Pick Westbrook

Chapter 135 He Was Still Injured
Bucks regular starter.

Rockets starting lineup: point guard Aaron Brooks, shooting guard Tracy McGrady, small forward Shane Battier, power forward Luis Scola and center Yao Ming.

"McGrady played 15 minutes in the last game, and the statistics were 3 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist."

Tyronn Lue really wants to say that it has been confirmed from the last game that McGrady this season may be worse than last season.

Li Lai originally planned to trade him in the offseason, but now it seems that the general manager of the Rockets, Dog Mo Shizi, opened his mouth and managed to avoid this deal that almost rotted in the hands of the Bucks.

Marshall said: "Coach, we can definitely use Curry to defend McGrady. After he suffered a serious injury last season, his explosive power has dropped significantly, and his waist can no longer even exert strength.

I really can't understand McGrady who has been injured like this, why the Rockets still send him to the game, can't he let him have a good rest? "

Li Lai looked at the Rockets coach Rick Adelman in silence.

He doesn't know each other well, but judging from the intersection of the two last season, Adelman is not the kind of head coach who deliberately hurts players, otherwise the other party would not lament the tragic fate of McGrady last season.

Adelman once told that McGrady was forced to fight for the Rockets in the playoffs under the name of closure, and fans all over the world forgot about it, and the most annoying thing was that McGrady was finally placed on the trading shelf by the Rockets management on this matter.

They have long forgotten the hero who gambled his entire career for the team.

Now, the reason McGrady is still playing on the court must also be the pressure from the Rockets management.

After waiting for a whole summer, Dog Mo found that no one was willing to pay a high price to take McGrady away. He should regret it very much now, so he urgently wants to sell McGrady.

Let McGrady still play the game, I am afraid he also wants to sell it for a good price.

"Artest, you will defend McGrady later, Curry will switch to Brooks, Battier will be defended by Westbrook."

Artest looked at Li Lai with a puzzled face.

If it was Tracy McGrady at his peak, Artest should be the one who should be defended by the Bucks. There is no longer the power of the 35-second 13-point white horse silver gun, so why should he defend?

O'Neal stopped Artest who wanted to ask questions, shook his head and said: "The coach wants to give him the last decency.

This is probably the last time McGrady encountered such a defense in his career. "

In the last season, O'Neal also enjoyed such treatment from Li Lai. He was very grateful to him. That night was also his happiest night in recent years.

Game start.

Yi Jianlian actually won the first wave of possession from Yao Ming.

This scene surprised the little giant, because Yi Jianlian had never beaten him in the national team or in the NBA, and this was the first time.

Westbrook drives the ball and passes it back to Yi Jianlian.

Swish!
Three points!

The Bucks kicked off the whole game with a super long three-pointer at the beginning.

Yao Ming is very helpless, if he throws out to defend Yi Jianlian, then the Rockets will have no one to fill up inside. Scola is a good mid-range and low-post offensive player, but on the defensive end he is known as a big player colander.

The Rockets attack.

Since McGrady lost the offensive threat, Adelman dared not put Yao Ming near the free throw line to support, because there is no one in the Rockets who can perfectly score the ball under the support of Yao Ming. The Giants go inside and go hard.

The Bucks adopted a 3-2 zone defense. Wallace, Yi Jianlian, and Westbrook double-teamed Yao Ming in the interior at the same time, and did not give him any chance to make an easy shot.

Yao Ming decisively passed the ball to Battier, the master blindfolder at the bottom line, but Curry returned to the defense quickly.

Although Curry's defense is not good, but his defensive will is very strong, and because of his fast movement, he is most suitable to be a rotation defensive player on the court.

Looking at the weak Curry in front of him, Battier wanted to break through the opponent and get inside. This should be the most reasonable way of playing, but now the penalty area on the court has become a pot of porridge. It may not be so easy to shoot near the half basket.

Battier forced a three-pointer.

Duang!

It's hard.

Curry is a little short, but he cleverly covered Battier's eyes and didn't think about blocking the shot.

This defensive style makes Battier very unhappy, because it is his unique skill.

Yao Ming couldn't even move, not to mention grabbing the rebound under the siege of the three. Westbrook jumped high and powerfully won the rebound.

Bucks varsity switch.

Westbrook's one-stop fast break, except for Brooks, no one on the entire Rockets can keep up with his speed, but Brooks wants to defend Westbrook's fast break?
It would be nice not to be labeled 2+1!

So for this ball, Brooks could only watch Westbrook take off from the free throw line in one step, and the turtle scored with a tomahawk.

Adelman shook his head helplessly on the sidelines.

He really wants to change the situation on the court, but there is absolutely no way, because there is really no one in his hands.

I think of the derby between the Rockets and the Bucks last season. At that time, they could still play inextricably with the Bucks and became the one that was more optimistic before the start of the game. But this season, the gap between the two teams is It has been stretched very far.

on the field.

McGrady took the initiative to hold the ball on the outside to share the pressure for Yao Ming, but after seeing Artest in front of him, McGrady frowned unexpectedly.

This season, no team in the league has defended him like this.

Artest slapped his hands on the floor, then opened his hands and said, "Come on McGrady, the coach asked me to use 100% of my strength to defend you. I know you, who used to be the top four in the league, deserve to be treated like this."

McGrady looked at the Bucks' bench in surprise, and had a better impression of Li Lai, whom he was not familiar with, and he was respected by the opponent.

Li Lai looked at him and clapped his hands encouragingly, and nodded.

McGrady came back to his senses, his eyes extremely focused.

As usual, he raised his hand in a fake motion to pull it out, but immediately felt a tingling pain in his waist.

McGrady gritted his teeth and lowered his center of gravity, intending to perform the fastest first step recognized by the league, but at the same time, the pain in his knees and ankles made him unable to help but to kneel on the ground.

McGrady, who has no ability, can only turn his back and start playing back against Artest from outside the three-point line.

But the post player in this position is still singles. For a player like Artest who needs body and strength, McGrady's choice is not good enough, but it is his only choice.

McGrady forcibly turned around and slipped to the bottom line. He was grinning, sweat dripping from his forehead unstoppably.

Artest indeed used 100% of his strength to defend the ball. Not only did McGrady's turn around fail to pass the opponent, but Artest almost took the ball out of his hand.

McGrady forced a fallback jumper, but he lost his strength while taking off, so he didn't jump up at all, but fell straight down.

Pull the wrist, and shoot the basketball at the same time.

McGrady had no time to think about whether it hurt to hit the ground, but looked at the beautiful arc of the basketball in the air, just like the countless balls he had thrown.

call!
Hollow outside the basket.

McGrady closed his eyes, as if he finally began to accept his mediocrity, or he was unwilling to stand up.

Yao Ming didn't grab the rebound or return to defense, but walked to McGrady's side, concerned about the current situation of this good brother.

Westbrook grabbed the rebound and did not make a fast break, but watched the referee pointing at McGrady, "He seems to be injured."

The team doctor of the Rockets arrived late. After all, the player who fell on the ground was no longer a superstar in their team.

Soon, after the team doctor checked McGrady's injury, he shook his head at Adelman.

Very pessimistic.

Adelman seems to have expected such a result long ago. He communicated with the Rockets management more than once before the start of the new season. He continued to play.

But Dog Mo's attitude is very firm. He believes that he can sell McGrady for a good price in 10 games at most, but the premise is that McGrady must play more balls and let him show his value.

But this is the Rockets' third game, and it's a pity that McGrady didn't last that long.

Artest complained all over his face: "I'm sorry McGrady, I shouldn't be so defensive."

McGrady, who had already guessed his physical condition, opened his eyes at this moment and said, "I don't blame you, Ron, if it's not today, it might be tomorrow.

Remember to convey it to coach Li Lai for me, I like this kind of defense. "

McGrady was quickly lifted off the court by the Rockets' team doctor. There is no report about his injury. However, at the age of 30, McGrady was still injured without confrontation at this time. Obviously, the result will not be great.

O'Neal sighed on the bench.

He thought of the night he was kicked out by the Lakers. The NBA has always been just business.

Li Lai didn't speak, looking at Mai Di with regret and remorse, no matter what the original result was, the other party was always injured because of him.

Without Tracy McGrady, Adelman took backup guard Kyle Lowry.

Kyle Lowry, who is in the fourth grade this season, finally showed his potential, averaging 10 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Because of his emergence, the Rockets management is increasingly promoting the McGrady deal.

It's just that at this time, Dog Mo is probably already furious in the office, because of McGrady's injury, his value has not only not increased, but may also decline sharply.

That guy had done all his wishful thinking, but in the end it came to nothing.

The game continues quickly.

Yao Ming struggled to support inside, but his efficiency was limited in every three-person fight with the Bucks.

In addition, Yi Jianlian's containment on the perimeter was too terrifying, so at the end of the first quarter, the Bucks took a 32:20 lead.

The game continued in the second quarter.

The Bucks fielded a full bench.

The Rockets' bench is not bad, with Carl Landry, Chase Budinger, David Anderson and Kyle Lowry.

It's just that Iverson singled out Kyle Lowry and scored consecutively as soon as he came up, which made Adelman very helpless, and finally had to replace Yao Ming in advance.

The classic Yaosha showdown is here.

Li Lai did not assign the task of double-teaming Yao Ming at this time, but let O'Neill defend the opponent alone.

Of course, it would be difficult for O'Neill to defend against Yao Ming alone, but Li Lai had reasons to do so.

Tyronn Lue guessed: "Coach, you want to see the possibility of O'Neal defending the league's big center alone.

After all, this is the original intention of our acquisition of O'Neal from the very beginning. "

Li Lai nodded, this was indeed his purpose.

Especially in the Eastern Conference playoffs last season, the Bucks were overwhelmed by Noah, Varejao, and Big Z in the interior. If they met Howard, the interior overlord of the Eastern Conference team, they would not know that they would be beaten by the opponent. What kind.

This is why Li Lai has to win the fifth salary in the league against O'Neal. O'Neal has his unique role in the playoffs.

on the field.

O'Neal tried his best to push Yao Ming, and he was still able to withstand the opponent, but Yao Ming caught him off guard suddenly, and finally he could only watch the basketball go into the basket.

During this period, Yao Ming was the well-deserved No. [-] insider in the league on the offensive end. He was the kind of insider who really didn't need his teammates to pass the ball but could kill opponents one-on-one. This kind of player is the scariest player in the playoffs .

O'Neill admitted that he could no longer guard Yao Ming, who was at his peak.

In the second quarter, relying on Yao Ming's singles score, the Rockets still trailed the Bucks 45:55.

In the second half of the game, with Yao Ming resting, the Rockets finally could no longer keep up with the Bucks' offensive firepower, and were beaten 118:102 helplessly.

The game is over.

Yao Ming made 22 of 12 shots and scored a double-double of 30 points and 14 rebounds. However, two fists were no match for four hands. The Bucks scored in double figures with 8 players and directly accepted the game.

The Bucks have won 2 consecutive victories, and the Rockets have lost 3 consecutive games.

(End of this chapter)