basketball player

304 Chapter 302: Look at them all

James Harden, it's hard for you to imagine that last season, this guy was just a small follower behind Durant and Westbrook. The best sixth man is already the best compliment for this small guard.

But this season, he didn't know until two days before the start of the season that his life might be about to change.

On October 10, the NBA officially confirmed that James Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets.The best sixth man has also transformed into a star in Houston.

The sudden increase in exposure and attention, not only did not make Harden feel pressured, but made him more motivated.

In the first game of joining the Rockets, Harden scored a super double-double with 37 points and 12 assists, establishing his core position in one fell swoop.In the second game against the Hawks, Harden had another 45-point performance moment. People were amazed that the best sixth man could burst out such terrifying power.Of course, the most surprised one must be the Thunder management.

Last season, Harden averaged 16.8 points and 3.7 assists per game, starting twice throughout the season.In the Rockets this season, Harden has not played as a substitute, and his average data has skyrocketed to 25.9 points and 5.8 assists per game.The management of the Thunder team is probably remorseful now. Who would have thought that the young man who was completely lost in the finals last season would become one of the hottest stars this season.

It's like scratching a lottery ticket and giving it to someone else when you see the word "thank you".Little did he know that Morey picked it up and continued to scratch, and what he saw was not "Thank you for your patronage", but "Thank you, you have won the lottery".

This is James Harden, he has found his belonging, and the Rockets have finally found their star.

Because of this, the Christmas battle between the Rockets and the Pacers has become highly anticipated.

In the beginning, the league arranged this game mainly to deal with the Chinese market.After all, the Rockets have a huge fan base in China, and the Pacers have also accumulated high popularity in China in recent years because of the relationship with the Chinese coach Henson Joe.

But the joining of James Harden has changed everything. Now, not only Chinese fans are looking forward to this game, but even American fans think this is one of the games worth looking forward to in the Christmas game!

With the addition of Harden, the Rockets finally returned to the top eight in the Western Conference.Moreover, they are absolutely capable of wrestling with the strong teams in the league.

As for the Pacers, fans like to watch all kinds of weird opponents challenge the defending champion.The sudden rise of the Rockets is simply the perfect candidate.

Seeing that the Rockets VS Pacers game is getting more and more attention in the United States, it is estimated that David Stern will wake up laughing at night.Who doesn't like things like inadvertently inserting willows and willows into shadows?

Of course, Henson didn't like it.

"Do you have any defensive suggestions for the next game?" On Christmas Eve, that is, on the training ground the day before the start of the Christmas game, Henson asked Vogel helplessly on the sidelines.

The Rockets' offense has a characteristic that the stars play a lot of singles.And Harden's offense also has a characteristic, a large number of free throws.Last season, as the Thunder's sixth man, Harden averaged only 6.2 free throws per game.But this season, that number has changed to 10.1.

The combination of these two characteristics makes the Rockets' offense a headache for all coaches and players.Prevent Harden from being too deadly, it is easy to be touched by Harden.Guard too far, Harden can really kill you when he feels it.

On this issue, the reporters also interviewed many players and coaches.And most people can only shake their heads when facing Harden's difficult problem.

"He does a great job of using his body to play tough. Many times he touches you, your natural reaction is to hit back, and then you are called a foul. So, he is that good, he knows how to master these tricks, and how to make the referee make decisions in his favor. That's why he can make 10 free throws a night." This is Kobe's evaluation of Harden.

"If you're a whole step slower, Harden will get a chance to go straight to the basket. But if you're half a step slower, he'll create space for his shot, and then lean his body towards you to make a foul." Ronnie Brewer said this with a helpless expression on his face.

"It's not easy to defend him. He is too good at fouling. I have to control my hands, but it is even more difficult not to touch him, not to mention he is still a left-hander. If he feels good, then we will be in trouble this night." Argentine Manu Ginobili also suffered from it.

Listen to the voices of these people complaining, and you will know how painful Henson is at this time.He studied for a long time, but still couldn't find a way to contain Harden.

Vogel shook his head. As a very defensive coach, he didn't seem to have any coups, "What else can we do? We can only raise our arms as high as possible and not touch him. In short, don't let him make free throws easily."

Everyone knows that this is a no-brainer.Everyone knows what to do, but Harden can still score as many points as he deserves.

"You can only watch while you fight, Henson, you can only watch while you fight."

Watching while playing is Henson's least favorite thing to do.Because he doesn't like fighting unprepared battles.But whether he is ready or not, Christmas will not be postponed.

On December 12th, Christmas night, the Bankers Life Arena was crowded with people.Henson certainly knows that being able to play the Christmas game is a recognition of the strength of the team by the league and fans.But in comparison, Henson misses being able to spend Christmas at home more.

Before today's game started, the most popular person in the stadium was undoubtedly the daughter of the Pacers team's young owner and also Coach Henson's girlfriend, Anjiali Ranadive.

Since An Jiali's identity was exposed, she has gained a large number of fans in an instant.I have to say that there are really some people in this world who can rely on their faces for a living.
The on-site camera lens will give An Jiali a close-up every few minutes. After An Jiali's selfie in the arena was uploaded to ins, it immediately attracted a lot of comments and reposts.

The Pacers management even had an idea, "Just let this little girl sing the opening national anthem in the future, it must be very popular."

Before the players entered the field, the field belonged to An Jiali.But when the players entered the field, the strong smell of gunpowder immediately spread!
The Pacers fans were just passers-by admiring beauties at first, but now, they all screamed and cheered, and instantly turned into bloodthirsty fighters!
The beauty of Christmas Eve is over, and there will only be bloody fights until late at night!

"The Indiana Pacers have played, and the defending champion has won the cheers of the fans!" On the commentary stand, Shaquille O'Neal made the opening remarks for the game.Since today is the Christmas battle, all members of T.NT's "Living Treasure Trio" are here.Of course, on such an occasion, how could there be "Mr. Caiyi" Sag.

"Henson, long time no see!" Sager greeted Henson warmly after seeing him.

When Sager first met Henson a few years ago, he just thought the guy talked like that old bastard Popovich.Who knows, now Henson even has the same grades as Popovich.

"Sag, your red suit looks great today. You should buy it like mine." Henson smiled. The uncle Sag and the chick Laidlow are undoubtedly the only reporters on the sidelines he has a good impression of.

"Let's discuss the clothes in private, Coach Henson. Everyone is very concerned about one issue. That is, how the Pacers plan to contain James Harden's performance! Who will you replace tonight to target the Rockets' strength?"

"Who will play?" Henson didn't smile, but thought seriously, "The Rockets and Pacers will play."

"Pfft." Fortunately, Sage's professionalism is good, so he couldn't hold back his laughter, "Thank you for your answer, Coach Henson, your answer is really very useful."

"You don't need to thank Sage, if you really want to thank me, please invite me to dinner tonight."

In front of the camera, Henson is still the same Henson, and you can't see him being nervous at all.But back on the bench, Henson has completely changed.

"What did Sager ask you?" Vogel asked casually.

"It's just some boring questions, don't worry about those. For this game, we have to take off the Rockets' underwear. Focus on the game and see what they will do."

"What did you say?" Vogel, who was observing the players warming up, looked back in surprise.

"I said, we gotta take off the Rockets' bottoms and see them all."

"Aren't you a big Christmas hooligan?"

(End of this chapter)