After all, there are generals like Beverley and Livingston available on the bench.
McHale thought so.
After the timeout, Beverley and Livingston went into battle.
None of the team's three offensive starting points were on the court, so the Rockets' offensive focus was adjusted to start from the inside.
O'Neal Jr. caught the ball and played a post-up single.
Seeing that the Pacers players trusted Mahinmi's single defense, they did not choose to double-team.
He kept doing nothing, playing back twice to get to a deeper position, turning his hand and hooking the ball into the basket, 29:24.
"Good shot. The Pacers were careless with this shot. They underestimated O'Neal's lethality in the paint. Although he is old, his skills are still there."
Su Kui said with a smile.
"When he was young, O'Neal Jr. was not an All-Star simply relying on his excellent physical fitness. He also had excellent low-post skills. In that era, he averaged 20+10 points per game. It can be said that there are only a handful of people who can do that, and O'Neal Jr. is one of them. one."
Yu Jia affirmed.
George took the initiative to catch the ball and advance. He glanced at the timer and saw that there were 26 seconds left. There was no way to win a two-for-one at this time, so the clock was ticking.
George came to the frontcourt slowly and was not in a hurry to attack.
George started when there were 6 seconds left on the attack time. Ariza's continuous drastic changes of direction made it difficult for Ariza to parry, and he hit a two-point pull-up jumper in exactly 24 seconds.
"There's no problem with George playing like this now. The Pacers' rotation has limited offensive talent, so it's basically up to him and Stephenson to solve the problem."
Su Kuang affirmed.
With 2 seconds left, Vogel directed the players on the sidelines to press the defense tightly, denying the Rockets a chance to quickly pass the half court.
O'Neal Jr. sent a sideline ball and happened to see Stephenson in the frontcourt distracted. Butler pointed behind him in the direction of the basket.
O'Neal understood the situation and made a super long pass. The basketball flew across the entire court and successfully connected with Butler. The latter made an easy layup and completed the shot before the buzzer sounded.
"Stephenson is not focused on the defensive end."
Su Kui said.
"His sudden power outages during games have been common since the beginning of his career. This is a key factor that restricts his growth into a star."
Yu Jia concluded.
At 31:26, the Rockets entered the second quarter with a 5-point lead.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Harden returned to the game and replaced Livingston.
During this period, the Rockets' role players are in poor condition, and Livingston is the first to bear the brunt. After his amazing performance when he first joined, Livingston began to quiet down during this period, his shooting percentage dropped, and his desire to attack on the court also decreased.
But this is normal, every player has times when he is in good form and times when he is in bad form. Within the Rockets, whether it is Xu Xin, the coaching staff or his teammates, they all have confidence in Livingston and believe that it will be a matter of time before he regains his form.
When Harden came on the court, the Rockets immediately had a backbone, and their offense became more organized. The combination of sudden shots made it difficult for the Pacers to resist.
Looking back at the Pacers, Vogel's rotation strategy is completely different from McHale's. The starting five all played for a long time in the first quarter. At the beginning of this quarter, George also came off the court to rest, and Stephenson was the only strong point on the court.
To say that he is strong is to say that he is the best among the weak, relying entirely on the support of his peers. Under Ariza's focus, Stephenson's offensive efficiency is not high.
Delfino was very excited and hit two consecutive three-pointers to help the Pacers seal the score.
Even so, in the first five minutes of this quarter, the Rockets still shot 13:9, extending their lead to 9 points.
Vogel was strategizing on the sidelines, and it seemed that everything that happened on the court was what he expected.
When the official timeout came, Vogel replaced all the starters except George, leaving only Delfino who was feeling hot.
McHale also made substitution adjustments, and all five starting players appeared.
The two sides went head-to-head with each other, and the intensity of offense and defense escalated, making the scene even better.
Here Pierce pushed away Butler, stepped up and down and hit a two-pointer. Butler returned the favor with a dropped shot.
Here Hibbert hits the basket to cause damage, and over there Harden and Asik cooperate in a two-on-two pick-and-roll on the weak side, assisting Asik for a two-handed dunk.
West didn't give up too much, and he and Hill made pick-and-rolls, and he also had two big shots.
The Wolf King said he knew this, came to the frontcourt and took the initiative to put up a screen, and followed the same pattern to open and pop out. Jeremy Lin understood it and hit the ground and passed the ball just right.
Garnett raises his hand to shoot from outside the three-point line, and goes in as soon as he takes the shot, which is quite smooth.
The two sides went back and forth, scoring each other, which made the fans excited.
Hibbert once again hit the basket and caused a foul on Asik. The latter had already received three fouls. McHale was forced to make personnel adjustments and replaced O'Neal.
On the Pacers' side, George finished charging and walked onto the court in a majestic manner.
After George came on the court, the Pacers' offensive and defensive capabilities further improved.
Even Su Qu had to sigh:
"George is very much like a defensively enhanced version of Tracy McGrady. Give him another two years and he will grow to a surprising extent."
On the field, the two teams showed completely different offensive modes.
The Pacers frequently feed Hibbert the ball. Although his offensive skills are rough, he still has a considerable advantage whether facing Asik or O'Neal.
Soon, O'Neal Jr. also received three fouls. McHale glanced at Tucker who was eager to try, thought for a while and let it go.
Tucker, who is 1.98, faces Hibbert, who is 2.18. How to fight?
With a big move, he sent in third center Greg Smith, not seeking merit but seeking no faults.
The Rockets rely on the personal abilities of Harden and Butler to launch attacks from the outside.
After George came on the court, he was very successful in defending Harden. He made a frontal steal, blocked a shot, and caused Harden to make a forced error.
But Pierce was unable to cope with the full-fire Butler. He was old and his legs were old, and Butler's frequent breakthrough attacks made it difficult for Pierce to withstand.
The Pacers had no choice but to help defend and fill in the gaps. Jeremy Lin, Harden and Garnett also got some openings, and the three of them seized about half of the opportunities.
Relying on Butler's fixed-point blast, at halftime, the Rockets still led the Pacers by 5 points 67:62.
"Okay, Teacher Su Kui, let's summarize the performance of both sides in the first half."
Yu Jia said.
"In the first half, the core players of both sides were in excellent condition. We saw the confrontation between Harden and George, the confrontation between Butler and Pierce, and the mutual response between Garnett and West.
Role players also performed well. The best player on the Rockets bench was O'Neal. To be honest, his effect against Hibbert was better than Asik.
