The NBA's opening sling against Chris Paul

Chapter 144
Lillard snorted and hit the floor pass across half court to find Matthews on the perimeter again with precision, and the latter hit another three-pointer, this time from a 45-degree angle on the right.

"Oh, this Wesley Matthews is not bad, he has two brushes." Stoudemire, who is also a three-point shooter, admired him very much.

However, this buddy is a typical example of inspiration. After playing for Marquette University for four years, he was not selected by the NBA.

His dedicated defense and steady three-pointers kept him in the lineup.

In the 09-10 season, Matthews gradually became a fixed member of the Jazz's rotation. When the mid-season trade deadline expired, the Jazz sent Ronnie Brewer away and kept Matthews.This season, Matthews played 82 regular-season games on behalf of the Jazz, averaging 9.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

A qualified wing player, Matthews became a restricted free agent after the season.The Portland Trail Blazers offered him a five-year, $5 million offer. After weighing, the Jazz finally gave up the right to match.

In this way, he came to the Trail Blazers and gradually became the main force.And in a game against the Timberwolves, he scored 7 three-pointers in the half and scored 36 points in the game, which is impressive.

In the past season, he averaged 13.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He won the appreciation of head coach Mike Millan and led the team in average playing time.

With a height of 1.96 and a weight of nearly 220 pounds, he is not at a disadvantage when facing the shooting guards in the league. Even when he is pushed to the small forward position, his strong lower body strength also adds a lot of points to him.

"Play well, lads, don't let Rakuma get the ball on the line, stick to him, and if he breaks through, let the person closest to him cover the defense." Hollins said loudly to Marc Gasol .

Guy sat on the stool at the far end, constantly wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Li Ming stood not far from the coach, he was discussing something with Bayless in a low voice, making gestures from time to time.

On the other hand, on the Trail Blazers bench, coach Mike Millan kept writing and drawing on the tactical board, while Matthews next to him drank his drink in one gulp.

With the whistle of the referee, the players entered the field again.

"Rudy!" Li Ming hopped his feet and directed Guy to pull the side.

Zach Randolph was sitting off the court to rest at this time, and it was Arthur who replaced him.

After Li Ming dribbled the ball under his crotch continuously outside the three-point line, he shot a three-pointer suddenly.The shot was too hasty and bounced out, but the rebound was won by Arthur who was in a better position.

Arthur passed the ball in the air to Bayless, who was already ambushing on the baseline.

Bayless raised the knife and hit the three-pointer steadily.

"Yes, yes!" The FedEx Center became restless again.

It seems that a lot of Bayless' relatives and friends came tonight, but the appearance of mysterious figures in the stands attracted the attention of the live cameras.

Daniel, Wang Lele, and Wang Ping were shaking beer glasses to their heart's content. Obviously, the tickets were given to them by Li Ming after their last date, but the strange thing is that Li Ming's desire to attack is not very strong tonight. At least for the first quarter.

The same offensive desire is not strong and the Blazers' starting point guard Lillard, he has not shot yet.I don't know what kind of psychological activities the two of them have. Could it be that they just stop fighting and then explode in the second half?

While talking, Bayless here turned around and stole the ball from Matthews, made a chasing three-pointer and scored an additional penalty.

Awesome, scored seven points in 31 seconds! !
It is not a mortal who can replace Conley. He has two brushes. Didn't you Matthews shoot me three three-pointers in the first quarter?I will return it to you as it is now, which is called reciprocation.

There was a small change in the Trail Blazers' lineup in the second quarter. Wilbarton replaced Tatum and appeared at the small forward position. This is a good thing for Gay, and the pressure is much less. This Barton is comparable to Tatum. Much easier to deal with.

Hickson on the Trail Blazers side was called for a foul during a screen, and the ball returned to the Grizzlies.

"He can't seem to find his own rhythm in the Trail Blazers, which is not as good as the Bulls and Rockets. After all, as an insider, his footsteps are too slow, and he moves even the slowest forward." Stoudemire Said.

Sure enough, after a dead ball, Mike Millan replaced Jeffries. This elder brother is an old man of the Rockets. After transferring from the Knicks to the Rockets, he was teammates with Yao Ming. After being traded to the Trail Blazers, there are not many opportunities to play. .

His body is thin, and Hixon can still defend anyway. He only mentioned up-line screens on the court, and his outside shots were extremely unstable.

In a Trail Blazers offense, Aldridge was blocked by Gasol, and the ball was picked up by Lillard next to him, who rushed directly to the basket. In desperation, Randolph could only reach out to save him .

Lillard scored the first point of the night with a free throw, missed the second free throw, the rebound was taken by Gay, Gay made a long throw over the frontcourt, Li Ming took the ball up while catching the ball Throwing, Bayless in the middle made a dunk that smashed Huashan.

The jump height of this ball is not bad, it seems that this little guard has endless energy in his body.

"This ball can, this Bayless can drop!" Stoudemire was amazed.

"Don't let him break through you from the front, you have to get stuck in his path." Lillard and Matthews seem to have a little communication problem in terms of perimeter defense.

Coach Mike Millan took advantage of the opportunity to call a timeout. Coach Hollins also took the opportunity to replace Li Ming. Kenyon During replaced him. At the same time, Jia was also replaced. Pondexett finally got a chance to play. .

In the first round after returning from the timeout, Aldridge and Lillard chose a mid-range shot after a simple pick-and-roll on the line, and hit again, six out of six, and he is destined to be the brightest star tonight.

However, Bayless here is not bad. After breaking through the Blazers' multi-person defense, he chose to retreat to the three-point line and hit an unreasonable three-pointer again.

34 to 41, with less than 7 minutes left in the game, the Grizzlies widened the point difference to seven points.

This Matthews' defense is not bad, almost the kind of hand-held bricks. Even with such a defensive strength, Bayless still hits a difficult three-pointer, and his strength is evident.

The Grizzlies this season will be very scary, because this group of role players has also begun to explode with great energy.

Lillard began to keep interspersing on the upper line, looking for inside opportunities, but Jeffries didn't seem to like the confrontation at the basket very much. Even though Arthur was standing opposite him, he still chose the outside shot. Not surprisingly popped out.

Coach Mike Millan on the sidelines kept shaking his head. He didn't understand it, but there was nothing he could do. The team didn't have many center forwards, and Aldridge preferred to be a power forward.

(End of this chapter)