Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 243 243. The playoffs, the son of the alliance?Brush your face at the referee?No!I just memorize the rules before going to bed

On April 4, local time in the United States, the first round of the playoffs between the Grizzlies and the Rockets officially started.

This round of the series was unanimously considered by the outside world to be the most suspenseful matchup this year.

Even the Celtics and Eagles, who have the same disparity in the Eastern Conference record, are more suspenseful than the matchup between the Grizzlies and the Rockets.

Although the Eagles' regular season record is only 37 wins and 45 losses, it can be regarded as picking up a playoff spot for nothing.

But the main reason for the eagle's poor record is that the coaching style of head coach Mike Woodson seems incompatible with this team.

If you look at the lineup alone, the strength of the Eagles is definitely not a team that can only play this kind of record.

"Eagle King" Johnson, Josh Smith, Horford, Marvin Williams, Childress, Tyronn Lue, and Sheldon Williams, etc.

The biggest problem for the Eagles is that they don't have an excellent point guard. The current starting point guard for the Eagles is Anthony Johnson, who is too old to walk.

Not to mention that Anthony Johnson is old and not suitable for continued development in the NBA. Even Johnson at his peak could only contribute 9.2 points + 4.3 assists per game.

Anthony Johnson is a standard backup point guard. For a team that intends to hit the playoffs, it is definitely a very bad thing to start with Anthony Johnson.

The unreasonable lineup, coupled with the coaching style of head coach Mike Woodson, has prevented Horford and many other players from playing their own strengths, so the Eagles' record this season is so poor.

However, Joe Johnson, who averaged 21 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this season, is called the second place in the Eastern Conference by fans.

From the perspective of overall strength, the Hawks are naturally not the opponents of the Celtics, but if the Hawks desperately want to win the next game, it will be difficult for the Celtics to complete a sweep in this round of the series.

In the West, the Rockets, who will face the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, were labeled as going home to fish early by fans.

Even online, the support rate for the Grizzlies' 4:0 sweep and promotion has reached as high as 86.4%, and the support rate for the Rockets to win the next game is only 7.3%.

The extremely exaggerated support rate from the outside world is enough to prove the gap between the two teams this season.

Even though this point of Yao Ming will make the Grizzlies feel tricky, but the Grizzlies beat the Rockets three times in the regular season, the Grizzlies obviously have a way to limit Yao Ming's performance.

Once Yao Ming is restricted in this round of the series, the Rockets are like a tiger whose teeth have been pulled out, and can only watch the Grizzlies skip over their heads.

It is worth mentioning that since Montgomery is a coach who focuses on outside attacks, the frequency of Yao Ming's singles with the ball in the low post has been greatly reduced this season. Instead, he has increased some mid-range shots on both sides.

Yao Ming, who reduced his low-post singles and successfully lost weight, played a total of 79 games this season. This attendance rate surprised Chinese fans, and Montgomery also gained the favor of Chinese fans by the way.

Yao Ming's success in the NBA is what all Chinese fans are looking forward to, but whether Yao Ming can maintain his health is the most concerned issue for Chinese fans.

Even if the Rockets only rank eighth in the Western Conference with a record of 49 wins and 33 losses this season, they barely catch the last train of the playoffs.

But after the management traded away Tracy McGrady, the Rockets in a semi-rebuilt state performed very well, and under the leadership of Yao Ming, they have far exceeded the expectations of the fans.

No one questioned Yao Ming this season, and even the call for Yao Ming to be selected for the best team also reached its peak.

Because Yao Ming's biggest opponent in the best team as a center is the "Warcraft" Howard who competes with Yao Ming for the league's number one center.

Which of the two can be selected for the best team this year can basically confirm from the side who is the number one center forward in active service.

The only bad thing is that the Magic record led by Howard is even better, and the record factor will become a hidden danger for Yao Ming to be selected for the best team.

Before the game, the players of both sides warmed up by shooting in their respective halfs. Judging from Yao Ming's facial expressions, Yao Ming's mental state is not bad.

Even facing the league's No. [-] Grizzlies in the first round, Yao Ming didn't show too much nervousness.

On the other hand, Mike Conley and Luis Scola, the rookies who played in the playoffs for the first time in their careers, seemed a little restrained.

Both Conley and Scola performed well in the regular season, and both showed maturity far beyond their peers on the court.

Especially "Diamond" Scola was once called "cunning rookie" by fans.

However, since the end of the regular season, the two have often heard the veterans in the team talk about how fierce the playoffs are.

In the words of Uncle Mu, whose official age is over 40 years old, several dark horses emerge in the playoffs every year, and the offseason contract is locked in advance in just a few games.

At the same time, many players show their true colors in the playoffs every year, and abruptly throw away the big contracts that are about to be obtained.

The playoffs are a shortcut to test whether a player can become a star. If he plays well, he can soar to the sky, and if he plays poorly, he can fall to the bottom. Compared with the length of the regular season, the sudden change of circumstances is exactly the cruelty of the playoffs.

"You really didn't disappoint me. You were allowed to enter the league a long time ago, but you kept finding excuses to shirk at that time."

"The unknown is indeed full of fear, but do you enjoy the game more now?" Looking at the 28-year-old rookie Luis Scola in front of him, Luke's face was full of pride and regret.

Although 28 years old is the golden age of basketball players, it has already passed the growth stage of rookie players.

Scola's style of play at this age has been finalized. Even though Scola's strength is more than enough to stay in the NBA, Luke still feels sorry for Scola, who had the opportunity to go further.

Scola was a member of the Tau team that Luke coached in Europe, and even Scola was the captain of that Tau team at that time.

Luke urged Scola to participate in the draft more than once, but at this time, European players are full of deep fear of leaving the professional league they are familiar with and going to the United States.

No matter how intimidating Luke, Scola insisted on continuing to hone in the European league.

As early as the 2002 draft, Scola was selected by the Spurs with the 27th overall pick in the second round, but Scola was still reluctant to leave Europe, and it was not until this year that he mustered up the courage to embark on the journey to the NBA.

However, Scola was reluctant to report to the team a few years ago, so the Spurs gradually lost patience and sold Scola's signing rights to the Rockets. This is why Scola is wearing a Rockets jersey today.

Fortunately, the head coach of the Rockets is now Montgomery. Playing under Montgomery is a good thing for Scola, who has just entered the league.

Otherwise, Luke really wants to find a way to get Scola into his own hands. After all, he is also a veteran who accompanied Luke to establish a dynasty in the European League.

"Before I came to the United States, I was always panicked, but now I feel that the NBA is not so scary."

"Maybe I should have listened to you, but now that I think about it, I don't regret it. I was very happy playing under you at that time, and I also learned a lot."

"If you come to the NBA to report early, it may be difficult to become outstanding." Scola scratched his head and looked a little embarrassed.

Although he is 28 years old and has played well after entering the NBA, Scola still feels guilty for not following Luke's advice back then.

"Mike is an excellent basketball coach. He may not be able to guide you in terms of technology, so I am very relieved that you can play under him."

"Besides, I have some friendship with Mike in private, so you can come to me anytime in the future." Patting Scola on the shoulder, Luke showed a smile on his face.

Although Scola is his former disciple, he is now an enemy standing on this court. The game has not yet started, and it is not convenient for Luke to chat with Scola for too long.

That is to say, Montgomery is not a narrow-minded coach. Otherwise, once the Rockets head coach is replaced by Zen Master, Jackson will definitely push him off the court and deprive Scola of playing in this game when he sees his players chatting so happily with Luke. time.

In this game, the starting lineup sent by Montgomery is: Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Battier, Scola, and Yao Ming.

The Grizzlies are still the same: Lowry, Martin, Gerald Wallace, Pau Gasol, and Gasol Jr.

As soon as the game started, Yao Ming reached out for the ball inside. After all, except for Yao Ming, the offensive efficiency of the Rockets' lineup is difficult to guarantee.

The Grizzlies still guard their most familiar zone defense on the court. This formation can shrink inward or expand outward at any time according to the situation on the court.

But today's Yao Ming is no longer the low-post machine he played under Jeff Van Gundy, but a comprehensive center.

Facing Marc Gasol, Yao Ming did not take advantage of his height advantage to play post-up singles. The Rockets had played against the Grizzlies three times in the regular season. Yao Ming knew very well that once his position was too deep, the Grizzlies would immediately attack him. To pinch.

And Marc Gasol's lower body strength is also very good, for this point, Yao Ming can be described as deeply touched.

So for the first offense in the opening game, Yao Ming chose a mid-range shot. Taking advantage of his height, it was difficult for Marc Gasol to block the shot from the front.

"Shu~"

With the sound of the basketball hitting the net, Yao Ming scored the first goal of the game.

"Yao's means on the offensive end are too rich. In my impression, there hasn't been a center like Yao in the league for a long time."

"Especially Yao's height of nearly [-] meters, if the defensive end does not double-team Yao, it is hard to imagine who can limit Yao's performance in one-on-one." Seeing Yao Ming's easy defense against Marc Gasol After scoring, Jafaroni showed a look of surprise on his face.

Although Marc Gasol is only a first-year rookie, everyone in the Grizzlies knows Gasol's defensive ability.

Yao Ming can play so easily on the offensive end, which is enough to prove how rich Yao Ming's offensive methods are.

For a center forward who is [-] meters tall, Yao Ming's offensive skills are simply at the textbook level.

"Don't worry, the game has just begun." Luke sat on the sidelines and smiled lightly.

In the next period of time, Paul Gasol of the Grizzlies began to take over the game. Facing the defense of the older rookie Scola, Gasol's personal advantage was very obvious.

Although Scola has a good offensive ability, his excellent footwork at the basket and his shooting ability make Scola enough to be the starting power forward in any team.

However, as an inside player, Scola averaged only 0.2 blocks per game this season. In other words, Scola basically has no defensive ability at the basket.

As the saying goes, hitting a snake and hitting seven inches, the Grizzlies just seized Scola's lack of defensive ability and began to make a big fuss.

I saw that Paul Gasol first hit Scola in a post-up singles, and then Gasol showed off a turnaround jumper on Scola's head.

Until Kevin Martin missed an outside shot, Pau Gasol, who grabbed the offensive rebound, not only sent the ball into the basket under the pincer attack of Yao Ming and Scola, but also caused Scola's defensive foul.

With Pau Gasol's outstanding performance after the opening, the Grizzlies firmly control the rhythm of the game.

However, although the Grizzlies have Pau Gasol to stand up and kill the Quartet, the Rockets also have Rudy Gay, who is not afraid of tigers as a newborn calf.

When Yao Ming began to encounter the Grizzlies' double attack frequently, Gay, who has always been confident in attacking, stood up.

Gay first hit a three-pointer on Kevin Martin's head, and then used a defensive counterattack against Kyle Lowry to score the ball.

Rudy Gay's performance pulled the Rockets back from the cliff, and at the same time made head coach Montgomery feel relieved.

Gay played hard for half a season in the regular season, and the poor offensive efficiency made Montgomery once want to put Gay on the bench as the best sixth man.

Even before the series began, Montgomery was pondering whether to keep Rudy Gay as the starter.

After all, the playoffs are different from the regular season. A small mistake will cause the opponent to play a wave of climax. Gay's frequent strikes are likely to give the Grizzlies, who are already good at counterattacks, an advantage.

But now it seems that Gay's confident offense has become the breakthrough point of Yao Ming's offense after being double-teamed, which really surprised Montgomery.

However, the reason why the Grizzlies can become the number one in the league is because the team's overall strength is very good. On the offensive end, they never rely on a certain player to establish an advantage, but the overall performance makes it difficult for opponents to plan their defensive focus.

In the last few minutes, Kevin Martin, who ranked fifth in the regular season scoring list, began to exert his strength. Facing Rudy Gay's defense, he first caught the ball and hit a three-pointer, and then caused Gay two consecutive defensive fouls during the breakthrough, sending Rudy Gay came off early to rest.

Guy felt aggrieved by Martin's intentional play on the defensive players, but the referees would not sell rookie players.

Although Gay was so wronged to death, he could only sit off the court and stare at the court with those eyes that wished to cut Martin into pieces.

With the excellent individual performances of Pau Gasol and Kevin Martin, the Grizzlies led the Rockets by six points at the end of the first quarter.

Entering the second quarter, the two sides replaced the rotation lineup to start the contest.

The sixth man "Streetball King" Alston took the lead to take over the game as soon as he came on the court, and his continuous inside and outside shots helped the Rockets quickly catch up with the score.

Alstom has always been the most unstable presence on the Rockets' offensive end during his tenure as the starter, but after Montgomery put Alston on the bench, Alstom, who controls the offensive power, became more fierce.

Even though Mike Bibby blocked Alston's face several times, the fiery Alston could still put the ball into the basket from various positions, creating some trouble for the Grizzlies.

"Although Raff's offensive efficiency is appalling, it must be said that this guy is really an excellent chaotic fighter."

"Even a player as consistent as Mike Bibby is having a hard time keeping up with Love."

"It seems that in the future, these guys from streetball background cannot be underestimated." Looking at Alston's fancy dribbling movements, Casey frowned while sitting off the court.

"More than half of Love's excellent offensive ability stems from his confidence on the offensive end. Although Love, who was born in the street, missed a lot, his wild way is also an existence that defensive players are unwilling to face."

"However, Raff's style of play is doomed for him not to be on the stage, otherwise Mike wouldn't have pushed him off the court at the critical moment." Luke took a sip of his drink lightly, as if he didn't care about the situation on the court.

Alston's outbreak made everyone in the Grizzlies feel the pressure, but the Grizzlies, as the team with the most comebacks this season, have never questioned the players' ability to resist pressure.

Under Alston's fancy interspersed offense, Mike Miller, who had just stepped onto the court, was inspired to fight.

Relying on the space pull of the two excellent forts of Capo and Novak, Mike Miller has a good offensive environment on the offensive end.

First he made a defensive fadeaway jumper against Bobby Jackson, then Mike Miller hit a three-pointer on the left and right sides, and after Mike Bibby steals Alston, Miller received a pass from his teammate in the frontcourt , staged an unguarded dunk with both hands.

In just over two minutes, Mike Miller scored ten points in a row and played a 10:0 climax against the Rockets, forcing Montgomery to call a timeout immediately.

After the timeout, the Grizzlies' offensive rhythm seemed to be driven by Mike Miller's climax, and Kapono and Novak also started to exert their strength outside the three-point line.

Especially Steve Novak, whenever he played against the Rockets, Novak would look very excited.

Facing his old club, Novak has always been able to play outstanding individual performances.

This game is no exception. Novak only played for more than nine minutes in the first half, but he efficiently hit three three-pointers from the outside. Every goal was like a nail in Montgomery's heart. On the road, the little old man Montgomery wanted to vomit blood for a moment.

"Damn Darrell Morey, what kind of cerebral palsy operation is this!"

Entering the second half, the Rockets gradually became passive on the offensive end. When Yao Ming was taken care of by the Grizzlies, there were very few players the Rockets could really rely on.

The offensive efficiency of Rudy Gay and Alston is not guaranteed, and the offense of Scola and Mike Conley lacks explosiveness.

Montgomery found himself in a state where no one was available. Obviously, the Rockets' strength on paper was not bad, but they seemed so passive when they really played the game.

Montgomery hasn't been able to find a way to crack the Grizzlies zone defense as the minutes on the court go by.

The Grizzlies' offensive momentum became more and more fierce. The Grizzlies team scored 41 points in the third quarter, extending the lead to 22 points.

In the last quarter, Yao Ming tried his best on the offensive end despite the double attack, but the Grizzlies were unwilling to give up the victory they were talking about.

Under the joint performance of Grant Hill and others, the Grizzlies withstood the Rockets' counterattack momentum, and finally the game ended. The Grizzlies beat the Rockets by 23 points at home and won the first victory in this round of the series.

After the game, even Yao Ming, who is always optimistic, threw the towel on the ground angrily.

Facing the reporter's interview, he shouted angrily and sadly, "No one can create miracles by himself. Basketball is a team sport, but I only saw the bad side in this game."

In the whole game, Yao Ming still contributed 19 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks even though the Grizzlies continued to attack. His shooting percentage as high as 56.5% was all that Yao Ming could contribute to the team.

However, as Yao Ming said, when Yao Ming encountered a two-person attack, the teammates who got open opportunities shot from outside the three-point line. It was a mess, and everything looked so bad.

The Rockets made only 43 of 8 three-pointers from the field, which made Yao Ming feel tired.

After all, when the Rockets can't open the situation outside, Yao Ming will face greater defensive pressure inside. For a single-core team like the Rockets, Yao Ming can't find an offensive environment.

Yao Ming can determine the Rockets' lower limit, but once they enter the playoffs, it is the unreliable outside shooters who really determine the Rockets' upper limit.

For the Grizzlies, Kevin Martin, who scored 27 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, will make a big contribution.

This is not the first time Martin has played in the playoffs in his career, but it is the first time Martin has played in a game as a main player.

Fortunately, Martin, who has entered the playoffs, remains stable as always. Even if the intensity of the game increases, Martin still has many ways to help the team.

The 14 free throws in the game not only made Rudy Gay complain repeatedly, but also made Rockets coach Montgomery feel helpless.

Montgomery has seen many players who are good at drawing fouls, but this is the first time seeing Montgomery who can draw fouls like Martin.

The intensity of the playoffs is much higher than that of the regular season, and the referee's whistle-blowing scale will also be different.

Martin was able to stand on the free throw line 14 times in this situation, and the number of free throws made by one person almost caught up with the Rockets' overall free throws. This made Montgomery wonder whether Martin was the real son of the league.

"Kevin's playing style is really hard for me to explain. It can be seen that Kevin has a deep study of the rules of the league."

"He knows how to get fouls from referees and get himself on the foul line frequently."

"But what I want to say is that the referee's judgment scale confuses me. The same action is made by Kevin and others. The referee's views are not consistent."

"Even if Kevin was a well-known foul-maker in the league during the regular season, the referee can't be so blatantly biased towards Kevin. In my opinion, the whistleblowing in this game is a joke!"

Montgomery was so angry that even his mustache was crooked. If it weren't for the good personal relationship with Luke, Montgomery couldn't help but swear in public.

Making fouls is a player's ability, but is it a bit too bullying to be a VIP and frequently swipe your face at the referee? ! !

除此之外，灰熊还有多位球员表现同样也很出色，保罗加索尔21分11篮板3助攻，杰拉德华莱士14分7篮板4抢断2封盖，以及迈克米勒的16分4篮板1助攻等等。

The Grizzlies beat the Rockets in the first round. It seems normal to the outside world. Although the Rockets have caused some troubles for the Grizzlies, the Grizzlies still won the playoffs with 23 points by virtue of their excellent overall strength. First win.

The only controversial thing in the whole game was whether Kevin Martin got the free throw whistle from the referee too easily. As long as Martin put it on the defensive player, the referee's whistle would sound immediately.

But before the outside world started discussing this matter, Luke's words in an interview after the game directly made the fans feel ashamed.

"If a person memorizes the rules of the league every night before going to bed, will anyone still question his free throws?"

"I'm not questioning the ability of referees, but Kevin already has the professionalism to be a referee!"

　Ask for a monthly pass, ask for a recommendation ticket, beg for a monthly pass, beg for a beg!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)