The game then officially begins.
Yao Ming jumped first for the team.
Facing Odom, who is 2.08 meters tall, Francis has a strong desire to attack. With the ball in hand, he can directly break through without waiting for Yao Ming to reach the high position.
Jeff Van Gundy frowned.
He is a strict head coach, especially in terms of his playing style.
The entire Rockets system this season is a positional battle dominated by Yao Ming.
Therefore, in his view, whether Yao Ming is in position or not is very critical.
But Francis's playing style is really impulsive. If it weren't for his good relationship with Yao Ming, to be honest, Jeff Van Gundy would have proposed a trade to the management 800 times by now.
Odom did seem a bit clumsy against Francis.
Francis shook him aside with an in&out. However, this situation was already anticipated by Stan Van Gundy. During Francis' breakthrough, Woody and Grant quickly retracted.
In order to give Francis space to break through the basket, Yao Ming stopped at the elbow area in front of the reasonable collision area, which instead left Francis isolated and helpless.
Francis, who was jumping in the air, also discovered this situation, activated the "power of his waist", forced a 180-degree turn, and gave the ball to Yao Ming behind him.
Dayao made a movement, took a step forward, rushed to the basket like "raising fire to the sky", and completed a one-handed dunk.
Grant had actually reacted, but all he could do was open his hand as wide as possible and watch Yao Ming complete the attack.
Sure enough, a "big killer"!
Stan Van Gundy urged to serve quickly, and his voice forced Dayao, who had just completed the attack, to step back to defend.
But it’s not a lie, the Heat serve really fast.
Dayao had just returned to the Rockets' defensive zone, and everyone on the Heat team had already arrived in the frontcourt. Odom looked at Francis' little chicken body and exposed his "always smoking" yellow teeth.
Jie Jie Jie!
My brother's change of direction in front of the body just now was very good, but now I am advancing with the ball behind my back, how will you cope with it?
In the first round, Odom did not choose to pick and roll with Woody, but half-turned with his back to Francis, crushing him like a bulldozer.
It might be easier than when a bulldozer is bulldozing.
In just one move, Odom easily pushed away Francis.
He was stunned for a moment.
no……
Was someone on guard just now?
Quickly turning forward and breaking through to the basket, Yao Ming immediately defended and Odom threw the ball towards Grant.
Cato replaced Yao Ming to defend Grant. In this gap, Grant passed the ball straight to the other side.
Grant doesn't have much passing vision, but this is an offensive routine the Heat practiced yesterday.
Once Odom attracts an inside defense, whether it's Yao Ming or Cato, they will find a way to get the ball to Woody.
Once Cato is added, it goes without saying.
Woody received the ball in an open position and easily scored.
If Yao Ming comes up to cover, Grant, who is open, will take the ball and attract Cato to cover, then throw the ball to the other side.
When Cato rushed towards Grant, Woody had already pulled some distance outside the baseline.
The catch is an easy open jump shot!
Look, this is Woody's progress in the CIC these days.
Even Stan Van Gundy felt comfortable arranging catch-and-shoot tactics for him!
"Uh-huh!"
Woody also scored easily.
For this goal, Stan Van Gundy just nodded slightly.
While the starting touch has not been damaged, Woody's mid-range shot of this level will no longer surprise or surprise him.
Once again it was the Rockets' turn to attack.
When Francis passed halftime, Jeff Van Gundy called out to him specifically to remind him: "Man, pay attention to Yao's position!"
He really doesn't want to see his baby Yao Ming having to cooperate with the team's offense before he has settled down.
How can this bring out his full power?
To say that Jeff Van Gundy protects Yao Ming is simply...
He is very careful in using it and never lets him stay on the court for more than 8 minutes continuously unless Yao Ming requests it.
In addition, his focus on Yao Ming's weight gain is "long-term companionship" and "taking his time."
Woody didn't gain weight all at once last summer because of his age, it was impossible to go from 90kg to 100kg all at once.
But Yao Ming is different. His body is more durable and his frame is better. Especially since he has been in the league for more than a year. It could definitely be more bold.
It's just that Jeff Van Gundy is still not so anxious. Yao has not become fat in one go this season.
Still maintains good mobility.
This is also the reason...
On the field.
Francis waited for Yao Ming to take his place. Then prepare to pass the ball to him.
At this time, Grant suddenly began to move forward, trying to interfere with Yao Ming's catch.
Yao Ming's basketball IQ showed at this moment. Facing Grant's approach, he simply used his strength to push Grant out in front of him, and then signaled Francis to shoot directly.
Francis is a person who focuses on loyalty.
When his brother asked him to do it, he just made a jump shot without saying a word.
Cool!
Good brothers, forever!
The ball flew straight towards the basket.
"Bang!"
There was a crisp sound as the ball hit the basket and fell out.
It fell right in front of Yao Ming.
Grant, who was blocked behind him, could only watch helplessly.
Woody hurriedly double-teamed.
Yao Ming, who just noticed his movements, simply slapped the ball on the basket.
The ball rebounded again and was caught by Cato.
Yao Ming's "1v2" easily helped his teammates protect the rebound.
The offensive and defensive capabilities of this basket were perfectly reflected in the opening game.
fine……
His inside partner is Cato!
"Snapped!"
Woody turned around and blocked a shot.
In the eyes of Cato, who didn't understand "Why can you defend so quickly?", he blocked the ball in Caron Butler's hand next to him.
The Heat's counterattack opportunity!
At this time, Yao Ming could still barely keep up with the big team.
Cato was stretched several positions.
Most of the troops have passed the center line, and he is still at least two strides away from the center line.
"5 against 3 and a half" in the frontcourt, Woody finished the shot and completed the goal.
Score 4 points in a row!
This time, Stan Van Gundy showed a satisfied smile.
If you want to ask this Heat team when they play the most smoothly, then it must be the time when they can play defensive counterattack.
Obviously the Heat were in good shape at the start of tonight.
Soon, there was another good news:
Yao Ming's solution was perfect in the face of Grant's constant detours.
But the problem is, basketball is a turn-based game.
It's not over in one round.
He did very well this round, and he did very well in the next round.
But such a face-to-face confrontation is too physically demanding.
Moreover, he is not always able to achieve "1v2" and help his teammates get rebounds.
Woody's ability to adapt is also very fast. After he noticed Yao Ming's intention when grabbing the board, he quickly made changes and used his monster "second jump" to make Cato's rebound less effective than the first time. So easy.
the most important……
So what if he gets the ball?
Isn’t it a matter of Woody’s “slap”?
Cato is really just a "heavy tank". All offensive methods under the basket are "broken at the touch of a touch", and even the slightest interference will not work.
The Rockets' situation makes Yao Ming's excellent response just now not seem so reasonable.
Yao Ming decisively gave up continuing to fight Grant in the low post, and instead moved to the high post to create offensive space for Francis.
It always works great at first.
The quality of the pick-and-roll given by Yao Ming was very good. Francis bypassed his screen and shot, and he easily hit the ball from mid-range.
The goal was scored cleanly, giving the Rockets a big reprieve.
After all, in the previous rounds, the Rockets only scored 2 goals in total, and the team's shooting rate was less than 40%!
It is really exciting to be able to enter so smoothly at this time.
The Rockets' defensive enthusiasm in the next round has improved a lot.
Yao Ming once again saved this "family".
Odom continued to advance from behind.
So far in this game, he and Woody have still had zero pick-and-roll cooperation!
However, Stan Van Gundy didn't say anything.
The purpose of letting him play pick-and-roll with Woody is also to provide Woody with artillery fire.
Now that Odom can disrupt the Rockets' formation with his back play, why do they need to specialize in "pick-and-roll tactics"?
As long as the opponent dares to come up and cover for Francis, then there will definitely be a chance for Woody to make a shot under the basket!
Not to mention, the Heat practiced such an offensive routine yesterday.
But you can't stand up to the opponent, can't you defend yourself?
The two big centers Cato and Yao Ming squeezed together under the basket. Although there was not much space left inside, their own mobility was at stake here. Especially Cato, when he met Woody, it really took a lot of effort. It killed him!
Woody knows that his biggest threat is the mid-range, so so far in this game, he has tried his best not to dunk, maintain his touch, and use the mid-range to mobilize Cato's movement.
Jeff Van Gundy didn't panic.
With a wave of his hand, he picked up Maurice Taylor.
In fact, in the last game against the Heat, the Heat had been working on the mobility issues of Yao Ming and Cato.
As Woody's mid-range jumpers become more and more important, Jeff Van Gundy has already prepared his backhand.
It's Maurice Taylor!
He was considered a "genius power forward" back then.
The 14th overall pick in the first round of 1997, he averaged 16.8 points per game in a single season with the Clippers and became the team's "scoring king" that season.
Unfortunately, after signing a big contract, he suffered a major injury to the level of a torn ligament, and his career has plummeted ever since.
But now, he is still averaging 10.6 points in 27.7 minutes per game!
In the last game against the Heat, he sat out due to injury.
Jeff Van Gundy used him as a "secret weapon" in this game!
Although in the first round, Taylor exposed his weak side in rebounding. - He's not a strong rebounder.
But Jeff Van Gundy considers him a "secret weapon," saying it's not because of his rebounding ability.
But...
During the Rockets' offensive round, Francis held the ball and observed the situation outside the three-point line.
Yao Ming regained position with Grant under the basket.
Taylor moved directly towards the high position, and Woody followed suit. But when he left the basket, Francis made a decisive breakthrough and gave the ball near the basket.
This position may be considered a "lob" position to others on other teams. But for Yao Ming, it is a comfortable receiving position.
"Bang!"
Yao Ming took the ball in his hands and dunked easily.
Grant was stunned.
no……
How to prevent this?
Jeff Van Gundy's brow also stretched after this ball.
This is the way he has always expected the Rockets to play on the offensive end.
Although Maurice Taylor suffered a major injury and lost most of his offensive abilities, his mid-range jump shot has become increasingly adept.
This is why Woody saw him walking toward the outside and immediately followed him.
Morris is not Cato. If he was given a chance, he would really dare to enter!
Next, the Rockets' situation on the offensive end suddenly opened up.
With someone helping to open up the space, Yao Ming fully demonstrated his dominance at the basket.
Grant "humiliated" him to the point of tears.
At the end of the first quarter, relying on Yao Ming's performance, the Rockets were once behind by seven or eight points, and narrowed the point difference to 26 to 29, with the point difference still 3 points away...
During this period, Yao Ming made a total of 7 of 12 shots and 4 of 4 free throws. He scored 18 points in a single quarter, in addition to 5 rebounds and 2 blocks!
Completely showing off his "superstar" style.
Stan Van Gundy looked at Yao Ming's data and cast an envious look at Jeff Van Gundy.
It was the first time since his birth that he envied his brother so much.
If the Heat have Yao Ming, he can guarantee that the combination of Woody and Yao Ming can definitely bring a dynasty to the Heat!
Look at Woody's performance in the first quarter!
Yao Ming's 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks are certainly at the "super giant" level, but Woody's 5-for-8 shooting, 2-for-3 free throws, 12 points plus 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists and 1 steal are comparable to Yao Ming's. Not bad at all”!
Yao Ming showed his strong dominance on the offensive end, while Woody showed his all-round skills. From offense to defense to every aspect, he played very well!
Stan Van Gundy still has time to envy his brother, imagining that Woody and Yao Ming, a pair with little possibility of becoming teammates, are congratulated because of his performance.
At the same time, the Heat's lead also proves that whether this team can play well is indeed closely related to Woody's data.
As long as he shows his own characteristics, the Heat will definitely be able to lead all the way.
In addition, the Heat's performance in this game can be said to be very consistent with their usual style this season:
Woody did a great job!
In addition, the team continues to play "anti-counterattack"...
His transformation was a success!
(End of chapter)
