Pick Westbrook

Chapter 326 Playoff Reimbursement
The Rockets attack.

Yao Ming moved from the right side to the left side, and this time the Hornets' double-teaming and assist defense failed to keep up in time.

Yao Ming caught the ball on the left and got a very good singles opportunity.

Facing Jordan's defense, Yao Ming raised his hand and feinted a shot. Jordan wanted to take off and block the shot, causing him to lose his center of gravity and defensive position.

Yao Ming immediately broke through the basket with the ball and scored with a one-handed dunk facing Lewis' help defense.

"This step is beautiful, Dayao!"

On the CCTV commentary stand, Yu Jia couldn't help but said excitedly after seeing the goal.

Su Qun said: "This is Dayao's personal offensive ability. No matter what kind of defense the Hornets adopt, he has a very high probability of scoring the ball."

"In this round of the series, Yao Ming must be a very big problem that the Hornets coaching staff needs to solve urgently."

Hornets coaching bench.

Li Lai frowned tightly at this moment.

Yao Ming's state in the first quarter was really good. As Stevens said, if Yao Ming in this state is not restricted, the Hornets may not be able to beat the Rockets.

Du Feng, who is very familiar with him, said at this time: "Yao Ming is very versatile on the offensive end. Not only can he shoot and shoot, he can even organize and attack in low positions."

"After learning the fantasy footsteps from the legendary NBA legend Olajuwon, with his height and soft touch inside, no player in the league can defend Yao Ming alone in one-on-one."

"The only thing that can stop Yao Ming is his own shooting touch."

Stevens nodded in agreement and said, "That's right, Leonard's defense and double-teaming during the regular season have always had good results."

"But that's based on Leonard's excellent height and wingspan. His help defense and double-teaming can naturally be very aggressive."

"And now it's Yao Ming who has no solution to attack inside. At this time, Leonard's outstanding talent is not enough."

Li Lai suddenly asked after being silent: "How much playing time does Yao Ming play per game this season?"

Du Feng then looked at the data booklet he had prepared before the game and said, "It's an average of 33 minutes per game."

After answering Li Lai, Du Feng immediately saw a very interesting statistic.

He continued: "Although Yao Ming shot 52% from the field in the regular season, it is worth noting that his shooting percentage in the first half was even higher, reaching 56%."

"But in the second half, especially in the critical fourth quarter, Yao Ming's shooting percentage will continue to decline."

"The shooting percentage in the second half was only 49%, in the fourth quarter it was only 46%, and in the last 5 minutes of the most critical game, Yao Ming's shooting percentage was only 45%."

"It's a very peculiar phenomenon."

Li Lai nodded.

In fact, Yao Ming has not been regarded as a key man throughout his career, and it is difficult for him to lead the team to victory at the last moment of the game like O'Neal.

This is not a question of ability, but a gap in physical talent.

Yao Ming is always difficult to maintain because of his physical strength. Unlike O'Neal, his attacking style on the offensive end is more about brutally hitting the basket.

Yao Ming has a lot of soft offensive methods and very personal footsteps and singles.

This kind of offensive method is very important to maintain the feeling of the opponent and the reserve of physical strength, but because of Yao Ming's huge weight and he is also the core of the team's duel, it is very difficult for him to maintain sufficient physical strength, and he must always be on the court. The team moves forward.

This is the key reason why Yao Ming is so incomprehensible on the offensive end of the court but it is difficult to lead the team to the end.

"Dayao still needs a helper, a very strong helper."

"The all-encompassing attack suits the American player, but it doesn't suit him."

"Strictly speaking, the most suitable coach for Dayao should be Popovich of the Spurs."

"Because he is the best head coach in the league who is good at creating tactics with stars instead of creating tactics for players."

"It's also a blessing that Duncan played under him and not other teams."

At this time, Li Lai already knew how to defend Yao Ming. In fact, he also used the same tactic against James in the Eastern Conference decisive battle between the Bucks and the Cavaliers.

Even James, who is known as an alien, could not persist to the end under such a tactic, and Li Lai was confident that Yao Ming would do the same.

At this time, Li Lai also looked at the players on the field again to signal their tactics.

"Still implement a very large defensive aggression against Yao Ming, try not to let him pass the ball easily, but fall into the singles vicious circle."

"Once Yao Ming hits the inside, he will double-team and assist in defense, reducing his shooting percentage."

"At the same time, the Hornets should try to play as fast as possible on the offensive end, and every time Yao Ming must be transferred from the inside to play, making him exhausted while defending the inside and outside, further consuming his physical strength."

在这样的防守战术下，姚名在首节比赛10投6中，罚球4罚4中，高效的砍下了16分3篮板1助攻的数据。

But looking at the score on the field, the Hornets led by 27:25.

The second game.

Yao Ming took a rest, and the two teams took the rotation lineup one after another.

Rockets rotation: point guard Kyle Lowry, shooting guard Courtney Lee, small forward Chase Budinger, power forward Patrick Patterson and center Marcus Camby.

Hornets rotation: Patrick Beverley, JR Smith, Jimmy Butler, Boris Diaw and Oden.

"What, Oden actually appeared?"

Kenny Smith saw that Oden, who had been away from the court for two full years, actually returned to the NBA arena, and it was still a playoff game, and he was extremely shocked.

He continued: "Oden was originally the No. 2007 pick in [-], and he belongs to the same class as Durant, the league's scoring leader this season."

"But the fate of the two is completely different. Oden was reimbursed for his rookie season, and at the same time suffered from injuries many times in the following seasons."

"Until this season, the Trail Blazers finally couldn't stand Oden who played only 5 games in five years, so they directly bought out with the opponent."

"But in the free market, after the buyout, Oden was completely ignored and was not signed by the Hornets until the last few days of the trade deadline."

"At that time, everyone thought that the Hornets just signed a sparring player, the purpose is to imitate the opponent's center's play style in the team training game in the playoffs."

"But now, Oden actually played!"

Barkley was also extremely shocked and said: "Some media reporters have reported before that Oden's recovery process in the Hornets is extremely fast, even amazing."

"So it is not surprising that Oden can recover with the expected recovery period, but what is surprising is that the coaching staff of the Hornets really dared to let Oden play on the stage of the playoffs."

"You know, the center of the Rockets is now Marcus Camby! 4-time NBA block leader, 07 NBA best defensive player, 4-time NBA best defensive team player."

"Oden will be blown up."

on the field.

Oden naturally heard how Kenny Smith and Barkley on the commentary desk looked down on him. To be honest, even he himself was shocked that Li Lai actually let him play.

Oden hadn't touched the ball in two years, except for five minutes in the final game of the regular season when Lee played him.

Although he has been watching and learning the Hornets' defensive system and tactical play off the court, this is the NBA after all, and talking about it on paper is completely useless.

This place is all about jungle and endless competition.

Oden remembers Stevens purposely finding him in a solitary place a second before the playoffs began and saying.

"Greg, I never expected you. Although Coach Li Lai likes you very much, I have no expectations of you."

"I have watched every game you played in the NBA, and those performances have never passed a pass here."

"Coach Du Feng and I have the same opinion on this point. We both think it will be difficult for you to return to the NBA."

"But we are convinced of Coach Li Lai, and we choose to respect and trust his decision."

"So I hope you can respond to coach Li Lai's expectations in the playoffs and prove to him that his vision is correct. You are worthy of the expectations of all of us."

At this moment, Oden closed his eyes and took a deep breath, rubbing his wrists and knees at the same time.

Once hailed as a rare center genius in decades, and honored as Emperor Auden, he has already reached the point where he is so looked down upon.

He doesn't hold grudges against Coach Stevens, because what the other party said is the truth.

Oden has never proved his talent in the NBA. If it weren't for Li Lai, he should have no ball to play now, and he will definitely be considered the most watery champion in NBA history in the future.

Oden didn't know if his body could last another two or three years as the doctor in Phoenix said.

But even if it is just one game, as long as he can prove the opponent's expectations for coach Li Lai tonight, Oden will be satisfied.

The game restarts.

Hornets attack.

Kyle Lowry led the Rockets' bench players at this time, which is also the rotation they often play in the regular stage.

When Yao Ming went off the court, Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin each took on the heavy responsibility of the team's offense at this time.

Of course, Lowry is more inclined to organize offenses at this stage, while Kevin Martin is more inclined to individual offenses when leading the team.

But what made Lowry feel extremely troublesome when he came up was that the Hornets' backup point guard Beverly implemented a full-court pressing defensive strategy alone.

From the backcourt serve to the frontcourt, Beverly has always put a lot of defensive pressure on Lowry, and even almost made him an 8-second violation.

After finally dribbling the ball to the frontcourt, the Hornets implemented man-to-man defense again.

When Lowry and Camby were playing pick-and-roll, Beverly ran in and out like a mad dog and squeezed ahead of time, directly cracking the pick-and-roll tactics of the two.

The Rockets' offense was in big trouble at this point.

Faced with such a defensive tactic, Lowry can only attack Beverly by himself.

Dribble the ball with low hands, and change direction in front of the body to accelerate the breakthrough.

"Lowry passed the ball!"

Yu Jia nodded with great satisfaction after seeing the broadcast footage and said, "Kyle Lowry is an absolutely underestimated player."

"Although he is just a late first-round pick in 06, he has already grown into a very good point guard player after playing in the league for 6 full seasons."

"This season Kyle Lowry averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists per game. He is a very important tactical engine for the Rockets after Dayao is off the court."

Su Qun nodded in praise and said: "Steel cannon Kyle Lowry is definitely a late bloomer."

Lowry, who broke through to the inside, used his own exclusive offensive method, that is, leaning on the defensive player for a layup during the breakthrough layup.

This is different from the traditional layup method of point guards looking for gaps. Kyle Lowry's layup method is more physical confrontation, which is very easy to cause defensive fouls by defensive players.

But if your physical strength is not enough, it is easy to be directly squeezed out by opponent players in the confrontation.

But the real picture is that Lowry has never been pushed out by the opponent, but this kind of rear braking to find the body to fight against the opponent is extremely annoying.

This is also the origin of Kyle Lowry's nickname.

boom!
Lowry and Beverly's muscles collided, and Beverly was knocked back again and again.

"Pretty!"

"Lowry's going for a layup!"

Snapped! ! !
Suddenly, there was a powerful thumping of the ball.

Everyone looked shocked when they heard the sound. Oden jumped into the air with a gloomy face, and a volleyball hat flew the basketball racket out.

"The sky of the Hornets, I have the final say!" Oden roared.

On the CCTV commentary stand, Yu Jia and Su Qun were dumbfounded when they saw the ball.

Kenny Smith and Barkley on the commentary desk were equally shocked and speechless, and they didn't know what to say at this time.

On the court, the Rockets' players were also shocked.

Jimmy Butler jumped high at the top of the arc to grab the rebound, and then yelled: "What are you doing in a daze! Make a fast break!"

JR Smith accelerated rapidly, and the Hornets played 2 to 0 in the frontcourt.

Jimmy Butler didn't get greedy for offense, but took the initiative to give the ball to JR Smith, who folded and dunked back.

Fans in New Orleans immediately burst into applause.

Kenny Smith reacted and said: "JR Smith's dunk looks like an All-Star."

Barkley also came back to his senses but talked about what happened before: "Greg Oden's defense awareness is very good."

In the round just now, Barkley saw it clearly.

Lowry's rear brake layup method is indeed easy to cause fouls by defensive players, which is very advantageous on the court, but basketball has never had absolute offensive moves and movements.

Although Lowry's layup method is easy to cause fouls by defensive players, but at the same time, due to the increase in physical confrontation, the shooting speed is slowed down, and it is also easy to be interfered by other players of the opponent team.

That's how Oden's blocks came about.

"Oden is indeed unable to jump anymore. He is not flying like he was in college. His take-off block height may not be 40cm."

"But fortunately, Oden's prediction is extremely good, and his static talent is also the top among center players, so the ball was still easily blocked by him."

Hornets coaching bench.

Du Feng said in shock: "Because of years of injuries, Oden's dynamic talent has indeed disappeared. With a vertical take-off of 40cm, even Yao Ming, who is not outstanding in talent, can jump 50cm."

"But Oden's defense awareness is indeed very good. After Jordan is off the court, we finally have a very reliable rotation player."

Du Feng was not very satisfied with the player Oden at first, and he didn't think that the addition of the opponent could really help the Hornets.

Especially when Li Lai proposed at the coaching staff meeting that Oden would play in the playoffs, Du Feng was extremely shocked and even puzzled. Even Stevens shared his emotions.

But now it seems that Li Lai may have taken a fancy to Oden's ability to assist and supplement defense on the defensive end, so he insisted on signing the opponent and giving him playing time in such a critical game in the playoffs.

Li Lai said with satisfaction at this time: "Did you know that Oden's vertical take-off was 90cm in the NCAA!"

"The vertical take-off height of most NBA center players is between 50-70cm. Even the young Shaquille O'Neal is only 75-80cm in this data."

"Oden at that time was worth everyone's expectations."

Most people are not cold when they see the data of 90cm vertical take-off, thinking that it is just a data.

But Li Lai is very clear about the concept of this data appearing on center players.

It's just a pity that Li Lai had never coached Oden at his peak or when he was young, so at this time, he could only try his best to arrange tactical play for the opponent in line with his static talent.

—Floor flow defense.

"Reduce the take-off, increase the help defense of the penalty area, and at the same time have enough strength to fight in the low defense."

"The best defensive template for Oden, who only has static talents left now, is Gasol Jr. of the Grizzlies."

"As long as he can play half of Gasol's ability on the defensive end, it will be a very important part of the Hornets' tactical rotation."

Oden's defense, Diaw's organizational offense, and a two-person inside partner will definitely bring great trouble to the opponent in the future rotation.

next round.

Faced with Oden's outstanding performance, Marcus Camby naturally felt that this was a provocation, so he did not hesitate to open his hands in the paint and wanted to eat the opponent alone.

This style of play has also been approved by coach Kevin McHale.

In his opinion, a player who has not played for two years will have difficulty adapting to the intensity of the playoffs, both in terms of physical preparation and defensive awareness.

So the Hornets dare to take such a weakness on the court, coach Kevin McHale will naturally have to take it seriously.

"Camby singles Oden! Come on come on!"

"Camby was the No. 96 pick in 07, and Oden was the No. 11 pick in 14. There is a full [-] years difference between the two draft picks, and there is also a [-]-year gap in age."

"Look at how this contest between the two will go."

Camby took the ball inside, and when he found that the Hornets were defending Yao Ming, all kinds of inside assistance and double-teaming were not brought up at this time, he smiled contemptuously and executed singles without hesitation.

"Just because Oden, a player who has been injured for two full years, wants to guard me inside?"

A library!
Camby pushed hard behind him, but found that Oden was not moving at all, so he tried his best to push behind him again.

Erku!

boom!
Instead, Camby was rebounded by a force and took a small step forward. He turned around angrily, wanting to make a frontal dunk from Shaquille O'Neal.

The result is bang! ! !
"Another block!"

"Camby was blocked by the Odens with the ball on his back!"

"The Hornets pushed back!"

JR Smith went down quickly, and Jimmy Butler hit the ball selflessly again, and the latter glided and dunked with one hand.

Rockets coach.

Coach Kevin McHale was completely in a state of confusion at this time.

Before the start of the game, he did not expect that the Hornets would send Oden, a fringe player, to the game. More importantly, he also showed an extremely strong defense when he played.

For two full years, Oden only had 2 minutes of playing time in the last game of the regular season as a reference. Even if Kevin McHale has three heads and six arms, it is difficult to find a way to limit the opponent when the opponent suddenly plays very well.

At this time, Kevin McHale decisively replaced Kevin Martin on the court in advance, trying to reverse the situation in one fell swoop with the outside bombing combination formed by him and Lowry.

After Kevin Martin came on the court, he broke through with the ball. Facing Butler's defense, he suddenly accelerated to slip to the bottom line, and then deliberately created physical confrontation and threw the ball into the sky.

beep!beep!
The referee whistled and Butler fouled.

Stevens quickly reminded: "Kevin Martin is a player who is very good at drawing fouls. This season, he averaged 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game, including 6 points from free throws alone. "

Li Lai was not worried about this.

He said: "The whistleblowing scale in the playoffs will be more relaxed than in the regular season, which also encourages confrontation."

"So guys like Kevin Martin and James Harden aren't going to get called by the referee for just two touches."

"Of course, Butler did violate Kevin Martin's offensive cylinder in this wave of offense just now. There is nothing wrong with this foul."

Li Lai was very satisfied with Jimmy Butler's performance in his playoff debut. He unselfishly passed two strikes for JR Smith in the rotation.

This is also the playing habit brought to him by Butler's childhood experience.

Team-based rather than individual offense-based.

Regarding this point, Du Feng asked curiously before, why Butler and Paul's playing styles are so similar, both of which are based on passing.

Li Lai explained: "Jimmy Butler likes to pass, Chris Paul likes to pass, Jason Kidd likes to pass, LeBron James also likes to pass."

"Because most of these players were born in poverty, they often hang out in the streets. They know very well that they must become stronger if they want to survive, and they must unite all the forces around them that can be united."

"Only when all the people at the bottom are united will those at the top frown slightly."

At this time, Du Feng thought of what the coach said before, and he immediately thought of those players who like to attack individually.

"Those players who like individual offense do come from a lot of wealth most of the time."

At this time, Li Lai immediately walked to the center line to signal Jimmy Butler not to switch defenses with Vince Carter to Kevin Martin easily.

Because in terms of defensive experience and the ability to reduce the number of fouls, Vince Carter, who has been in the league for decades, is more sophisticated, and he is more suitable for defending players like Kevin Martin.

Jimmy Butler nodded, he naturally understood the meaning of the coach at this time.

Butler complained very much in his heart that he had not improved his defensive moves and defensive habits. Coach Gary Payton has reminded him many times on this point.

It took Leonard only a few months to improve this defect, but Butler himself was slow to improve.

"Coach Gary Payton said more than once that Leonard's defensive talent is much better than mine. I must show him that I can also do the same on the defensive end."

If it is the regular season, Butler will inevitably have to practice extra after this game because of his own defensive problems.

But now it is the playoff stage, and Li Lai made repeated orders not to allow any extra training for any players. Even if Butler has the courage and hard work, he would not dare to disobey the coach's wishes at this time, so he decided.

"Go to that Kawhi guy after the game for a closed-eyes shot drill on the bed!"

The second quarter is over.

With Vince Carter's experienced defense against Kevin Martin, he was not able to cause fouls in the later rounds, and he made 5 of 2 shots and played averagely.

The Hornets took this opportunity to build a 10-point lead, 65:55.

In the second half of the game, Yao Ming led the team to launch a counterattack. The Rockets evened the score in the early part of the fourth quarter, but in the second half of the fourth quarter.

Yao Ming failed to score against Jordan's defense twice in the interior, and Paul immediately blew the counterattack horn with a mid-range shot.

Leonard and Lewis hit three-pointers one after another, Jordan completed an alley-oop dunk, Yao Ming was fouled, and Vince Carter staged a counterattack UFO explosion.

"The Hornets won the game with one wave."

After the game, Yao Mingchu kept breathing on his knees. He should have gone straight back to the locker room at this time, but Director Zhang was already waiting on the sidelines, so the kind Yao Ming didn't choose to leave immediately.

“大姚，这场比赛你22投12中，罚球7罚7中，砍下了31分11篮板的超级两双数据，但是火箭队仍然以99:108输掉了比赛。”

"What do you think is your problem?"

Yao Ming wiped the sweat off his face with a towel and said, "The Hornets' defense is very good. They limit all of our offenses."

"Oden's sudden appearance caught us by surprise. The Rockets will study the video of the game in the future. We will definitely win the next game."

Li Lai returned to the locker room.

Paul was leading his teammates to shout the team slogan, all the Hornets players were surging at this moment, and Oden was frantically surrounded by them.

"Fight!" "Fight!!!" "Fight!!!"

Du Feng said with a smile: "The players are very excited about winning their first playoff game. After all, most of them are playing in the playoffs for the first time."

Oden laughed very happily among his teammates. This is the first time he has smiled like this in the NBA since the NCAA.

At this moment, Oden saw Stevens' eyes, and the latter nodded repeatedly to say that he played well tonight, and when he saw Li Lai walking towards him, Oden smiled even more happily.

"Coach." Oden said a little at a loss.

Li Lai patted him on the back and said with satisfaction: "You performed well. You played 10 minutes and scored 2 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks."

"In the next game, I will give you proper tactics on the offensive end so that you can adapt to your physical condition. If you feel something is wrong on the offensive end, let me know immediately."

Oden nodded again and again, he also wanted to see how much strength he could have on the offensive end.

At this time, Hammond rushed into the locker room, and he looked at Li Lai with a slightly anxious look.

Li Lai hurriedly left the locker room, looked at the other party and said, "What's wrong?"

Hammond knew how much Li Lai valued that player, so he took a deep breath and said, "The Bulls, who have a game like us tonight, lost, and the Knicks won the game 103:102."

Li Lai frowned slightly in surprise.

Judging from the state the Bulls have shown this season, they shouldn't lose to the Knicks.

Even if the Knicks have Carmelo Anthony and Stoudemire, the New York Knicks should not be the Bulls' opponents.

Is it because of abnormal performance?
Hammond noticed the emotion on Li Lai's face, and said seriously: "The Bulls star Rose stayed on the court during the garbage time in the fourth quarter, and then accidentally got injured and left the court."

"Because of this, the Knicks team launched a counterattack with great momentum. In just 6 minutes, they hit an astonishing 22:6 shock wave and reversed the game in one fell swoop."

"It is still unknown about Rose's injury, but judging from the scenes at the scene, he was injured without confrontation. I'm afraid the result is not particularly optimistic."

At this moment, Li Lai took a deep breath and couldn't help but said, "Does the rose still wither after all?"

A few hours later, the Bulls officially announced.

Rose suffered a torn ACL and was out for the playoffs.

(End of this chapter)