start with scouting

Chapter 669 No one knows lore better than me
The fourth quarter started quickly.

It may be because of something, Curry hit the iron twice in a row, Thomas Jr. made a dribble error, and Curry's mid-range shot was blocked by Ariza. The Kings were stunned for 4 minutes, allowing the Rockets to play a wave of 9-2 attack wave.

"Curry played like a god in the second half of the third quarter. He scored 11 points in a row. Unexpectedly, he came back in the fourth quarter and failed to score three times in a row. , Is it a defensive target?"

"Curry has played for nearly 16 minutes in a row, with a total of 14 shots. The Rockets arranged for Capela, Tucker, Ariza, and Paul to take turns to defend. In addition, the defensive end was misplaced and singled out, and the physical exertion was very high. ..."

Hearing the discussion of the fans behind him, Su Yang couldn't help but like to praise Curry's physical exertion on both ends of the offense and defense.

Ordinarily, Curry shouldn't be allowed to play consecutive games for so long. The main reason is that Curry felt too good before and wanted to smash the Rockets in a wave, but it backfired.While thinking about it, Su Yang asked for a timeout, replaced Curry with LaVine, and arranged for a full rest.

In-court play continues.

The Rockets slowed down, and Thomas Jr. and LaVine on the King's side encountered foul troubles again, which made things worse.

Thomas Jr. was mainly at a disadvantage due to his limited height, which resulted in two fouls against Paul, and LaVine was deceived by Harden.

Between offense and defense, the point difference continued to narrow.

Curry raised his hand to indicate that he could appear on the stage, but Su Yang shook his head slightly and refused, determined in his heart that it was not yet time.

That kind of operation gradually ignited discussions on social networks. A large number of fans questioned Su Yang's rotation decision. Why did he either play continuously for 16 minutes at every turn, or watch the king being chased and not let Curry appear?

Amidst all kinds of discussions, with 3 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game, Su Yang arranged for Curry to appear on the court when Thomas Jr. fouled.

There were cheers in the arena, Gordon made two free throws, and the Rockets led the Kings by 91 points 87 to 4. The form was excellent.

The referee blew his whistle, the king kicked off the ball from the backcourt and launched an attack, and the cheers in the Toyota Center suddenly turned into defensive shouts.

The frontcourt opened up, and LaVine took Harden to the top of the arc, set up a wall to block Tucker, and forced Harden to switch defenses.

Perhaps it was because he didn't get close to him before that he missed three-pointers to increase his experience. This time Harden hurriedly stepped up and approached Curry.

The shot was indeed blocked.

But Curry switched his left hand behind his right hand, lowered his center of gravity and started to charge, threw Harden away in three steps, and took off with his left waist to pick the basket and hit the board.

The basketball bounced into the net with a bang, and the referee blew his whistle to punish Harden for a foul, and the whistle sounded simultaneously, giving an additional penalty.

The fans at the scene looked stupid, and the Rockets players and coaching staff were also quite speechless. They really didn't expect Harden to be easily broken by Curry for layups again and again. If it is hot, it will be sent back, and even an extra point will be given.

"Jeff, do you believe that character determines destiny? To be honest, I have never seen Harden show nervousness, nor have I seen him show a desire for victory. Maybe he really wants to win in his heart, hitting his limbs The language makes us feel that he doesn’t care, and it doesn’t matter if we misunderstand, but we are just worried that his teammates will become slack because of this, and finally collapse in despair...”

"I agree with that statement, looking at the entire history of the NBA, we can't find a superstar who has displayed the same personality on the court as Harden, Harden probably never wanted to be a superstar, after all, he has enough.

But we can't blame Harden for lack of hard work. The Rockets fell behind 0-12 in the first quarter, and it was he who led the team to chase back. "

There were boos everywhere, and Curry made a free throw.

The king chased 90 to 91.

The two teams switched offense and defense. It took Harden 6 seconds to lead across the center line, and then he continued to use screens to face Curry in a dislocation.

The situation became singled out at the top of the arc.

Curry still blocked the left and left the right, and the rest of the Kings strictly guarded the bottom corner to catch the ball for three-pointers, knowing that Harden would not shoot mid-range.

I saw Harden change hands with his crotch, suddenly started to the left and knocked Curry away, stopped suddenly to pull the ball and retreated, and made a steady three-pointer.

Basketball clangs like iron.

The King continued to hand the ball to Curry, and also continued to use screens to match Harden in dislocations and start a superstar duel.

Harden did the opposite, instead blocking Curry's right and allowing space on the left, which really prevented three-point strikes.

Su Yang laughed out loud, knowing that Curry also made a mistake in choosing the route, and actually broke through to the area where the Rockets piled up. Even if Harden chooses to block the right, he can be patient, or leave it to Cousins ​​and others, probably It was too much fun, so I didn't think much about it.

While thinking about it, Gordon jumped up and took off against Cousins, and hit the net with a three-pointer, 90 to 94.

Cheers erupted in the arena.

"Do you want to replace Cousins?" Assistant coach Mike Brown asked. Gordon was able to get a three-pointer just now, mainly because Paul found a pick-and-roll, and after breaking through Cousins, he attracted LaVine to help defend. hurt.

"Wait a little longer..." Su Yang shook his head and signaled that the two teams were exhausted at the moment, and the closer they were to the basket, the easier it was to score.

Before the words fell, Cousins ​​​​received a pass from Curry with his back on the bottom line, turned around and started to rush to the basket, never wanting the referee to blow his whistle.

Stepping on the line error!

Rocket Ball!

"Ah..." Su Yang was a little embarrassed, but he was reluctant to call a timeout immediately and let the game continue.

The Rockets counterattacked on the field.

Continuously relying on screens to move, Paul singled out Cousins ​​at the top of the arc, and the breakthrough once again attracted LaVine to help defend and pass the ball to Harden.

With all eyes on the court, Harden caught the ball and charged up for a moment, then leapt up to face LaVine and shot a three-pointer, hitting the iron with a bang.

The basketball bounced to the free throw line. George jumped high to grab the rebound, landed and turned and went straight to the frontcourt. The Rockets had only one senior player in the frontcourt, and the Kings followed up.In a hurry, Gordon hugged Durant and made a tactical foul in advance.

Seeing this, Su Yang immediately signaled for a substitution. Covington, who was sitting on the technical table, got up and stepped into the court, and exchanged high-fives with Cousins.

There were boos in the arena.

George had no effect and made two free throws, 92 to 94.

In the transition between offense and defense, Harden dribbled the ball across the center line in six seconds, continued to wave for cover, and suddenly raised his hand to pass the ball to the right.

At this time, the Kings are switching defenses in advance, trying to prevent Curry from facing Harden, and accidentally emptying Gordon.

Probably because Covington just debuted, there was a communication problem.

I saw Gordon stepping up to join the ball, raising his hand to score a three-pointer, but the result was a three-pointer, and sighs suddenly resounded throughout the arena.

Su Yang took a long breath to calm his heartbeat.

It was a bit dangerous just now. With one and a half minutes left and a three-pointer was scored, it would be difficult to chase after that.The key point is that Harden found the opportunity too fast and passed the ball quickly, which was completely different from the previous rhythm of dribbling the ball across the half court in six seconds, which made the Kings players relax a little.

"This should be the basis for Harden's slow rhythm and the Rockets can cooperate with him. His defensive reading is very strong. Fortunately, his personality is not as strong as Kobe's. Otherwise, if he wants to beat the Rockets, he will have to work harder. Only then..."

While thinking about it, Curry held the ball against Harden again at the top of the arc.

The continuous change of direction breakthrough failed, and a hurried pass to LaVine made another three-pointer, but Antetokounmpo grabbed an offensive rebound.

The basketball then flew a long pass to the right wing, Curry caught it in his hands, and flew towards Harden to make a shot, but it was still a bang.

Su Yang gritted his teeth slightly and sighed, the opportunity has actually come out, Harden even made a defensive mistake, it's a pity that he didn't make the shot.

Offensive and defensive conversions again on the field.

Paul dribbled the ball across the center line, used cover continuously, and faced Antetokounmpo with a 45-degree dislocation on the right, deliberately retreating a long way.

Antetokounmpo stayed at the three-point line and waited, bent over and slapped the floor with both hands, raised his head and shouted at Paul: Come on!
Paul immediately scrambled the ball forward, crossed the three-point line to the left, and entered the paint in the blink of an eye. Throwing the ball and hitting the board with one step, suffered a big cap
In the blink of an eye, Tucker jumped up and caught the rebound, turned around and jumped when he landed, and made a shot in 24 seconds.

Probably because Covington and Antetokounmpo took off at the same time, the interference was too fierce, the basketball failed to touch the frame, and the 24-second violation was violated.

With 42 seconds left in the clock, Su Yang weighed in for a moment and didn't want to pause for a moment. The King's ball got stuck on the baseline in the backcourt, and the Rockets made a full-court press.

With such a defensive strategy, the Kings have already trained and responded to it.

Antetokounmpo and Covington continued to cover in the backcourt, and Curry got rid of Paul and rushed to the basket in the frontcourt like lightning.

Ali and Tucker chased after him, and Antetokounmpo also turned around to follow up. Boos burst out in the arena, and Curry almost made an empty basket.

But never expected that Curry hit the iron with an empty basket.

Cheers resounded in the arena, but Antetokounmpo who followed up jumped up and got an offensive rebound against Tucker and Ariza.

The basketball passed to Curry in the short corner on the right, which is not his good position, but he took off decisively and made a two-pointer.

bass!The basketball is hollow into the net.

"Okay!" Su Yang immediately changed the gesture that was going to call a timeout to clapping vigorously, and grinned.

With 32.8 seconds left, the two teams were tied, the Rockets did not call a timeout, and Harden slowly moved forward with the ball.

The Rockets fans at the scene stood up and watched. Harden ran across the center line in 7 seconds, bent down to press time, and waited for Curry to cover.

Seeing this, Su Yang yelled a reminder. Anyway, in about 24 seconds, Curry teamed up with George to double-team, and Harden hurriedly withdrew to make a shot.

The basketball rebounded with a bang, and Antetokounmpo bent his knees to gather strength to grab a rebound, but he never thought, Tucker flew out.

Offensive rebound!

Cheers burst from the Toyota Center, Tucker circled the ball and passed it to Harden who slipped to the right elbow, and Harden took the ball and retreated, facing Antetokounmpo, Covington and George to block the shot. He shot two points from the ground, and the basketball hit the basket and bounced into the net.

The Kings trailed 94 to 96 with 4.9 seconds left.

At the most critical moment, Harden made a mid-range shot and hit it. Compared with the previous life-and-death miss, it was like writing a script.

Su Yang casually asked for a timeout, first arranged for LaVine to leave the field, replaced by Thomas Jr., and then said calmly: "We play a BOX box tactic, Curry is the first end point, before he catches the ball, put George on the back to cover Make an air cut, stop in the paint, hide the intention to go around the top of the arc, and Thomas raises up at the same time to pretend to receive the serve, and George also runs to Covington, also pretending to receive and serve the ball, like the two of you The purpose of the running position is to clear the space at the top of the arc..."

Between the speeches, the pause ends.

The Kings players entered the field, Covington stood outside the right wing, Thomas Jr. and George separated the waists on the left and right sides, Curry and Antetokounmpo separated the elbows on the left sides, and the Rockets set up their positions man-to-man. And Harden was replaced by Capet for the first game.

There were boos after waves in the arena.

The referee whistles the ball to time it.

Curry immediately started to use George's back screen to rush into the paint, while Thomas Jr. also used Antetokounmpo to screen and went straight to the 45-degree three-point line on the right. Cover for the oncoming George.

The Rockets quickly switched defenses, but George didn't catch the ball immediately, but turned around and ran to the right corner.

At the same time, Antetokounmpo, who had been covering for Thomas Jr., turned around and stepped into the paint, setting up a wall to block Paul.

Curry flew up and rushed to the top of the arc, raised his hand to receive the pass from Covington, turned around and faced Capela who was changing defenses, and changed hands under the crotch, but only once, and did not continue to shake according to the regular rhythm. Change hands behind the back to take the ball and move laterally.

Capela hurriedly started to catch up, but it was too late, Curry took the ball up and took off, raising his hand and scoring a three-pointer.

bass!The basketball went into the net hollow, 97 to 96.

With 0.8 seconds left, the Rockets requested a timeout.

Rockets fans throughout the Toyota Center seemed to be suddenly silenced, while cheers from the Kings bench filled the arena.

Su Yang didn't dare to be careless, and hurriedly called the whole team to surround him, forming a defensive lineup of Antetokounmpo + Covington + George + LaVine + Brogdon, instructing to beware of the Rockets' space and long-distance passing. Let the Rockets shoot.

In the ESPN commentary seat, Van Gundy raised his hands high, bowed his head and nodded in admiration, and said excitedly: "It's been a long time since I saw Su Yang deploy a lore tactic, and this time I feel something new. Two points..."

"agree completely!"

Mark Jackson answered: "Actually, Covington could pass the ball to Giannis at the basket just now. Cousins ​​should be in the usual position. The Rockets' defensive attention has been completely attracted by Curry who ran to the top of the arc. Paul is distracted, too."

During the conversation, the pause on the court ended.

The Rockets kicked off in the frontcourt, with two left and three right, and a slice tactic. Paul caught the ball at the waist and turned over for a jumper.

The time was tight, the height was restricted, and the basketball shot was very reluctant, and the iron was struck with a bang, and the time ran out synchronously.

The whistle sounded at the end of the game, and the Kings defeated the Rockets 97 to 96, leading the Western Conference Finals series 3 to 0.

Su Yang got up and entered the arena, and gave high-fives to the king's generals. He never thought that Brother Antetokounmpo was going to have sex with Ariza.

The crowd hurriedly stepped forward to pull the two of them away, and the disturbance was stopped early, and the fans at the scene were too lazy to boo them.

In the entire game, only 4 Kings scored in double figures. Curry played normally in the first quarter, stretched in the second quarter, superb in the third quarter, and also stretched in the fourth quarter, but hit the most critical lore three-pointer. Get the highest 28 points, back 4 fouls.

On the Rockets' side, Harden played efficiently in the first quarter, shot wildly in the next three quarters, scored 30 points and 4 assists in the audience.

After taking a shower, Su Yang attended the post-match interview,

Talking about allowing Curry to play 16 points in a row and not removing Cousins ​​at the right time, he smiled: "I am not God, and I will make mistakes, but I am very lucky. I have deployed lore tactics for so many years and succeeded. The chances are very high…”

(End of this chapter)