The three-threat turned his back to the basket, pushed his back inward to the elbow area, turned over and shot a jump shot to complete the game, and the basketball went hollow into the net, 23:18.
"This Italian cannon is really shameless. With a height difference of 25 centimeters and such a big mismatch, he doesn't even dare to play singles from the front. He has to turn over and shoot a fadeaway jumper."
In the stands, a young fan cursed.
"The Rockets' unlimited defense has a loophole, and Iverson cannot be replaced."
Another older fan discovered the crux of the problem.
What the fans thought of, McHale naturally thought of it too.
While the Rockets were serving, he shouted from the sidelines:
"Hey! Change positions 2, 3, and 4, but not positions 1 and 5."
The players received the signal on the court and made the OK signal.
Iverson advanced with the ball and once again opened up to attack Miller.
Being beaten twice in a row aroused his competitive spirit. Whatever points you score on me, I will definitely return them, and I will return them double.
This time Miller was fully prepared, constantly reminding himself to beware of Iverson's pull-back mid-range shot.
However, when the road is high, the devil is high. Iverson changed his rhythm. After pausing to lower his center of gravity, he connected with his hips and started dribbling. Miller instantly became nervous. Judging from his experience, if he did not retreat after this ball, it would be Iverson will really be passed by in one step.
Seeing Miller adjust his center of gravity again, Iverson smiled slightly, crossed his steps and pulled back, dribbling in his right pocket to widen the pull back. At this time, Miller was 2 meters away from him again.
Iverson jumped high and shot when he was at the highest point.
"Whoa!" The basketball hit the net and hit another mid-range shot, 25:18.
Miller put his hands on his hips and sighed. He had been careful with this ball, but unfortunately Iverson still got rid of it easily.
"Iverson's cross-step pullback has a lot of details. If Fang Shuo doesn't retreat, then he will jump over in one step. If the opponent retreats, there is no solution for the cross-step pullback and pull-up jumper."
Zhang Weiping analyzed.
"Actually, Iverson's tricks can be used by ordinary basketball enthusiasts, but it can be said that he is unique in being able to achieve such a fast speed and such a large range. Even in the entire league, they are rare."
Yu Jia added.
As the game entered the last minute of the first quarter, Miller wanted to repeat his old trick and called Gallinari to pick and roll.
The Rockets adjusted their defensive strategy. Iverson stepped off the line to cover the screen without changing defense.
Miller saw an open opportunity and made a jumper from beyond the three-point line.
"Bang!"
Unfortunately, the accuracy was not that good, and the basketball bounced out of the frame.
O'Neal Jr. held up Koufos, Tucker held up Faried, and Gerald Green jumped high to collect the rebound.
"McHale's strategy of protecting the backboard is very smart."
Yao Ming sighed.
Xu Xin smiled slightly, this was his idea.
The Nuggets lead the league in offensive rebounds, and it's not just Warcraft alone. Several insiders on the team, including Faried and Koufos, are all good offensive rebounders.
Faried relies on his excellent athletic ability to fight for offensive rebounds. His jumping speed and vertical jump height are T0 level for the power forward position.
Although Koufos has average athletic ability, his height and weight of 2.13, as well as his keen sense of rebound placement, give him an advantage in offensive rebounds.
In order to protect the backcourt rebounds, Xu Xin and McHale discussed it for a long time before the game.
In the end, Xu Xin came up with the strategy of not grabbing anyone, which made McHale's eyes light up. His two insiders are responsible for blocking Faried and Koufus, keeping them as far away from the penalty area as possible. The rebound is given to the wings to protect.
On the court, Green collected the rebound and saw Miller watching eagerly from the side. He obviously wanted to steal Iverson's catch, so he simply stopped passing and advanced to the frontcourt.
When he came to the frontcourt, he handed it to Iverson, and he quickly ran to the inside. Iverson saw the right time and accurately connected Green with a direct pass.
When the latter caught the ball, he had already arrived near the penalty area and started directly with his feet.
"!"
A vertical ladder shot, a one-handed flat-frame tomahawk chop, and the exaggerated bullet speed made Koufos unable to make up for the defense. He could only be a front-row spectator to enjoy Green's "Show Time"!
The scene was full of exclamations. Only now do the fans know what kind of strength this dunk king from a few years ago is.
On the Rockets bench, the players were not very surprised by this. Green's dunking level has been clearly revealed in normal training games. This "monster" often shows off dunking moves that others can't do in actual combat. But even after watching it more than once, he still seemed very excited. The players all stood up, waved towels vigorously, and shouted for Green.
"Woo, this is definitely one of the top two in the top ten. This dunk is too exaggerated."
Yu Jia exclaimed.
"Actually, Iverson has at least half of the credit for this goal. People's stereotype of him is that he has strong scoring ability. As a defender, his passing ability and overall view are much inferior. But from the perspective of Iverson's goal just now, The timing and intensity of the pass are something that many defenders in the league cannot pass.”
Zhang Weiping analyzed.
The Nuggets attack, Miller dribbles the ball and looks at the timer. There are 32 seconds left, enough to steal a two-for-one.
He quickly advanced to the frontcourt, and there was a hidden exchange of eyes with Wilson Chandler. Chandler understood it, ran from the wing towards the top of the key where Miller was, took over the pass, took a step laterally, and shot.
Green had just completed an explosive dunk and was now in high spirits. He was very active in defense, but it was a bit too much.
Seeing Chandler's jumper three-pointer, Green jumped forward to interfere, but he jumped too hard, failed to control his body balance, and violated Chandler's cylinder.
They both fell to the ground.
"Beep!"
The referee knew exactly what was going on and there was a shooting foul. Chandler made three free throws.
"Mine!" Green was helped up by his teammates. He looked annoyed and patted his chest, admitting that this was his problem.
"It's okay, just pay attention next time."
Iverson patted him on the shoulder and encouraged.
Chandler stepped to the free throw line and, despite the boos from the fans, made three free throws, 27:21.
"This is the problem with Green. His athletic ability is top-notch, but his defensive awareness is average and he gets easily distracted when he gets excited. All these need to be improved by him.
Chandler's shot just now was very difficult. Even if he didn't defend and let him shoot, he might not be able to make the shot. But he chose to defend and foul, which was equivalent to giving up 3 points for nothing. "
Zhang Weiping said.
When the Rockets attack, Iverson advances calmly. He is also paying attention to the time. There are still 27 seconds left. He needs to consume the 24 attack time as much as possible without leaving enough time for the opponent to attack.
He dribbled the ball near the center circle, signaled his teammates to open up space, and waited until there were 6 seconds left in the attack time before starting.
The signature crossover passed Miller in one step, and then rushed to the basket. Facing Faried's defense, he hovered in the air and pulled the lever. With a slight twist of his right wrist, the basketball hit the backboard and spun into the basket.
The ball goes in! 29:21.
The fans at the scene were excited. Such a difficult and entertaining layup had not been seen in the Houston arena for a long time.
The last person to make such a move was "Little Black Bean" Aaron Brooks.
After the ball was scored, Iverson was not in a hurry to celebrate, but directed his teammates to arrange defense.
