In the following rounds, the two sides fought against each other, and the scene was very beautiful. Harden faced Crawford and got everything he wanted on the offensive end.
Negro called a timeout to make substitution adjustments, replacing Hill with the faster and stronger Willie Green, but the defensive effect was still poor.
At this stage, Harden, unless he meets one of the few top players in the league like Iguodala and Tony Allen, will face other players in almost indiscriminate singles when he has plenty of physical strength.
The Clippers had no choice but to double attack and force Harden to take the ball, which played right into McHale's hands. This is the favorite defensive option in Harden's system.
In this lineup, except Asik, who is responsible for screening, rebounding and protecting the frame, the other three players, Ariza, Tucker and Beverley, all have certain shooting abilities.
Although he is not a top shooter, he averages more than 35% three-point shooting rate per game.
As a ball holder, Harden's height of 1.96 and wingspan of 2.10 allow him to pass the ball calmly when faced with a double attack.
For three consecutive rounds, Ariza, Tucker and Beverley each made 2 of 3 shots to help the Rockets add another 6 points.
The role players felt online, and Negro's flanking tactics were easily resolved.
Checking the time, there were 6 minutes left in the second quarter, 56:44. The Clippers finally got through the transition period. Taking advantage of the rebound and the dead ball situation, Negro quickly replaced the main player.
Only Willie Green was left on the court, while Paul, Griffin, Caron Butler and DeAndre Jordan all appeared on the court.
McHale also made substitution adjustments. Jeremy Lin, Butler, Garnett and Livingston have rested long enough.
In fact, McHale has thought about retaining Beverley. His mad dog defense may be miraculous against Paul, who is of similar height and size.
But McHale decided to save this strange trick for future use. According to the current rankings, the Rockets are first and the Clippers are fourth. It is possible that the two teams will meet in the second round of the playoffs.
Harden remains on the court, switching from ball-handling mode to off-ball mode.
With this lineup, Garnett will have more opportunities to support the ball, and several other players will have frequent off-ball screens and air-cutting runs.
The Clippers had the ball, and Paul calmly organized the offense. His eyes signaled Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to come up to cover. Paul broke through to the inside through double screens, changing the Rockets' defensive formation.
Butler shrank inward, Paul faked a real pass, and passed to Caron Butler who was smoking in the corner. The latter caught the ball and shot, and he was stunned.
56:47, the score difference returned to single digits.
Xu Xin frowned slightly. In his impression, Paul's tactical system often ignored his teammates in the corners. Why did he start passing to the corners now?
"In the last game, the Clippers lost to the Lakers. In the last attack, Willie Green had a big open opportunity in the corner. Paul did not pass the ball. Instead, he took a mid-range shot against Kobe's defense and missed the winning goal. .”
The teaching assistant seemed to see Xu Xin's doubts and explained.
So, it seems that Paul has learned from the experience and has begun to make changes.
Looking back, Jeremy Lin also called a pick-and-roll tactic. Garnett brought it up, and Jeremy Lin used a single screen to get rid of Paul.
DeAndre Jordan chose to defend and retreat. Rather than shooting, DeAndre Jordan was more afraid of Jeremy Lin's breakthrough.
Jeremy Lin saw this, collected the ball, aimed at the basket, and threw the ball before Paul rushed up from the side.
"Uh-huh!"
59:47 on three-pointers.
During this period, Jeremy Lin also trained hard and improved in all aspects of his abilities, especially his shooting ability.
The enhancement of his shooting ability has given him a lot more choices in pick-and-roll tactics. He no longer has to break inside for layups, throws, create kills or distribute the ball as before.
I really take what the defense gives me. Thinking about it from another angle, the threat of shooting increases and the breakthrough will be easier.
"You step forward and take precautions."
Paul turned back to Jordan and said.
"Okay, boss."
Jordan nodded in response. He knew his status very well and wanted to sign a big contract. Paul was the person he couldn't offend.
The Clippers attacked, and Paul launched a pick-and-roll again. This time Garnett's defensive position was a little forward. Paul read the defense and made a casual high throw, connecting with Jordan to explode the rim.
Then the defensive intensity increased to a higher level, and the man-to-man defense was not far away, not giving the Rockets a chance to cut and run back. Seeing that the attack time was about to expire, Harden stepped back and made a strong shot, and hurriedly shot to the front of the basket.
Negro breathed a sigh of relief. After the main players came on the field, there was a significant improvement on both ends of the offense and defense. This game still has to be played.
The situation was indeed as Negro expected. Paul dominated the Clippers' offense and almost every shot was reasonable.
On the other hand, the Rockets, under the pressure and defense of the Clippers, could not escape the tactics and could only rely on personal ability to solve it.
Harden's physical strength declined and all three shots came back in vain.
The Rockets' offense fell into a quagmire, and the Clippers fired a chasing three-pointer on the defensive end.
There are 2 minutes left in this quarter, 65:60, and the lead is only 5 points.
McHale called a timeout to let the players calm down, and at the same time replaced Harden and Livingston, replacing Ariza and Tucker.
Since the opponent is guarding against man-marking, let's make the offense simpler and leave it to Butler to handle.
Xu Xin agreed with McHale's arrangement, but McHale's on-the-spot adjustment ability was still a bit slow. If a timeout was called for substitutions before one or two rounds, the Rockets' current lead would be even greater.
Still need to change to a more capable head coach.
Xu Xin was thinking in his mind.
On the court, the situation changed significantly after McHale transferred people. Jimmy Butler still has a clear advantage over Caron Butler.
The falling mid-range shot made a steady hit, helping the Rockets break their scoring drought.
However, the Clippers' touch was already open. Paul broke through and passed the ball to Caron Butler in the bottom corner. The latter faced the Rockets' quick rotation and chose to pass the ball one more time and found Willie Green at the top of the arc.
Green took a step outside the three-point line and hit another three-pointer.
"Jeremy (Jeremy Lin), if the defensive rotation is faster, it doesn't matter if you get passed. I will make up for it, and you can switch defenses."
Butler said.
Jeremy Lin nodded, effective communication on the court is still very important.
Looking back, Jimmy Butler singled out Caron Butler for another victory.
He also made a supplementary position on the defensive end to block Paul's breakthrough route. The captain repeated his old trick of passing the ball, but Jeremy Lin predicted it in advance and intercepted the ball.
Then he pushed back and hit a one-stop layup.
In the last attack before halftime, Paul pressed the clock to the end and used Jordan's single screen to shoot a long three-pointer, which missed.
The halftime buzzer sounded, 71:63, and the Rockets entered the intermission with an 8-point lead.
Xu Xin followed the team back to the locker room. McHale asked everyone to rest while talking about precautions for the second half.
