very impressed with him.If it weren't for the fans knowing that he was the regular season MVP, it would be easy to ignore him.
Xu Tian didn't play in the finale, and left this opportunity to George. After George played, he began to introduce the players of the home team.
D'Angelo Russell occupies the first introduction position, Howard occupies the penultimate position, and Harden is the finale.The status of the team is basically clear at a glance.
Listening to the cheers of the fans, Mike Breen said: "I haven't heard such enthusiastic cheers from the Toyota Center Arena for a long time. Maybe this game is not as expected by the outside world, and it may be more difficult. Solve the problem."
Stan Van Gundy said: "After four truces, most people have forgotten Xu's game dominance. Of course, it is not ruled out that the Rockets can play back and forth with the Lakers on the scene, but Xu is something they can't solve. trouble."
Mike Breen said: "There are not many samples of Xu playing in the playoffs. The performance in the first game alone is not enough to make a conclusion. As for how to play tonight, we still need the game to give us the answer."
Xu Tian also put on a long armguard on his left arm. Before the game, he and his teammates put their left hands together for the last mobilization.Then they tidied up their jerseys and greeted the Rockets players routinely.
Xu Tian still ignored any of the Rockets players, took out the braces from the knee pads, put them in his mouth properly, touched the two bracelets on his right hand with his left hand, and immediately entered the game state.
Tyson Chandler and Howard stood on both sides of the center circle, under the guidance of the referee, to start the jump ball in Game [-] of the series.
Howard had extra momentum tonight, jumping with both legs and slapping the ball to James Harden in the backcourt before Tyson Chandler touched it.He and Harden still haven't reconciled, but the current archenemy is the Lakers, so they have to temporarily put aside their disputes and concentrate on the outside world.
Xu Tian stood at the top of the arc, waiting for Harden to dribble over with stern eyes.
Seeing Xu Tian's firm eyes, Harden saw something he had never seen before, which gave him a very bad premonition.But he is the star of the Rockets, and he has no way to escape. He bends over and dribbles under the crotch, looking for Xu Tian's defensive flaws, and trying to find a breakthrough opportunity.
From the corner of his eye, Xu Tian noticed Howard who was coming up to cover, and made a decisive grab, continuing to put pressure on Harden's dribble.This is something Xu Tian would not do in the past when defending, but this game was used at the beginning of the game.
Harden felt that Xu Tian's dexterous hands were like poisonous snakes spitting out letters, staring at the moving basketball covetously, and might contribute a fatal blow at any time.This kind of defense gave him a lot of offensive pressure.
This is the playoffs, and the degree of physical confrontation allowed by the referee has increased. Xu Tian constantly squeezes Harden's offensive space with his strong core strength.The two-pronged defense worked, preventing Harden from making a dribble error and completing the steal head-on.
Harden's mobility is far inferior to the strong and young Xu Tian, and he failed to make a tactical foul, watching him run farther and farther.
Xu Tian ran to the front court with a blank face, received the ball with his right hand, and made a simple one-handed dunk, which opened the curtain for this game.
Lakers 2-0 Rockets!
Bickerstaff was originally sitting on the coach's bench. Seeing Harden make a mistake at the beginning of the game, he was not in the mood to sit again, got up and stood on the sidelines, and then watched the second attack.
The Rockets still wanted to play the pick-and-roll, but Xu Tian went up to defend again, forcing Harden to break through the penalty area.
George decisively flanked, surrounded Xu Tiancheng near the free throw line, and once again intercepted Harden's pass, causing him to make the second consecutive turnover.
Xu Tian took advantage of the situation and wanted to run forward, but Ariza reacted first, grabbed Xu Tian's shoulders with both hands, and used a violent foul to prevent the Lakers' defensive counterattack.Even so, he was trotted a few steps by Xu Tian who started at a high speed before stopping.
Bickerstaff didn't expect the Lakers to play such a strong defense, and his eyes kept rolling, trying to find a solution.But he searched all over his mind, and still couldn't find any way to deal with it. He could only let the players temporarily give up the pick-and-roll and play other offensive tactics.
The Lakers sent the ball from the backcourt to Xu Tian who was waiting.
The task of Beverly and Ariza was to double-team Xu Tian. Without any hesitation, he started a tough double-team defense just after halftime.
Xu Tian didn't go it alone blindly. He passed the ball with his left hand to George who was standing on the left.
George dribbled the ball with his right hand, accelerated in the face of Harden's defense, and directly began to break through.
Howard and Capela guarded the left and right sides of the penalty area respectively, each supported the opponent in charge of defense with their arms, and always paid attention to George's offensive dynamics.
Xu Tian's ability to move without the ball is excellent. He successfully got rid of Ariza, who was unable to react, in two reverse runs, reducing the defender to one man, and received a lob pass from George who stopped the ball in the penalty area.
Beverly is a tough defender. Even though he suffers too much from Xu Tian in terms of strength, he still bravely gets stuck and resists Xu Tian's set, preventing him from starting comfortably.
Xu Tian held the ball with both hands, and leaned against Beverly on the side of his body, and the upper body of the latter leaned against him.But he didn't continue to waste time. Before Ariza's double-team defense was in place, he leaned back sideways and directly used his height advantage to make a jumper.
Beverly stood still, not daring to rush forward to block the shot, and his defense was basically zero.
Xu Tian made a freehand shot, hitting the middle distance steadily!
4-0!
The fans at the Toyota Center Arena came with great enthusiasm, but they were beaten by Xu Tian in both offensive rounds, which was a bit depressing.Sitting in the seat blankly, I don't know how to respond.
(End of this chapter)