NBA: Art is trash talk

Chapter 421 When the Warcraft Matures

On February 2, the last game before the Clippers All-Star Game.

After this game, He Xinghui, Gasol and others will fly directly to New Orleans to participate in the 08 All-Star Game.

The opponent of the Clippers in this game is the Magic, which can be regarded as a strong enemy.

The Magic's record in the East is not bad, ranking fourth.

However, compared with the teams in the West, it is not enough.

Before the game, He Xinghui was blocked by reporters and asked some questions about the All-Star Game.

For example, why don't you participate in the three-point contest, will you win another All-Star MVP and other routine questions.

This year's All-Star, He Xinghui only signed up for the slam dunk contest, the three-point contest is boring, and he can't play any tricks.

"Give others a chance."

He Xinghui said.

After all, if he participated in the three-point contest, no one else would have a chance at all.

He pretended to be a few words every day, and then He Xinghui entered the arena.

He Xinghui received a warm welcome when the players came on the field.

As the All-Star ticket king, his popularity is very high even in Orlando.

Among the Magic players, when Howard played, the cheers were comparable to that of He Xinghui.

This is still because of the Magic's home court.

The game started, and the Clippers had Livingston, He Xinghui, Maggette, Gasol, and Kaman.

Play with all the main players, after all, the Magic is not weak.

The starters for the Magic are Nelson, Maurice Evans, Turkoglu, Sharad Lewis, Howard.

At first glance, the stars of the Magic players are just like that, only Howard has a bit of a superstar shadow.

However, they have played very well this season.

One of the very important reasons is that they throw more three-pointers.

This season, they have surpassed the Cavaliers and become the team with the third most three-pointers per game in the league, averaging 28 per game and shooting 40.4%.

For three-pointers alone, they almost have to score more than 30 points per game.

When the two teams jumped the ball, Kaman gave up the jump directly, and Howard easily allocated the ball to his side.

This season, Howard has officially entered the ranks of superstars.

Averaged 22 points and 15 rebounds per game, the number of rebounds is terrifying.

The Magic took the lead and Nelson advanced with the ball.

After halftime, Howard scrambled for position at the basket, while the others ran on the perimeter.

The ball was in Lewis' hands, and Lewis took a jumper and shot a three-pointer.

The ball was missed, but Howard pressed Kaman and jumped up to grab an offensive rebound and scored the second time.

Kaman was crushed in the matchup with Howard, and the mature monster was irresistible.

In the transition between offense and defense, Howard guards the penalty area under the basket, while the others defend very outside.

Among them, Evans and Turkoglu were responsible for double-teaming He Xinghui.

They are not afraid of missing people in other positions. Anyway, Howard guards their penalty area, and they are not afraid that the Clippers will enter their penalty area.

Since their defense is outside after all, the Clippers don't have many chances to throw three-pointers.

On the first attack, the ball went to Maggette.

He shot a three-two.

His three-pointers were inaccurate, and he was afraid of being blocked by Howard when he hit the penalty area, so he was forced to shoot from the mid-range position.

The ball is in.

But Magic coach Stan Van Gundy didn't care one bit.

His strategy is to force the Clippers to shoot such long two-pointers. If the Clippers keep shooting like this, Van Gundy will die of laughter.

Because this is not the way the Clippers are good at scoring.

Sure enough, after a few rounds, the Clippers fell behind.

4 to 10, the Clippers fell behind by 6 points at the start.

Dunleavy called a timeout directly.

"Go to the penalty area, don't be afraid of that stupid big guy. He, you find a way to take more shots and put some pressure on them. Others throw three-pointers whenever they have a chance, defensive end."

Dunleavy also saw the problem and made targeted adjustments.

Of course, whether this works or not depends on the performance of the players.

If they are blocked by Howard every time they reach the penalty area, Dunleavy will have nothing to do.

The timeout ends and the teams return to the field.

The Clippers attacked, and He Xinghui actively moved.

He made a sudden effort, and Evans couldn't keep up.

Then He Xinghui took the ball and made a shot.

The Clippers fell behind before, but it doesn't mean that the Clippers are weaker than their opponents. The main reason is that He Xinghui didn't play aggressively enough.

With 82 games in a season, it is impossible for He Xinghui to remain excited in every game. This is actually a very normal situation.

He was going to participate in the All-Star game soon, and He Xinghui didn't put in enough effort in this game.

Fortunately, Deng Levy mentioned something, and He Xinghui became a little more serious.

The Magic counterattacked, Howard asked for the ball in the penalty area, and then prepared to shoot.

Kaman couldn't get in position, and seeing Howard was about to put the basketball into the basket again, he had to foul, drag Howard down, and send Howard to the free throw line.

This has almost become a common method for other teams to deal with Howard.

No way, mature Warcraft is really hard to guard against.

This season, Howard averaged 12 free throws per game, ranking first in the league.

Fortunately, his free throw percentage is only 6%.

Otherwise, this magic will be even more terrifying.

Howard stepped to the free throw line and made one of two free throws.

Still, he grinned without embarrassment or shame.

Perhaps, he felt in his heart that such a free throw percentage was enough.

The Clippers counterattacked, Evans followed even tighter, and He Xinghui didn't miss the chance.

Livingston could only throw a three-pointer by himself and missed.

Offensive and defensive transition, Howard made another foul at the basket.

There is no way, Dunleavy can only replace Kaman with Milicic, first protect Kaman, and don't let his foul count rise too fast.

But the problem is that Milicic can't guard against Warcraft.

Soon, Milicic also made two fouls.

Dunleavy had no choice but to bite the bullet and replace Noven, and the Clippers were almost out of use.

Fortunately, Howard attacked the basket too many times, and his physical strength was a bit high, so Van Gundy replaced him to rest.

With Howard, the Magic's offense and defense immediately stretched.

On the offensive end, their outside players became hesitant to shoot three-pointers.

With Howard, they can shoot with confidence, and they have a chance to grab offensive rebounds if they miss.

But now, missing a shot is tantamount to giving up the ball.

On the defensive end, without Howard guarding the basket, the Magic's defense would not be able to form a system.

This season, Howard's selection to the best team is worthy of the name. He is an indispensable player in the Magic and has his own system.

Taking advantage of Howard's rest, the Clippers set off a wave of counterattacks.

After the first quarter, the Clippers almost caught up with the score.

32 to 34, the Clippers fell behind by 2 points.

However, He Xinghui played the entire first quarter, which is a hidden danger.

In the second quarter, He Xinghui rested first, and their lineup became Cassel, Jaylen Rose, Craig, Millsap, and Kaman.

The Magic here are Du Yang, Ayoro, Redick, Cook, and Gortat.

These people are not famous, but their strength is not weak.

Ayoro, Redick, and Cook are all excellent three-point shooters. Gortat is known as the Polish Hammer and has an excellent defense.However, he is still in his rookie period and has not grown up.

In addition to these people, there is Ariza on the Magic bench, and he is still in the growth stage.

The Magic go first, and they use the same tactics as the starters.

Gortat rebounded at the basket, and the other four shot indiscriminately.

It doesn't matter if it's useless if it hits the blood, anyway, the offensive efficiency of the substitute lineup is not high.

Redick made a three-pointer and made a hit.

Once the magic is accurate, the Celtics are afraid.

Fortunately, there are more times when magic tricks are wrong.

In the transition between offense and defense, Cassel passed the ball to Kaman, wanting Kaman to bully the Magic's second-round pick.

However, Kassel underestimated Gortat's defensive skills, and Kaman didn't take advantage of it, and his shooting was deformed and missed.

Cook grabbed the rebound and the Magic counterattacked.

Subsequently, Arroyo made another three-pointer.

32 to 40, the Clippers fell behind by 8 points.

When the magic is accurate, the opponent will have a headache.

Dunleavy can only be anxious off the court, and there is no better way.

He's going to be an All-Star soon, and Dunleavy doesn't want to fuck He Xinghui to death.

Therefore, he can only let the team continue to fall behind, or lose the game at worst.

After playing a few more rounds, the Clippers' offense improved, but the Magic's firepower was still fierce, and the point difference was widening.

"Hey, are the Clippers going to lose Game [-]? Looking at the situation on the field, there is a tendency."

Mike Brin laughed.

"It still depends on my cousin's attitude. If he attaches great importance to this game, then the Clippers still have a chance."

Smith analyzed.

This kind of analysis is a bit of a brain fan, but star fans all agree with this point of view.

So, will He Xinghui pay attention?

Soon fans will know the answer.

will not.

He Xinghui rested for a full 5 minutes in the second quarter before playing. When he played, Howard had also been replaced.

Although He Xinghui's performance after the first quarter was better than that in the first quarter, it seems that it is not enough to reverse the lead.

Star fans were waiting for He Xinghui to explode, but until the end of the first half, He Xinghui showed no signs of explosion.

51 to 62, the Magic has led to double digits.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter whether you win this game or not, it's not bad to save your energy and win the slam dunk championship."

"It's better to save your energy for the All-Star Game. It doesn't matter whether you win or lose this game."

"Compared to the All-Stars, this game is irrelevant."

Star fans saw that the team was behind, and they all excused He Xinghui.

Of course, some of them are telling the truth.

Anyway, this season can't break the record of 74 wins, and a few more losses or fewer losses will have little effect on the Clippers.

It seems that He Xinghui heard the voice of the star fans, and his performance in the second half was also tepid.

However, Gasol took over the banner of the offense instead, hitting mid-range shots one after another.

Although the state of the Magic has also declined slightly, it firmly maintains its leading advantage.

After the third quarter, 79 to 86, the Magic still lead by 7 points.

In the last quarter, He Xinghui suddenly recovered and hit two consecutive three-pointers, leading the team to an 8-3.

The point difference suddenly narrowed to 2 points.

He Xinghui could only shrug his shoulders.

Just as Smith guessed, He Xinghui didn't take this game too seriously, he just played casually.

It's best to win, it doesn't matter if you lose.

After the first half, He Xinghui almost gave up.

Unexpectedly, Gasol was strong in the third quarter and led the team to chase some points.

Then, in the fourth quarter, his luck was good, he ran out of open spaces in a row and got a chance to make a call.

Two three-pointers chased 6 points, giving him hope of winning again.

With only 2 points difference, He Xinghui became a little more serious.

If you persist for a few more minutes, you can win the game. This kind of persistence is quite cost-effective.

"Stay focused and never let up on He's defense for a moment"

Van Gundy called a timeout and scolded Evans and Turkoglu.

He believes that the team was caught up because these two guys suddenly let go on the defensive end.

Evans and Turkoglu are very wronged, but they can't explain the complaint.

Back on the court again, the Magic played more seriously.

Unlike He Xinghui, they especially hope to win this game.

After all, winning the Clippers is particularly honorable.

The Magic attacked, and Arroyo made a three-pointer, but unfortunately missed.

The three-point brigade is like this. The opponent vomits blood when it is accurate, and its own team vomits blood when it is not accurate.

Kaman stuck Howard tightly, allowing Gasol to take off the rebound.

The offense and defense switched, He Xinghui was double-teamed, and Gasol simply threw a three-pointer.

The ball goes in.

Gasol laughs and retreats.

He's a good [-]-point shooter, but he's shooting at a decent percentage.

Sometimes, he wants to try to use the three-pointer as a conventional weapon.

The Clippers overtook the score. Although they only overtook the score by 1 point, the team's momentum was completely different.

The Magic attacked, Howard played hard at the basket, Kaman continued to foul and sent Howard to the free throw line.

After a few rounds, Kaman graduated with 6 fouls.

However, in these few rounds, the Clippers extended their lead to 3 points.

In other words, Kaman's foul earned.

Milicic was topped, and the game came to the last moment.

Howard continued to be targeted. As long as he got the basketball, the Clippers immediately fouled him and sent him to the free throw line.

It wasn't until this moment that Howard became depressed and didn't want to go to the free throw line.

However, how could the Clippers do what he wanted.

In the end, the Clippers used free throw tactics abruptly to defeat the Magic.

Howard averaged only 2 point per round in the last 1 minutes, and the Clippers were similar.

However, the Clippers are ahead, so they don't care.

118 to 115, the Clippers only won by 3 points in the end, relying on Howard's free throws to narrowly win.

In terms of statistics, Howard scored a game-high 37 points, while He Xinghui only scored 35.

However, Howard's efficiency is not high.

20 of 12 and 26 of 13 free throws.

Excluding the two plus ones, Howard actually took 32 shots.

He scored 32 points in 37 shots. This efficiency is good when playing against other teams, but against the Clippers, this efficiency is very average.

You know, He Xinghui, who seems to be underperforming, only took 28 shots in this game.

He scored 28 points 35 times, which is obviously better than Howard.

Coupled with Gasol's good performance in this game, it is reasonable for the Magic to lose.

"If Yao Ming's free throw skills were entrusted to Howard, then Howard would be invincible."

Mike Brin commented.

The current World of Warcraft only has the obvious shortcoming of free throws.

"Don't dream, some people's free throws have been like this for a lifetime, such as O'Neal and Big Ben."

Smith laughed.

Some center forwards' free throws are really hopeless.

(End of this chapter)