It's not that Ariza and Tucker can't defend well, it's just that their styles are incompatible.
Ariza defends Harden and suffers a bit in physical confrontation. Harden can rely on him to complete the layup.
But Tucker is not weak in confrontation. His main disadvantage is that he is slow to move laterally. Harden can get past him with just one leap.
This is also the reason why Harden is difficult to guard. As a heavy guard, his confrontation ability is not inferior to that of many insiders. His control skills are top-notch, his shooting and layup accuracy is also very high, and he has superb passing techniques and overall view. This makes him Whether he is finishing in a one-on-one or assisting his teammates, he looks extremely relaxed.
Harden waited for Beverley to rest for a while, then took the initiative to come to the door.
"Hello, Patrick, the coach arranged for me to play a one-on-one match with you."
Harden said with a smile.
"James, I'll do my best."
Beverley stood up and bumped fists with Harden.
This is the most popular player in the league, and all major media are claiming that Harden will succeed Kobe and become the league's number one shooting guard.
This one-on-one challenge is very difficult, but Beverly is not afraid. He has always been a hard worker and is keen to accept challenges.
"If this one-on-one match is completed, I will get the contract."
Beverly thought to herself, shook her arms vigorously, and patted her thighs to get herself excited.
The two walked onto the court and their eyes met. Beverley looked at Harden with stern eyes, and Harden no longer laughed like before, and his eyes became sharp.
At the beginning of the game, Harden attacked first, and Beverley immediately stepped forward to defend closely.
He knows that Harden's dribbling skills are very good. If you give him too much dribbling space, he will be able to shoot or break through with ease. The best way is to stick to his strong side hand and prevent him from dribbling comfortably. Find a rhythm.
Harden put the ball behind his body without any panic. This was not the first time he had encountered such a low center of gravity to defend him. Although it was a bit difficult, there were still ways to break it.
Harden first made a triple threat to mobilize the opponent's center of gravity. Seeing that Beverley was still and still close to him, Harden immediately changed his move, dug his front foot behind to create space, and then made a large cross step.
Beverley judged Harden's breakthrough route, and while moving to the left, his center of gravity was ready to tilt in the opposite direction.
Little did he know that Harden had already seen this subtle change. He reset his steps with one foot, quickly took two steps back, once again opened up the space with Beverley, and jumped to shoot.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball went hollow into the net, 1:0.
This ball shocked Beverley. In the league he played in before, no player would use such a technical move.
Although he had watched the highlights of the Rockets this season before coming here and had seen several shots of Harden's 012 step back, watching it and actual defense were completely different things. He also did not expect Harden to step back and withdraw. The space will be so exaggerated, it is almost twice as big as other people’s. How can we guard against this?
Beverly was a little helpless, thinking about how to defend.
Harden continued to attack. This game mainly tested Beverley's defensive ability, so he adopted a continuous attack method.
Beverley still uses close defense, and Harden repeats his old tricks. After the triple threat, he digs behind to create space. Beverley is well prepared, not retreating but advancing, and continues to stick close.
Harden saw this, and after getting off the ball, he performed a one-way kick with great speed and amplitude.
"His center of gravity is lower than Harden's, and he's so close to the defense. How dare Harden do dribbling from his hips."
Jeremy Lin said from the other side of the field, very puzzled.
He could see that this new little black guy was definitely a tough defender. If he faced his defense, he would definitely have to dribble less to prevent him from cutting him off.
"Did you notice any difference in Harden's hip dribbling?"
Butler said that the Rockets stopped their training and stood together to watch this wonderful bullfight.
"The speed is faster."
Ariza said.
"The center of gravity is also lower."
Tucker added.
“Not only that, but the force on his wrist is also greater. It seems that he is dribbling with a large range of hips, but in fact the ball is quite close to his hand, and the opponent has no chance to cut the ball.
And when the ball returns to the hand, because the force exerted by the wrist is strong enough, it can be used to make a rather long suspended dribble. The next step is whether it is to combine the ball and step back to shoot, or to worship Buddha, or to change directions to break through. They can all connect very smoothly. This is the result of Harden's hard work on dribbling during this period. "
Xu Xin came over and analyzed.
"Manager Xu is absolutely right. During this period, Harden's dribbling level has risen to a whole new level. I played several one-on-ones with him, and the most intuitive feeling is that he is getting harder and harder to guard."
Butler said seriously.
On the court, as Xu Xin said, Beverley tried to cut the ball, but he couldn't touch it at all. The moment he stretched out his hand, his center of gravity moved forward. Harden seized the opportunity, broke through Beverley in one step, and headed towards Run to the basket.
Beverley reacted quickly and turned around to chase after him, but Harden's explosive power and speed were no weaker than Beverley's, and even better. How could Beverley catch up if he wanted to? .
"Boom!"
With a tomahawk chop, Harden made another victory.
Beverley shook his head. He scored the ball rashly. If he hadn't cut the ball, Harden wouldn't have had such an easy time.
"Beverley's defensive choices are a bit irrational. His gambling style of attacking can easily give the opponent more opportunities to attack."
McHale said seriously.
"That requires you to correct him."
Xu Xin smiled.
"Lets see."
McHale replied that, to be honest, Beverly didn't give him any surprises in the first two rounds.
Harden continued to attack, and this time Beverley did not stick close again, but left half a step away. If Harden can still make a three-pointer on this goal by stepping back, then he will admit it, but no matter what, he cannot let Harden continue to pass him easily.
Seeing that Beverley was no longer pressing, Harden smiled slightly and switched back to the familiar dribbling mode. He moved his hips in one direction several times to find rhythm, delayed acceleration, started digging, and dug forward with his back foot to speed up the advance.
"Bang!"
Beverley blocked Harden's breakthrough path, and Harden bumped into Beverley's chest. His right hand dribbled a little unsteadily. Beverley saw the right moment, took out the ball, and completed the steal.
"Good shot, well defended."
McHale's eyes lit up and he praised.
This goal fully reflects Beverley's excellent lateral speed and physical confrontation ability. Although he is not large, he is tough enough.
"You are very good!"
Harden turned around and looked at Beverly and said every word.
"Thank you for the compliment."
Beverley calmly replied that there are some things that cannot be revealed. If Harden chose to step back and take a three-pointer in this shot just now, he would definitely have no way to interfere. He could only pin his hopes on Harden's failure to make a shot.
