The Nuggets' overall strength is already dominant, and Li Yan has locked up the Blazers' new leader Brandon Roy.
Li Yan's fans were very surprised. They did not expect that Li Yan could suppress Roy like this in the matchup. You must know that Roy is recognized as the strongest rookie this year.
Now it seems that Li Yan deserves to be ranked first on the rookie list.
At halftime, the Nuggets led 58 to 42 by 16 points. This point difference was enough to show the gap between the two teams.
In the matchup between Li Yan and Brandon Roy, Li Yan has an overall advantage in statistics.
He took 6 shots, hit 5 goals, and scored 10 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
Roy, on the other hand, only scored 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, but made 4 turnovers.
"Obviously Li Yan is the better one."
In the TNT studio, Smith gave his own evaluation: "Lee is already an excellent point guard. His rhythm control and defense are very outstanding. His style of play is simply the second "Magician". Now, The league is similar to Jason Kidd."
Barkley agreed: "Brandon Roy is one level behind Li Yan. He was suppressed on both offense and defense. Li Yan's strength is at the All-Star level."
"Li Yan is a point guard who is more focused on passing than attacking. He is not as stable as a 20-year-old."
"Obviously, shooting is not his strong point, so he chose to use his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, which was a smart choice."
In fact, due to his outstanding performance, many teams have begun to pay attention to Li Yan.
As the last pick in the second round this year, the better Li Yan performs, the more painful the face of these teams will be.
They all had the opportunity to choose Li Yan, but in the end they allowed such a potential stock to be missed by the Nuggets.
Fortunately, the Nuggets are not much better. They only gave Li Yan a one-year non-guaranteed contract. Even if it is upgraded to full guarantee, it can only ensure that Li Yan will play for the Nuggets for one year.
During the offseason, Li Yan will enter the free market, which will surely cause competition among various teams.
In fact, Li Yan has received friend invitations from many stars, including Dwyane Wade, "Shaq" O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Chris Bosh, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. …
At halftime, the atmosphere in the Nuggets locker room was very relaxed.
George Karl congratulated Li Yan with a smile. He believed that Li Yan won the head-to-head showdown with Roy and would have many opportunities to compete for the best rookie.
Li Yan accepted the encouragement from his coach and teammates, but he didn't think much about these honors.
On the one hand, there is no system reward for the best rookie, and on the other hand, it is still difficult to catch up with your own data.
The game was already certain, and George Karl seemed very relaxed when arranging tactics. He consulted the players for their opinions.
What surprised George Karl was that Li Yan said he wanted to attack two more.
This is naturally not a big problem. The coach and teammates just think that Li Yan wants to perform more in the contest for the best rookie.
George Karl generously stated that as long as the rhythm is stabilized, Li Yan can have unlimited firing rights.
"Can I really do this?" Li Yan has been thinking about how to use the "Mamba Mentality" for three minutes.
"Of course." Iverson nodded in agreement, and others naturally had no objections.
The Nuggets players usually receive assists from Li Yan, but now their little brother just wants to show off, and he should not refuse it either emotionally or rationally.
…………
The second half started quickly.
Brandon Roy obviously also got some advice during the halftime break, and he played more methodically than before.
Roy took the initiative to cooperate with Aldridge and Randolph, and was no longer obsessed with the "real man duel" with Li Yan.
Such changes are within Li Yan's acceptance range. As long as Roy doesn't score, assist or anything like that, it won't affect Li Yan's mission.
Li Yan didn't implement his "forging iron" plan right away. He was not stupid.
Li Yan still keeps creating opportunities for his teammates, and the four teammates on the field are all beneficiaries.
Everyone was very full after eating the cake, and naturally they had no objection to Li Yan occasionally shooting "cold arrows" from outside the three-point line, although Li Yan's three-pointers with the ball were a bit outrageous.
But it did not affect the overall situation. The Nuggets still maintained a lead of more than 10 points.
George Karl saw Li Yan trying a three-pointer from the outside and didn't blame him too much. He thought that this hard-working young man must have practiced a lot in private.
Naturally, he didn't know that this was just Li Yan experimenting with his skills.
George Karl just felt that Li Yan was a little too hasty. After all, what the Nuggets need most now is Li Yan's organization and defense.
After another three-pointer missed the basket, the system's prompt sounded:
"Ding! Hit the iron 6 times in a row to trigger Mamba Mentality!"
Li Yan raised his eyes and looked at the timer. There were 3 minutes and 04 seconds left in the third quarter, which was just right.
Everything was under control, and a smile appeared on Li Yan's face.
When the camera was shown to Li Yan, no one would think that Li Yan, who had missed six consecutive shots, was in a good mood. They thought it was a forced smile.
The Blazers fans in the stands began to taunt:
"How many goals did you score in the first half and you feel like you are invincible? Why don't you look in the mirror and see how you look like?"
"Arrogant player, do you really think you are a superstar?"
"The first half was just good luck!"
Domestic studios.
Director Zhang and Yu Jia also believe that Li Yan should be steady. After all, three-pointers with the ball are not Li Yan's common "weapons."
"There is no way, Li Yan is too young, his usual offensive choices are still good, he probably wants to perform too much in this game."
In the court, JR Smith, who has always been known for his poor shot selection, came over to impart his experience: "Lee, you need to control yourself and don't get ahead. Good offensive choices are really important."
Well, even JR came to talk to Li Yan about attack options. It seems that it is really inappropriate to trigger this skill actively. It is still okay to use it passively as a guarantee.
Li Yan nodded and said to JR Smith: "I know, but I feel that my moment is coming."
In the Blazers' offense, Aldridge turned over and made a jump shot, and Kenyon Martin got the rebound.
In the transition between offense and defense, Li Yan advanced with the ball.
The Trail Blazers' defense was very fast, and they followed up Allen Iverson and JR Smith.
but--
However, Li Yan directly shot a three-pointer from a position more than one meter away from the three-point line.
"Oh, nO!" This is the reaction of Nuggets fans.
The Blazers fans were full of ridicule, making trouble! Dare you shoot this ball?
However, this seemingly reluctant shot was just like turning on the self-aim.
The basketball hit the basket like a missile.
"Whoa!" Hollow hit.
"Well, 0 for 6, it's time to score one!" Trail Blazers fans comforted themselves in their hearts.
But little did they know that their nightmare had just begun.
In the next round, Li Yan quickly shot a three-pointer from the top of the arc.
The basketball hits the net!
"Wang Defa, you're lying, can you get in here?"
"This kid raised his hand and shot. He is really brave!"
After hitting two goals in a row, Li Yan was now convinced of the system.
If he wasn't afraid of being too shocking, he would even want to throw one in the backcourt.
In the next round, Li Yan continued his "magic operation" from beyond the three-point line.
It doesn't matter if the timing of the shot is unreasonable. The three-point shot is like free money, which makes the Blazers players numb.
…………
Nuggets round.
The Blazers could no longer ignore Li Yan's outside shooting, and they even arranged double teams.
Li Yan replicated Bird's famous scene: "I will hit a three-pointer from this position."
Brandon Roy sneered, who do you think you are? But with good luck, I dare to pretend to be X.
However--
Li Yan shot a three-pointer from this position, and Roy's defense was already in place.
But the basketball still passed Roy's fingertips.
Li Yan didn't miss the opportunity to show off. He turned around and found the close-up of the camera.
In footage broadcast live across the United States, as the basketball hit the net, Li Yan made a celebration gesture of shooting with a gun.
"WOW!"
"Unbelievable!"
Li Yan's performance shocked countless fans. If one goal is a coincidence and two goals are good luck, how to explain these 6 three-pointers in a row?
JR Smith on the side was extremely excited. Li Yan’s performance reminded him of himself:
"Who told me to pay attention to the timing of my shot? Who am I to be anxious about? Li is right, how can you score if you don't shoot?"
