Rebirth of Hayes Cyclone

Chapter 133 [The last struggle of the Spurs]

The Eastern Conference Finals also had Game 96 on the same day. Under the leadership of LeBron James, the Cavaliers defeated the Pistons 87-2 at home and tied the score 2-35.James scored 10 points, 7 rebounds and [-] assists. This is one of the reasons for the victory, and more importantly, their inside advantage.

James has played well in these four games.He was not so relaxed against the Pistons last season. Without Ben Wallace, the Pistons' interior defense was not as good as before.

The center Muhammad who replaced "Big Ben" played in the playoffs was disappointing. He played nearly 26 minutes and could only contribute 4.6 points and 5.6 rebounds. Apart from being strong and able to resist others, he was almost useless. The biggest weakness of the Pistons, the strongest rebounder among the inside players is the substitute McDyess.

Another problem is the Pistons' inside offense. The above two have little offensive ability.The only strong point is that Rasheed Wallace is also old, and he can only contribute 10 points per game in the playoffs.

Although the Cavaliers' three insiders are not All-Stars, they are much better than the Pistons.

"Big Z" Ilgauskas is known as the poor man's version of Yao Ming. He moves slower than Yao Ming and is weaker than Yao Ming, but he is tall and has a mid-range shot. The average performance of 8 rebounds is also better than Rasheed - Wallace; and Varejao, the performance of the Brazilian actor is commendable.He was a substitute most of the time in the regular season, but he played better than the top two in the playoffs. He played well on both ends of the offense and defense, averaging 7.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.Especially for his diving, the angry Rasheed Wallace got technical fouls twice.

A day later, the two teams will have the most critical fifth game.

The Cavaliers VS Pistons are evenly matched, and the Rockets VS Spurs have already shown a one-sided situation.The Rockets won two away games against the Spurs, thus achieving a 3-1 lead and winning the match point.

Fans all over the world almost believe that the Rockets will win the championship this season.They are too strong.The Spurs, a traditional strong team, are also vulnerable in front of them.

Before the start of Game 3, Houston fans had already begun to revel.According to the development of historical records, the Rockets have entered the finals with one foot, and they can come back after falling behind 1 to 8. There are only [-] teams in history.

The current strength of the Rockets, the Spurs want to win 3 games in a row, it is hard to compare.If it wasn't for Tracy McGrady's miss and Hayes' injury in the first game, maybe the Spurs would have been swept out by now.Now the fans feel better. Although the Rockets lost a game, they got the chance to watch the Rockets advance at home.

The Rockets have not been to the finals for too long, and fans have waited for this day for too long.

On May 5, one and a half hours before the start of the game, the Toyota Center Plaza was already full of people. Fanatical fans wanted to enter the arena early to witness the birth of the new western hegemon.

The Rockets players were very happy, talking and laughing in the locker room, and everyone began to imagine what it would be like to win the championship.

The atmosphere in the locker room is a bit like the first game against the Spurs.This time, Van Gundy frowned and reminded: "I think no one wants to play the sixth game, right? Everyone must work hard today and don't give the Spurs any chance. Our goal is not to play until the last minute, but like In the first three games, fight for halftime and end the battle. This is what the fans want to see, and each of you will be a hero today. The defensive tactics are still the same as in the past, 122 zone defense, when Parker and Ginobili have the ball Double-team at any time. If they play on the perimeter, keep an eye on their own people. First attack with Chuck as the core, and David picks and rolls. As for how to distribute the ball, Chuck decides. Pass the ball up, don’t stand still, We're going to play team basketball! I repeat, don't let up!"

"Win!" the Rockets shouted.

It was an important game, but Van Gundy was at ease. He had never felt so confident about his team. , He doesn't even need to hold a tactical board to talk about tactics, because all the players need to do is to use the methods of the previous games to deal with the Spurs, so as not to change.

The Spurs knew what the Rockets were going to do, but they just couldn't defend, so they had to figure out what to do on offense.

Popovich is ready to give it a shot.Change the team's familiar tactical strategy. "Today we want the whole team to speed up. Yao Ming's speed is slow. You have to seize his weakness. Tim (Duncan) and Francisco (Elson) grabbed backboards and counterattacked quickly, Tony (Parker) and Manu ( Manu Ginobili) fast break. Don’t wait for their zone defense formation to be in place. If they are in position to attack, Tim (Duncan) picks and rolls, don’t break through the outside line, walk along the sideline, and try to pull their inside players Come out, especially Yao Ming. The outside world is not optimistic that we can reverse and enter the finals. It is really difficult, but don’t give up. As long as the game is not over, we have a chance. The Rockets played a lot in the first few games. Gong, today I don’t want to see them dunk, you have to be ready to defend against their quick counterattack at any time, even if you lose, you have to play tough, play with momentum, understand?”

The Spurs players understand it, but it is not easy to do it.When the strength was at a disadvantage and the hope of winning was slim, the heart of the Spurs champion was also shaken.Especially the veterans are already very tired. They have a lot of experience, but experience cannot make up for the disadvantages of physical fitness and lack of physical strength.The Spurs actually have only 10 players who can play, and the other substitutes are too poor to play.

Standing on the court, Hayes was very excited.Van Gundy has already discussed with him, no matter what Alexander says, he will be arranged to be the core of the offense for the rest of the game.Van Gundy believes that Hayes can do a good job. As long as Hayes can prove that he is more suitable as the core than McGrady, he can increase his bargaining chips for getting a high salary.

If Hayes can lead the team to the championship in the second season, this is something that Jordan can't do.Since his rebirth, Hayes has gone so smoothly, starting as a starter, becoming an All-Star, and the Rockets entering the Western Conference Finals. In addition to his own efforts, he also has excellent teammates.Although there is pressure, the Rockets can overcome difficulties every time.

If the Cavaliers eliminated the Pistons.Hayes can play against James.He has the frame to defend James well, and after the Finals, people will definitely rate him higher.The opportunity to create a legend is in front of him, and he will make history.

Thinking of this, Hayes only felt that there was endless energy in his body.

The Rockets adjusted their lineup for this game.McGrady played well in assists, and Van Gundy wanted David Lee to control the rebounds and defend Duncan, so in this game, McGrady was placed at point guard, Battier played shooting guard, and Hayes small forward.The Spurs' starting lineup was unchanged from the first two games.

Yao Ming jumped the ball and beat Duncan.Hayes saw the ball fly to Tracy McGrady, and immediately rushed towards the Spurs half court.McGrady understood, and a direct pass passed through Finley and Elson, and was accurately handed over to Hayes.It was Parker who retreated the fastest for the Spurs, but Parker's physique was impossible to stop the rushing Hayes.Hayes picked up the basketball, squeezed Parker into the paint, and dunked with one hand! 2 to 0.

Hayes brought the atmosphere of the audience up in the first round.

Duncan immediately responded with a jumper on the board, and the Rockets attacked. After receiving the ball, Hayes transferred the ball to Yao Ming. Yao Ming squeezed Elson and turned around and made a jumper. 4 to 2.

Parker hit a three-pointer from the outside, 4 to 5.

Unlike the hard defense in the previous games, the Spurs and the Rockets played against each other, and both sides maintained a high shooting percentage at the beginning.

Duncan didn't play much on the offensive end today, and he completely did a blue-collar job, focusing on rebounding.Parker, Ginobili, and Finley take on the heavy responsibility of the offense.

This arrangement did have a certain effect, disrupting the Rockets' defensive deployment in the opening minutes.

Van Gundy wanted to call a timeout, but Hayes waved his hand at him, indicating that there is no need for a timeout, and then shouted to his teammates: "Sean, Tracy, hand over the offensive rebound to David and Yao Ming, and watch my running position after the shot." , if I return to defense, you follow up, man-to-man!"

"Okay!" The two replied.

In the next round, Hayes missed a jumper and immediately ran to the backcourt. McGrady and Battier also entangled Parker and Ginobili respectively.Sure enough, Duncan got the rebound, but fell into an embarrassing situation. The outside player ran forward, and there were people around him, so he didn't dare to make a long pass.Duncan had no choice but to dribble the ball forward, David Lee defended, the two played point guards once, and the Spurs fell into position...

This was the case for several consecutive rounds.The Spurs' fast break was contained.

Once the Spurs controlled the rebound, Hayes was always the first to return to the defense. Ginobili and Parker started half a beat later, and it was still difficult to get open shots.Tracy McGrady and Battier are marking Parker and Ginobili, Hayes is marking veteran Finley, and the Spurs have to frequently use the personal ability of the stars to play singles if they don't fall.

In the absence of a pick-and-roll, it is not easy for Parker to think about McGrady.Although McGrady is slightly slower, he has a height advantage.Ginobili singles Shane Battier, Battier's main defense breaks through, forcing Ginobili to make a jump shot, the farther he is from the basket, the lower his shooting percentage is a constant law.Although the Spurs shot faster than before, their scoring efficiency is not higher than in previous games.

On the contrary, the Rockets played positional battles without haste. After Hayes received the ball, as long as he attracted the defense, he would hang it to Yao Ming. Yao Ming turned around and made consecutive jump shots.

Hayes was on the same side as Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. The Spurs double-teamed Yao Ming twice. The first time Yao Ming split the ball, Hayes ran out of the open and made a three-pointer.The second time Hayes drew the defense and passed the ball to Tracy McGrady, McGrady then shifted the ball to the other side and Battier hit a jumper [-]-pointer.Two consecutive three-pointers made the Spurs dare not double-team Yao Ming.

Elson can only defend single-handedly.As the saying goes, behind every successful Ultraman there is a little monster who is beaten silently.

At the end of the first quarter, 29 to 22, the Rockets led by 7 points.

Popovich was so anxious that he didn't know where to put his hands. He suddenly felt that Hayes was a monster.Hayes has the ability of predicting and predicting. He can judge the ownership of the rebound every time, and then choose whether to attack or defend. With such a person in the Rockets, it is difficult to mess up the defensive formation, as long as they follow Hayes.

At the start of the second quarter, the Rockets replaced Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady with Millsap and Weaver, while Hayes remained on the court.Everyone in the Spurs knows that the Rockets will start to speed up again.

David Lee gave Hayes a pick-and-roll, Hayes bypassed Finley, broke into the restricted area on the right, and hit a jumper with an emergency stop. 31 to 22.

On offense, Finley all but gave up the run and stuck with Hayes all the way.This is a tactic arranged by Popovich. To defend Hayes quickly, there must be someone by his side.Hayes was taken care of, the Rockets and Weaver.Weaver's fast break talent was on full display in this series.If you want to launch a fast break, Hayes will give his teammates a signal with a single fist.

Parker missed a shot, the Rockets handed the ball to Hayes, Hayes handed Weaver, Weaver singled Manu Ginobili, broke through and hit a jumper. 33 to 22.

After winning the rebound, the Rockets can also find other players, the first choice is Weaver.Weaver runs too fast, and after being marked, he also has a good singles ability. In one-on-one situations, it is not easy for the Spurs to defend in singles without passing the ball.As long as it is running in the fast break, Weaver can be used as Wade, which is exactly what the Rockets do.

The Spurs' Finals hopes are about to be dashed!

(End of this chapter)