El Thornton's sudden injury has cast a shadow on the hearts of all Wizards fans. The defense was originally poor, but now that the only defensive gate is missing, how will the next game be played?
Even the Wizards players on the field were a little worried, and head coach Sanders was even more ashen-faced. Today's game was basically a confession!
On the court, after the game came back, the Wizards served from the baseline to Hinrich. The latter dribbled to the frontcourt and asked Blatche to come out to cover. Big Z chose to delay, and Hinrich had no chance to break through to the inside.
The Heat's defensive strategy is very simple. It is to block you outside the penalty area, and then use high-pressure defense to force the opponent to make mistakes or make mistakes. Combined with their own advantage of pushing and transitioning, they can create a wave of offensive climax in a short period of time.
Hinrich's first offensive attempt failed. Li Kaiming was worried from the outside, so he first pretended to catch the ball outside the three-point line, and then suddenly changed direction and ran back, getting rid of Bosh's defense and rushing into the penalty area.
Hinrich on the outside heard Li Kaiming's call and immediately hoisted the ball into the penalty area. Li Kaiming was already very deep in the position with the ball. The two Heat linemen and center Big Z were all double-teamed.
At this critical moment, if you hesitate for a moment, you will be surrounded by the Heat.
Li Kaiming didn't stop after receiving the ball, and directly dropped the ball and rushed towards the basket. Big Z had returned to the penalty area at this time. He stretched out his arms to block Li Kaiming's attack direction, and was ready to jump to protect the frame at any time.
Big Z also knows that it is simply a daydream to defend the league's scoring leader by himself, but he does not need to do so much. As long as he can slow down Li Kaiming's offensive rhythm, Bosh and James will soon return to the basket. Help him defend together!
Not long after this idea was born in Big Z's mind, Li Kaiming, who was rushing to the basket, suddenly put the ball together with both hands, and at the same time turned around quickly with his left foot as the axis, and wiped Big Z away in one fell swoop!
Big Z was worried. Bosh and James hadn't arrived yet, so he couldn't withstand the ball!
People tend to make mistakes when they are anxious, and Big Z is like this. After turning around, Li Kaiming had already reached the basket. He directly raised the ball with both hands and made a motion for a layup.
Big Z didn't even think about it at this time. He turned around and jumped towards Li Kaiming. Regardless of whether he could defend it or not, let's go ahead first!
In desperation, Big Z never thought that the ball was just a fake move by Li Kaiming. He didn't react until he flew into the air, but it was too late. Li Kaiming used the time difference created by the fake move to get away from Big Z and faced the air. He jumped directly from the basket with both feet, then raised his long arm and dunked with one arm with his right hand!
Because Li Kaiming wanted to lead by example and help the team build momentum, he used a lot of force when he dunked the ball.
The basket first made a muffled sound when it came into contact with his palm, and then was pulled straight away by him!
14 to 11.
After landing, Li Kaiming turned around and punched the air, while yelling with murderous intent in his eyes!
Grass!
He said this in Chinese, so the fans and commentators at the scene did not understand what this word meant, and thought it was Li Kaiming's special way of celebrating.
Eric Reid in the commentary box said curiously, "Li Kaiming succeeded in a one-handed dunk after getting rid of Ilgauskas. His way of celebrating was very special. It seemed like the first time I heard someone act like this after scoring a goal." Celebrating, Jason, do you know what Li Kaiming shouted?"
Jason Jackson spread his hands and shook his head, "I haven't heard of it, but Asian players are generally more reserved. I guess this sentence means something similar to 'yeah'!"
After hearing this, Reed felt it made sense and nodded, "It seems so..."
On the contrary, in the live broadcast room of Huaguo Sports Channel, because Li Kaiming's roar was loud, it was clearly recorded by the on-site radio, and then transmitted to Huaguo's studio along the network cable.
Hearing that crisp and clear Chinese quintessence sentence, Zhang Weiping and Su Qun were both stunned for a moment. After they came to their senses, they looked at each other, each wanting to confirm from the other's eyes whether they had heard correctly.
After both of them got a positive answer from each other's eyes, both Zhang Weiping and Su Qun began to hold back their laughter, and Su Qun even held it in until his face turned red.
The director of the sports channel was even more speechless at this time. Even if several commentators shouted "Awesome" in the studio before, at least he can remind him that he has no control over America who is far away... …
Thinking of this, the director felt like crying. Grandma's salary would be deducted again tonight.
Li Kaiming's domineering celebration also infected the Wizards teammates. Although they didn't understand the meaning of the word "grass" shouted by the former, they knew from the momentum that it must be a very awesome word.
The shadow of Elsoton's injury was also dissipated a lot by Li Kaiming's operation. When the Heat attacked, Wade's breakthrough was actually blocked, and he also got a hot pot from Blach.
The Wizards protected the backcourt rebound and handed it to Hinrich. The latter dribbled to the frontcourt and then screened with Li Kaiming, and then passed it to the latter. After receiving the ball, Li Kaiming went straight into the penalty area, attracted a double team and passed to Lewis on the outside.
Lewis caught the ball and threw it, hitting James directly on defense, 14-all!
The Heat served to the frontcourt, and Spoelstra took the lead in calling a timeout to start substitutions. With 5 minutes left in the first quarter, Sanders also started the first rotation tonight, replacing Blatche with McGee.
Thornton's injury has an all-round impact on the Wizards. Originally, Sanders should have replaced the five-out lineup at this time, but now the five-out lineup lacks small forwards, and he has no choice but to continue to play center.
The Heat attack the basket so well that no big center can withstand it.
The Heat's point guard Arroyo went off, James Jones came on, and substitute center Anthony replaced Big Z.
The game continued and the Heat attacked. Wade used Bosh's screen to get into the paint and missed a throw at the basket against McGee's defense. Bosh, who followed behind, grabbed the offensive rebound and pushed McGee. Then he made a hard layup, which caused a defensive foul on McGee.
Bosh went to the free throw line and made two free throws, 16-14.
The Wizards served, and after Hinrich and McGee played a pick-and-roll, the latter received the pass and dunked in three steps, 16-16.
The Heat served the ball to the frontcourt and gave it to James. The latter forced Lewis to cause a foul and went to the free throw line. Heat coach Spoelstra made another substitution, replacing Bosh with Juwan Howard. James made one of two free throws.
17 to 16, 3 minutes left in the first quarter.
The Wizards attacked, and Li Kaiming came to the frontcourt and asked for the ball in singles. He directly changed direction and passed Zhuwan Howard. Then Li Kaiming went to the basket for a hard layup, but Anthony directly pulled him down. The referee's whistle sounded.
Li Kaiming stood on the free throw line and made two free throws, leading the score again.
When the Heat attacked, James forced a break through Lewis and pushed the latter to the basket for a layup. However, McGee blocked the block. James looked aggrieved and asked for a foul on the bottom line, but the referee ignored him.
The Wizards grabbed a rebound for Hinrich, and everyone else took advantage of James to complain at the bottom line and went straight to the frontcourt, preparing to take the opportunity to play a 5-on-4.
It's a pity that Hinrich's attack was too quick this time and he wanted to pass it to Li Kaiming who was rushing at the front. As a result, the pass was too casual and was directly intercepted by Wade.
After Wade intercepted the ball, he directly passed a long pass to James. At this time, James was the only one in the half, and the other 9 people were in the other half.
James' expression changed from sadness to joy, and he immediately made a layup after getting the ball!
19 to 18!
Two minutes after the game, the Wizards' outside touch had not yet recovered, but McGee became more aggressive under the basket. Li Kaiming and Hinrich each passed two assists to McGee, who scored easily.
Tonight, Nick Young had nothing to do against Wade's defense. Although he was a little taller than Wade, except for his height, he was completely outplayed by Wade in other aspects. After the first quarter, Nick Young was behind Wade. Under the defense, he made 0 of 3 shots and scored 0 points and 1 rebound.
James was on full fire in the first quarter, scoring 11 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist.
The Wizards basically relied on Li Kaiming alone. He made 5 of 7 in a single quarter, including 1 of 1 three-pointers and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. His score was still the highest in the game.
However, the Wizards lost to the Heat by 4 points in a single quarter, 22-26, and it was obvious to the naked eye that they could not prevent the opponent's breakthrough.
During the break, the Heat's home commentator, as usual, Reid and Jackson discussed tonight's game.
"LeBron was in good shape in the first quarter. It was already difficult for the Wizards to defend him, and now Thornton is missing. This is a great test for Sanders' formation!" Reid was already there! He began to cheer for his home team in his heart.
Jackson also nodded in agreement, but he had other opinions, "If you only look at the team's paper lineup, the two teams are not at the same level at all, but the problem is, if you only look at the paper lineup, the Wizards can To reach second place in the Eastern Conference?"
Eric Reid was a little confused, "Do you think there will be other results in tonight's game? I think the Heat's victory can already be seen. The Wizards' offense is very strong, but it is difficult for them to face the Heat's defense." Play it out.”
"Don't forget that the Wizards also have a guy who scored 13 points in the first quarter," Jackson reminded Reid. "Li Kaiming is the most dangerous factor for this Wizards team. The previous Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, and Chicago Bulls They all lost to his explosion!”
Eric Reid chuckled, "I admit that this guy is very strong, but the Heat will not give him this opportunity. No matter how strong he is, he cannot withstand the power of the Heat's Big Three by himself. Besides, I I believe that Coach Spoelstra will use that trick to deal with him if necessary..."
Jackson said thoughtfully, "You mean..."
Reed smiled confidently and answered confidently, "King LeBron will take over the game at critical moments, whether it's offense or defense! If LeBron defends with all his strength, I don't think anyone on this planet can score easily!"
Jackson stopped talking, but he was already looking forward to that scene. Although he admired Li Kaiming, a rookie, for his performance like this, he was a Heat commentator and a die-hard Heat fan.
If LeBron James can teach this historical rookie to behave at a critical moment, it will be an exciting scene to think about...
