Xu Xinzheng was thinking that Jeremy Lin had already scored. Using the pick-and-roll to punish mismatches, he made a steady mid-range jumper, helping the Rockets take the lead in opening their scoring account, 2:0.
Looking back, he put enough pressure on Kemba Walker on the defensive end. The latter failed to get rid of him continuously. Seeing that the attack time was getting shorter and shorter, he had to pass to Henderson.
Harden's prediction was accurate, he suddenly intercepted the pass, accelerated to the frontcourt, and added two more points with a tomahawk dunk.
"On the court, cross-court passes are taboo."
Xu Xin muttered to himself.
"Did you hear that? You should also take this as a warning. This is a mistake you often make."
Old Lucas patted Beverly sitting in front and said.
Beverley showed great humility, and his attitude satisfied Lucas Sr.
Xu Xin suddenly found that there was a lot less noise around him. The Rockets silenced the Time Warner Online Arena in two rounds.
Only then did the Bobcats fans realize that tonight was destined to be another big defeat, and the fluke before the game started was unlikely to translate into reality.
Walker looked solemnly at Jeremy Lin, whose speed and agility far exceeded his expectations.
Attacking again, Walker learned a lesson and did not choose to use dribbling and rhythm changes to try to get past Jeremy Lin. This was a bit too difficult for him at this stage.
He gestured for Byron Mullens to step up to the screen, followed by Garnett.
Walker used the screen to get away from Jeremy Lin, but ran into Garnett's arms. The sudden impact caused him to dribble unsteadily. The referee clearly understood and violated the dribbling rule a second time.
"He committed a foul."
Walker held the basketball and complained to the referee.
"Just listen to what the referee calls and get the ball."
Garnett said, reaching for the ball.
"Just go ahead, this ball is a foul on him."
Walker pushed Garnett away and said angrily.
"He did not violate your cylinder and the collision was within reasonable limits."
The referee explained that he had been merciful. It was not an exaggeration to call a technical foul for Walker's follow-up action just now.
"The referee is wise!"
Garnett said with a smile and gave the referee a thumbs up.
This move amused Xu Xin. Generally speaking, only when the players on the field are dissatisfied with the referee's penalty will they give a thumbs up.
Situations like Garnett's are relatively rare, and the referee's expression is equally weird.
The Rockets had the ball. Jeremy Lin dribbled to the frontcourt and played the same tactic as Walker just now.
Mullens defended the pick-and-roll the same way, using the same tactics as Garnett.
Jeremy Lin didn't panic at all. He didn't choose the forward route. Instead, he moved laterally, pulling Mullens out and not giving the Bobcats a chance to return to their original matchup.
Garnett saw the right moment, moved inside, firmly stuck Walker in his life, and opened his hand for the ball. Jeremy Lin didn't delay, and his passes were accurate.
The Wolf King caught the ball and looked for confrontation first, but Walker's small body was completely unable to withstand it. Garnett smiled slightly, turned around and came in, dunking easily with both hands.
At 6:0, the Rockets scored in three consecutive rounds at the beginning and worked hard on the defensive end, preventing the Bobcats from even taking a shot.
"Jeremy (Jeremy Lin) handles strong delays much smarter than Kemba Walker."
Lucas Sr. sighed.
"Actually, this can't be entirely blamed on Kemba Walker. Mullens has no offensive ability, so KG dares to boldly force delay. If it were Kevin Love in the last game, or Dirk North, For a power forward with excellent offensive ability like Wisky, Garnett wouldn't dare to be so defensive."
Xu Xin analyzed.
Old Lucas was thoughtful and suddenly thought of something:
"If PJ Tucker or Omir Asik were to cover, the effect would definitely not be as good as Garnett's."
"Indeed."
Xu Xin affirmed.
"However, James (Harden) and Jeremy (Jeremy Lin) have online passing skills and are taller. PJ and Omer will also have opportunities in the pick-and-roll at certain times."
On the field, Walker was defended again and was forced to stop the ball. Henderson ran over to receive the ball and was able to resolve it.
But there was little time left for the Bobcats to attack. Henderson broke through and passed the ball to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in the bottom corner. The latter caught the ball, jumped up, and threw the ball before the buzzer.
He shot this ball very decisively, but apart from his decisive shot, there was no highlight at all, because he made a three-pointer.
Asik controlled the ball and gave it to Jeremy Lin. The latter got the ball immediately and passed it to Butler who was about to leave.
Butler caught the ball and accelerated forward. He suddenly stopped and started to pass Henderson. There was no obstacle in front of him. Butler dunked with both hands, marking the beginning of the night.
Bobcats head coach Steve Clifford frowned on the sidelines. He thought that he would not be able to beat the Rockets, and even thought that he would lose by a huge score like the Timberwolves two days ago.
But he never expected that his team would start in such a mess and forget about being unable to defend. How come the offense couldn't even make a normal shot?
Walker came to the frontcourt to play a high pick-and-roll, and faced another strong delay from Garnett. This time there was no dribbling, but he was surrounded by Jeremy Lin and Garnett and was unable to make a pass.
In a panic, I wanted to call a timeout, but it was too late. The referee blew the whistle and it was time to fight for the ball!
Clifford held his forehead and couldn't see it. If nothing else happened, the ball now belonged to the Rockets again.
Walker and Garnett jump ball, is there any suspense? of course not.
Garnett passed the ball to Jeremy Lin, who quickly advanced without giving the Bobcats a chance to set up a defensive formation. Go straight to the inside and attract the defensive ball to the right side at 45 degrees.
When the ball comes to the player, Butler catches the ball, takes off, and shoots in one go.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball hit the net and Butler scored the Rockets' first three-pointer of the game.
Clifford couldn't bear it anymore and called for a timeout to adjust.
"What are you playing for? In less than three minutes after the start, the score was 11:0? Where is your fighting spirit? Where is your enthusiasm?"
Clifford growled.
On the bench at the other end of the court, the sky was clear.
McHale was very satisfied with the performance of his disciples and said energetically:
"Just play like this! As long as you stay focused from the first minute of the game, there is no opponent we can't beat."
After the timeout, Clifford took both Walker and Henderson off the court and replaced them with Larry Sessions and Ben Gordon.
"Replacing the two main defenders so early, it seems that Steve (Clifford) is very dissatisfied with them."
Lucas Sr. laughed.
"The problem lies in the lack of offensive ability in the interior. Changing guards cannot solve the problem."
Xu Xin said.
This is indeed the case. Sessions and Gordon still cannot gain the initiative in pick-and-roll tactics and can only resolve the battle through strong outside shots.
