Rebirth of Hayes Cyclone

Chapter 109 [Playoff debut, unsolvable pick-and-roll]

On April 4, the Toyota Center was packed, and the Rockets' first playoff game was about to begin.Fans are waiting to see the Rockets sink the Clippers and break the curse of the first round of the playoffs.

The Big Three of the Rockets lined up side by side after they appeared on the stage. Amid the sound of music, they faced the auditorium and raised their fists high!The audience shouted frantically, and the momentum of the home court was like a rainbow.

This is the Rockets' new way of playing. The Big Three celebrated their victory at the beginning of the game, which is easy to cause a psychological blow to the visiting team players who are already at a disadvantage.

Yao Ming exchanged pleasantries with Mobley, and Elton Brand also greeted Hayes. "Chuck, don't be too arrogant. The playoffs are different from the regular season. You may not win."

"I'm afraid you lost worse than the regular season." Hayes laughed.

Brand didn't speak, and returned to the players' bench.

The Clippers didn't even think about creating a black-eight miracle. They just wanted to grab a victory, and then the task was completed.At least have to fight against the Rockets, you can't lose too ugly.

Clippers head coach Dunleavy looked serious and arranged tactics: "Elton, you keep an eye on Hayes. Chris (Kaman), today you defend Yao Ming alone. If he shoots the ball smoothly, go around and defend. Cutino (Mobley), hang on to McGrady, don't let him shoot easily. On offense, Elton gave Cutino a pick-and-roll, McGrady's defense is relatively weak, we use this as a breakthrough, Sean (Livingston), You have to dare to attack against Fisher, you have the advantage of height and speed."

Dunleavy did not arrange Brand's main attack. In the regular season confrontation, under the defense of Hayes, his data will always be below the average level.

The Clippers were preparing to guard against Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, but on the other side, Van Gundy made a surprise move.The Rockets not only adjusted their tactics, but also changed their starting lineup.David Lee started at power forward, Hayes at small forward, Battier at shooting guard and Tracy McGrady at point guard.

"The Clippers will definitely take special care of Tracy at the beginning. We caught them off guard. We started with Chuck as the core offense, and David came out to pick and roll. Chuck, you can choose to play by yourself, or attract the defense to divide the ball. Look for opportunities on the perimeter. On defense, man-to-man, David on Brand, Chuck on Maggette, David and Yao control the rebound, and if there is an opportunity, Chuck counters quickly. Our first game not only To win, you have to show momentum and win thoroughly!"

Rockets starting: Tracy McGrady, Battier, Hayes, David Lee, Yao Ming.

Clippers starting: Livingston, Mobley, Corey Maggette, Brand, Kaman.

The referee threw the ball into the air, Yao Ming grasped the timing of the jump, and easily passed the ball to Battier, who handed the ball to Tracy McGrady.

In the frontcourt, Hayes ran out of the paint and received a pass.David Lee pick and roll.Hayes bypassed Brand's right and broke into the three-point line, making an emergency stop jumper. 2 to 0.

Because the Rockets' starting lineup has changed, Maggette hesitated a little, and Hayes scored easily.

The Clippers also used the pick-and-roll, but it didn't work well.Brand made a pick-and-roll for Mobley. After the switch, David Lee was active in defending.

Mobley misses the jumper.Brand was resisted by Hayes, and suddenly his body loosened. Hayes left a space for him to enter the inside line, and rushed towards the Clippers at full speed at halftime.

Brand went inside for the rebound, but the ball bounced to Yao Ming.Yao Ming got the rebound with both hands, and threw the ball vigorously with both hands to Hayes in the frontcourt.The Clippers had only one Livingston back on defense.Livingston stood still, protecting his vitals with his hands, desperately hoping to make Hayes dribble into someone, but Hayes pressed his body very low, turned around and passed Livingston, rushed into the basket, and dunked with both hands to score! 4 to 0.

This guy is getting better and better!This thought flashed through the minds of Brand and Livingston at the same time.Judging the direction of the ball, counterattacking quickly, speeding up the dribble and making fake moves, these are the styles of Hayes' coach after the All-Star Game.

In the regular season, Hayes mainly grabs rebounds, and these abilities have not been well displayed.After adjusting his position today, he revealed his hidden strength.

Brand first picks and rolls for his teammates, and then asks for a position at 45 degrees in the three-second zone.The Clippers pulled away and turned the ball over to Brand for a single on David Lee.The two are equal in strength, and David Lee is the dominant height.Brand arched his back a few times, turned to the middle and entered the three-second zone, distanced himself from David Lee, and used his super long wingspan to avoid the blocked hook, but the ball was not scored.As soon as he landed, he saw Hayes go fast again.

Yao Ming got the rebound and made another long pass.Hayes catches the basketball, through half court.This time Maggette defended, Hayes dribbled with his back, and Maggette's body was also very strong, resisting Hayes and successfully preventing him from advancing.Quentin Ross, who was chasing back, wanted to step forward to steal.Hayes turned his head to the right, and at the same time passed the back of his right hand to McGrady who followed up on the left.McGrady made a jumper from outside the three-point line. 7 to 0.

After two rounds, after Brand gave Mobley a pick-and-roll, he began to hesitate whether he should squeeze inside to grab offensive rebounds.Hayes can go down quickly at any time, facing the defense of outside players, his brutal style of play can do whatever he wants as long as he gets into the basket. If he wants to defend Hayes, he can only go up.At this time, Maggette made a shot, and under the interference of Hayes, he missed a jumper on the board.Brand was distracted to think about defending Hayes, and was easily stuck outside the three-second zone by David Lee and took the rebound.

Hayes vowed to be worthy of his name in the best defensive team in the playoffs, how could Maggette score easily?Maggette's offensive ability is comparable to Mobley's. Blocking him will make it even more difficult for the Clippers, who originally had few attackers, to score.

The Rockets dropped their position to attack, and David Lee gave Hayes a pick-and-roll.Hayes still broke through on the right side, Brand defended, and Hayes returned the ball to the high post David Lee. The latter relied on his height advantage and made a mid-range shot. 9 to 0.

At 1 minute and 41 seconds into the game, the Clippers were suspended.Hayes Khan scored 4 points and 2 assists without even coming out.

The Clippers players were lifeless and surrounded Dunleavy waiting for the coach to talk about tactics. Dunleavy didn't know how to deploy the defense.

Drexler in the commentary laughed and said: "The game only lasted 2 minutes, and the Rockets have already won. The Clippers simply couldn't break their pick-and-roll coordination. Van Gundy's change of formation was very successful, and the effect was too obvious. Although Hayes averaged much less points than Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming in the regular season, his actual offensive ability is not inferior to the two, and he is fully capable of being the core of the offense."

Mark Brad said: "When Hayes picks and rolls for his teammates, he often gives people the feeling of having eyes behind his back. Today he is the main attacker, and David Lee is doing well. Many fans think that David Lee is qualified. Blue-collar, rebounding is very good. In fact, in addition to rebounding, his pick-and-roll effect cannot be ignored. Both of them are better than Yao Ming."

Why do you say that?In the previous two seasons, Yao Ming and McGrady's pick-and-roll cooperation was far less effective than this season.The problem lies in Yao Ming. Yao Ming is tall and tall. As long as the block is accurate, the effect will be bug-level, making it difficult to guard against.But when his back is facing the basket, it is difficult to find the best blocking point by feeling. This is the lack of pick-and-roll awareness.

In the first two seasons, people saw McGrady holding the ball with one hand on the outside for many times, calling Yao Ming to come over to block people. Yao Ming pulled from the inside to the outside, and his appearance was sometimes funny. (It's more difficult than cross-eyed, you can try it if you don't believe me).He wanted to see clearly the positions of the inside defenders and McGrady's intentions.Then Yao Ming crossed his hands drooping, as if he wanted to protect his dick.This is smart because the block allows for contact and the screener cannot physically move otherwise the whistle sounds and the screen is fouled.After tossing around like this for a long time, I often saw McGrady dribble a few times, make a shot with a pull-up, and ended up hitting the iron.The audience was so angry that they scolded their mothers, and Zhang Lili of Chaoting Channel 5 couldn't help criticizing McGrady for being unreasonable.As everyone knows, McGrady is helpless sometimes, because Yao Ming failed to find the best blocking point, McGrady faces the basket and can see the situation clearly.Entering suddenly, the defensive players can pull out of the reasonable collision zone to close the door on McGrady. At this time, Yao Ming's high-post jump shot is very inefficient, and it is not sure to hand it over to other players, so McGrady can only shoot, and then he is scolded. miserable.

Things are different now with the Rockets.Both David Lee and Hayes can shoot from mid-to-long range and attack around the rim.It can be blocked and dismantled, so it is naturally not easy to guard against.The Rockets are getting better and better in this area. McGrady can score nearly 26 points when sharing the ball with Yao Ming, thanks to the pick-and-roll cooperation.

After the timeout ended, the Clippers turned into Kaman who pulled out the perimeter. They wanted to pull Yao Ming out of the perimeter, allowing Mobley and Maggette to take the opportunity to break through to the inside.Unexpectedly, the Rockets changed their defensive formation and defended a three-two defense. Yao Ming and David Lee could not come out from the inside.

Kaman pulls out, Hayes defends the top; Brandra comes out, Battier entangles.Mobley missed another shot, and Yao got the rebound and handed it to McGrady.

McGrady made a long pass to find Hayes, who was going down fast. Battier and Hayes formed a two-on-two frontcourt.Facing Maggette who retreated in the middle, Hayes turned his head and glanced at Battier who followed up on the left, then picked up the ball with his right hand and circled behind him...

Passing the ball behind the back again, and this trick?Maggette had already taken this action once just now, and he immediately took a step forward, ready to block Hayes' passing route, but Hayes just made a fake action, and the ball was still in his hand after it reached his back, and he circled back , sideways passed Maggette into the inside line, and scored with an easy three-step layup. 11 to 0.

Hayes' defender action conquered the audience, and the cheers and cheers were louder and louder.The Clippers were completely suppressed!

(End of this chapter)