At the beginning of the game, the Hornets handed the ball to Davis as soon as they came up. Davis, who was 2.11, had an absolute height advantage against Tucker, who was 1.98.
Davis takes the ball and observes the defense.
"The Rockets didn't double-team?"
Davis was overjoyed and no longer hesitated, sitting alone on Tucker with his back turned. These few moves were full of force, and the collision between his back and chest made a loud bang.
But he underestimated Tucker's strength. The bottom plate was as stable as if it were planted on the ground. Davis pushed him a few times and was still stuck in place. Seeing that he was about to commit a 5-second violation, Davis hurriedly changed his moves and turned around. Go online to prepare for the end of the frame.
"Snapped!"
Tucker saw the right moment and accurately cut the ball with a hand knife. Harden got the ball and pushed back.
During the movement, he found Ariza who was following up on the wing. He passed a pocket pass to Ariza with a very concealed movement, and the pass happened to be at Ariza's step point.
Ariza caught the ball and took big strides, 1, 2, "Boom!"
One-handed chop.
2:0.
Davis was left alone and messy in the Rockets half.
This is unscientific. The bald guy opposite is as short as a carrot, and I can’t even hit him?
Davis refused to give up and continued to ask for the ball. Gordon was very generous and passed the ball.
After Davis caught the ball, he immediately fought Tucker with all his strength, but fell to the ground in embarrassment.
It turned out that Tucker saw the opportunity for Davis to exert his strength, and had an idea to remove the chair.
Davis fell to the ground and dropped the ball again. Tucker got it steadily and passed it to Harden.
Harden rushes forward at lightning speed. Although he prefers to stay in singles, head coach McHale's tactical arrangement is to seize the opportunity to counterattack the fast break.
The Hornets retreated in time, but Davis did not come back. The Rockets switched offense to attack more and less. Harden looked at all six directions and found Tucker who was left open in the corner, and made another no-look pass.
The direct pass was very fast, and Aminu reacted very quickly. He caught the ball and intercepted it forward, but he was still a step slow.
Tucker caught the ball steadily and opened his hand to shoot.
The basketball flies towards the basket with strong spin.
"Uh-huh!"
Three point hit.
5:0.
Xu Xin was very satisfied. On the defensive end, he continuously defended the champion one-on-one, and on the offensive end, he firmly grasped the open three-point opportunity.
The king of the corners has begun to show his talent. During this period of team training, Tucker's three-point shooting rate from the corners is the highest in the team.
Fagan, the team's team manager who has been with the Rockets for more than ten years, said that Tucker's three-pointer from the corner was even more stable than Battier's back then.
The Hornets had the ball, and this time Gordon did not give Davis another one-on-one. He could see that this matchup not only did not dominate, but also fell behind.
While dribbling, Gordon called for Robin Lopez to come up and cover. He relied on the width of Lopez's body to get rid of Harden, then passed Asik in one step and accelerated the attack.
"Bang!"
"Beep!"
There was another fierce confrontation. Gordon and Tucker both fell to the ground. The referee's whistle sounded and an offensive foul was committed.
It turned out that before Gordon took off for a layup, Tucker moved outside the reasonable collision area in advance, stood with both feet and his body upright, causing Gordon to commit an offensive foul.
McHale applauded vigorously and encouraged Tucker. The bench and fans chanted Tucker's name under the leadership of the MC and defended him for three consecutive rounds. This is Tucker's value.
When the Rockets attacked, Jeremy Lin dribbled the ball forward and came to the top of the arc to organize the offense.
He and Harden exchanged a look. Harden understood and made a fake move to the inside, and then quickly flicked out to the top of the key.
Jeremy Lin passed the ball hand-to-hand and stayed in place to create a screen for Harden, blocking Vasquez and Gordon in front of him.
Harden caught the ball, glanced at the basket, and drew an arrow from outside the three-point line.
"Uh-huh!"
Nothing but net! (Hollow into the network)
8:0.
Gordon shouted to his teammates to calm down and finish the offense first.
He organized with the ball. This time, Davis put up a screen, and Gordon used the screen to get rid of Harden again. However, the defensive strategy of the Rockets' lineup is that except Asik, the other four people will switch defenses whenever the screen is covered, so as not to give the opponent an easy time. Opportunity for breakthrough.
Gordon faced Tucker and had no chance to change direction in two consecutive times. Instead, he passed to Davis who fell back to the low post.
Facing Harden's defense, Davis caught the ball and prepared to avenge his disgrace.
"I can't beat Tucker, and I can't beat you. If I, an orthodox power forward, can't even beat a defender, I'll be really shameless."
Davis thought to himself, using his back to sense Harden's defensive position, and then hit hard with his back.
"Bang, bang!"
The result was unexpected. Harden's strength was as good as Tucker's, and Davis couldn't hit him either. He had no choice but to pass the ball to Aminu, who was 45 degrees on the same side.
This ball played right into Butler's hands. He stood slightly lower to lure Davis to pass to Aminu. The innocent Davis was really fooled.
Butler suddenly rushed forward, cut off the basketball, and rushed forward with lightning speed.
Aminu and Gordon were both chasing, but Butler started first and could no longer catch up.
Butler took three steps and two steps, jumped slightly, dunked the ball into the basket with both hands.
10:0.
The Hornets head coach looked helpless and was forced to call a timeout for adjustments.
Xu Xin was happily eating popcorn in the box. He and McHale have said many times that when facing a weak opponent, you must exert 100% of your strength. It is best to kill the opponent with a stick and not give the opponent any hope.
In many games where the weak beat the strong, it was because the strong team failed to concentrate after the start, giving the weak team too many opportunities to score easily. After developing their touch, when they wanted to end the game, they discovered that the weak team could actually perform beyond normal. It's too late to improve defensive intensity.
Moreover, even if this kind of game is won, the fatigue accumulation and consumption of the players will be too great. The season is very long. If they are always dragged into the quagmire by weak teams, the number of injuries will increase a lot.
Xu Xin has always been committed to the strategy of going all out. A game that can be completed in one quarter will never be postponed to two quarters, a game that can be completed in two quarters will never be postponed to the second half, and a game that can be completed in three quarters will never be postponed to the fourth quarter.
In the recent games, the Rockets have started very well. They can often hit the ground running and establish a double-digit lead. In the transition period, they can continue to expand the point difference through the advantage of the bench lineup.
This was the case for the Eagles in the last game. The game was already spent in the second half.
The same is true for the Hornets today. After a timeout, Harden started the singles mode and beat Gordon five times in a row, hitting 4 goals. The Rockets' defense was very consistent and did not give the Hornets a chance to score easily. They could only rely on personal ability and lucky balls. Take points.
Davis's mid-range shot, Gordon's long three-pointer, and Aminu's overhand shot near 24 seconds were not routine operations. Although they scored, they only scored these three goals.
With five and a half minutes left in the first quarter, Harden came off the court early to rest. The Rockets already led the Hornets by 16 points, 24:8.
