Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

At night, Staples Center.

The stands were packed with people, with tens of thousands of fans coming to the scene. The players had not yet come out, and fans gathered in groups of three or four to chat.

"I thought Zhuang would win the Western Conference Player of the Month, but he was snatched away by Harden."

"Harden's performance last month was really outstanding. His average points and assists per game were higher than Zhuang Yu's, and the Rockets' record is there."

"That's right...but the Lakers will definitely win today's game."

"Humph, the Lakers are bound to lose today."

"Yes, the Rockets are amazing this season. Harden and Paul are a perfect match. Being first in the Western Conference is no joke..."

Amid people's discussions, the players came out one after another.

Boos, cheers and screams came one after another.

When all the players came out and started warming up, they looked at each other from a distance, and there were sparks of excitement.

However, people were most concerned about Zhuang Yu and Harden. The fans were staring at the two of them, their eyes wandering over them.

Zhuang Yu and Harden stared at each other from a distance, and then looked away. Their performances were both very indifferent, which disappointed the fans.

Shouldn't it be Mars hitting the Earth?

This season, Zhuang Yu, Harden and Westbrook occupy the top three of the "MVP" list, especially Zhuang Yu and Harden, who are considered the most likely to win the regular season MVP.

Last season, Westbrook won the regular season MVP with his super performance of averaging 30+10+10. Although Zhuang Yu also averaged 30+ and was the regular season scoring champion, he ultimately lost to Westbrook by a narrow margin.

Westbrook still averaged a triple-double this season, but he learned from the lesson of last season when his personal statistics were impressive but the team's record was poor. His scoring was not as explosive as last season, but his rebounds and assists were still in double digits, and his obsession with averaging a triple-double remained unabated.

If Westbrook can replicate last season's data, he may be able to win the regular season MVP again, but his average points per game this season is only 25 points.

It's a bit lacking, not amazing enough.

Of course, if it was a few years ago, in other seasons, averaging 25+10+10 per game would have been no problem to win the regular season MVP.

It’s just that the competition is too fierce nowadays and there are too many strong players.

Especially the West.

Compared with the data of Zhuang Yu and Harden, Westbrook's data is more balanced and still excellent, but it is not enough to overwhelm them, not to mention that the Thunder's record is much worse than that of the Lakers and Rockets.

Therefore, it is generally believed that the most likely candidate to win the regular season MVP this season is not Westbrook, but Zhuang Yu and Harden.

This game is also seen by some as a battle for the "regular season MVP".

Last season, Zhuang Yu and Westbrook competed for the MVP, and this season, Zhuang Yu and Harden are competing for the MVP. Some people are optimistic about Zhuang Yu, but many people are pessimistic about Zhuang Yu, thinking that he was not as good as Westbrook last season and will most likely lose to Harden this season.

After all, judging from the past twenty games, Zhuang Yu is not as good as Harden in terms of both personal data and team record.

......

After a warm-up, the competition officially began.

The players from both teams came onto the court. The Lakers played with their regular lineup, and the Rockets also played with their regular starters this season, Clint Capela, Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza, James Harden, and Chris Paul.

The Rockets' lineup is also a "one big and four small" lineup, similar to the Lakers, and the two sides can be said to be in a tit-for-tat situation.

First the jump ball.

Lopez lost again.

Capela touched the basketball first and hit the ball to the backcourt, but a figure flashed quickly and cut the basketball off before Harden.

"what?"

"Damn it, it's Zhuang!"

The faces of several Rockets players changed, but by the time they reacted it was too late.

After Zhuang Yu grabbed the basketball, he dribbled around Harden, stepped into the three-point line in two steps, and then took a step forward and made an easy layup.

The score is 2:0.

"The jump ball was snatched away by someone else."

"Zhuang is really fast, but how did he know Capela would jump to the ball and pass it to Harden instead of someone else?"

The fans were a little confused.

This is actually not difficult. Lopez has failed in jump balls more than once or twice, and Zhuang Yu can already predict it in advance.

As for who Capela will pass the ball to, this is even simpler. There are only Paul and Harden, and Zhuang Yu can just choose one of them.

Fifty percent probability.

The probability of guessing right is still quite high!

The Rockets were caught off guard at the beginning, and several players looked unhappy. Capela served the ball at the baseline and gave it to Paul.

Rockets attack...

At the beginning of the season, many people believed that after Paul joined the Rockets, Harden would reduce his organizational work and focus on scoring. In the new season, his scoring would increase and his assists would decrease.

However, it is not.

In the past month, Harden's playing style has hardly changed from last season. He still plays with the ball as the core, scoring and assisting. Not only has his scoring increased compared to last season, but his assists have also increased.

In fact, the Rockets did not make a clear division of the responsibilities of Paul and Harden. Harden can play the No. 1 position, and so can Paul.

It’s just that Paul is more focused on organizing his teammates to play tactics and using tactics to drive his teammates to score, while Harden relies on his personal ability to attract defense and force his teammates to create opportunities.

After coming to the frontcourt, Paul called for a pick-and-roll.

After taking a quick look at the Lakers' defense and seeing that there were no loopholes in the Lakers' defense, he did not rush. He passed the ball to Harden and waved at his teammates, signaling them to move.

Harden got the ball, Zhuang Yu stepped forward and stood in front of Harden.

"I'm coming."

"Harden, hit one, hit one..."

In the auditorium, fans shouted excitedly.

Harden and Zhuang Yu looked at each other with sharp eyes and fighting spirit burning in their pupils. He first made a three-threat, which was useless to Zhuang Yu, and then suddenly accelerated and broke through to the right.

Zhuang Yu quickly retreated and moved sideways, but not too far, because he knew Harden would definitely change direction, and the bearded player still preferred to break through from the left side.

Sure enough, after taking a step forward, Harden dribbled the ball between his legs, switched the ball to his left hand, and broke through to the left, his speed bursting out completely. However, Zhuang Yu was well prepared, and retreated in advance to block Harden's breakthrough route, preventing him from breaking through.

Harden frowned slightly, but was not surprised.

This was not the first time the two had fought each other. He knew that Zhuang Yu's defense was very strong, and he also knew that it would be difficult to fool Zhuang Yu with simple fake moves. He could fool other people, but not Zhuang Yu.

Immediately, Harden took another step forward, leaned towards Zhuang Yu, pushed Zhuang Yu with his assist hand, and then stepped back.

Signature double step back!

The next moment, Harden jumped up, and Zhuang Yu also jumped up and flew forward, but Harden's double step back was exaggerated and the distance he retreated was too large.

Swish!

There was a slight sound and the ball went in.

It's still a three-pointer.

There was a lot of noise in the audience and the home fans booed loudly, but they couldn't help but sigh in their hearts that Harden was really good.

Most people don’t have the ability to fight Zhuang Yu alone like this.

"Zhuang." Holiday looked at Zhuang Yu.

"It's okay." Zhuang Yu said with a smile, "Just fight as you should."

......

Lakers offense.

After Holiday came to the frontcourt, he called for a pick-and-roll, then passed the ball to Lopez who cut in. Lopez hugged the ball and rushed towards the basket, but failed to score as he was interfered by Capela.

Ariza grabbed the rebound and passed it to Harden, who quickly launched a counterattack, and when he reached the center line, he pushed the ball with both hands and passed it to Paul. Paul took the ball and pretended to shoot a three-pointer, then accelerated to break through, and then passed the ball to the right without looking at anyone.

At this time, Ryan Anderson just reached the 45-degree angle outside the three-point line on the right, and Paul's pass was just right.

Ryan Anderson received the ball and immediately took a three-point shot.

Swish!

Also scored, the score was 6:2.

"It's not good to let the Rockets score two three-pointers at the beginning."

"The Rockets are a three-point team and they shoot a lot of three-pointers. Defend them better and don't let them shoot three-pointers easily."

The home fans yelled at the Lakers players to defend better.

The Rockets are indeed a three-point team. Last season, they averaged 40 three-pointers per game. The Warriors, who are also famous for their three-pointers and have the Splash Brothers + Durant combination, only averaged 30 three-pointers per game. The Rockets had ten more than them.

This season, the Rockets continued their playing style from last season, shooting three-pointers more and more crazily, averaging 43 three-pointers per game, ranking first in the league.

Very exaggerated!

Zhuang Yu was not surprised by the Rockets' three-pointer, but it was necessary to guard against the Rockets' three-pointer. He gestured to his teammates and then went to the frontcourt.

As soon as Holiday crossed the center line, Zhuang Yu ran back and got the ball.

At this time, Holiday and Paul were facing each other, Harden and Zhuang Yu were facing each other, Ariza and Korver were facing each other, Ryan Anderson and Kyle Anderson were facing each other, Capela and Lopez were facing each other, and Harden hurried forward and stared at Zhuang Yu.

Zhuang Yu first took a series of crossover steps, then suddenly lowered his center of gravity and dropped his left shoulder. Harden immediately retreated, but Zhuang Yu did not break through, but instead suddenly pulled up.

Harden's heart skipped a beat and he rushed forward.

However, there was a big height difference between the two sides, and Zhuang Yu's shot was very fast, so Harden didn't even have time to jump and could only raise his hands to interfere.

Swish!

The ball went in, also a three-pointer.

"nice shot."

"Returned a three-pointer, well done."

The home fans cheered excitedly.

Zhuang Yu turned around and retreated, and after arriving at the backcourt, he called out to his teammates. Several players nodded in unison and faced their opponents, all sticking very close to them to prevent the other side from making three-point shots.

After Paul arrived at the frontcourt, he tried to organize a wave. However, at this time, the Lakers focused on the three-pointer, making it difficult for the Rockets to find any opportunities. Finally, the ball was given to Harden. Harden played alone, changed directions continuously, and then suddenly accelerated, breaking through from the left side.

This time he did not choose to shoot, but to break through, taking advantage of a series of misleading moves, then suddenly accelerated, passed Zhuang Yu by half a body length, and then looked for confrontation.

Facing Zhuang Yu, Harden knew very well how to play. It was not enough to rely on fake moves, he had to look for confrontation.

However, when the two men made physical contact, a strong force came over them, which surprised Harden. Zhuang Yu's resistance was much stronger than last season.

He thought he could knock Zhuang Yu away, but in the end he just made Zhuang Yu take a small step back, and Harden had to stop.

Harden reacted quickly, swung his hands around, hung them on Zhuang Yu's hands, and then jumped up next to Zhuang Yu.