The world of basketball

Chapter 177 Western Conference Semifinals

The jump ball between Mu Xiaobei and Capela finally got the ball into Jeremy Lin's hands, winning the first wave of offensive possession for the Spurs.

Mu Xiaobei's high pick-and-roll screened Jeremy Lin, and then made a cut to pull Capela to the outside. Aldridge wanted a position inside, and the position he wanted was deep. Jeremy Lin passed the ball from the base and gave the ball to Aldridge. .

Zhou Qi is better than Aldridge in terms of height and wingspan, but he still can't stand up to Adelaide against Zhou Qi. Aldridge squeezes to the basket step by step with his not generous body. Then Ade turned around and scored the ball with a small hook.

"Strike Adelaide, after Mu Xiaobei pulled Capela out, he is better than Zhou Qi in confrontation, so he can single-play Zhou Qi in the low position." Wang Meng said.

"However, this ball is probably because the Rockets' matchup was a bit unfamiliar at the beginning. I think after this ball, they should let Capela face Adelaide and Zhou Qi face Mu Xiaobei." Su Qun said.

Paul dribbled the ball steadily through halftime, and handed the ball to Harden just after halftime. Throughout Paul's career, he has played the role of the team's main controller and helm. The act of handing over the ball after a half-court dribble.

But in the past few years in the Rockets, he has cultivated a very good tacit understanding with Can also directly, and also forged some friendships. He knows that letting Harden open first is a good way for the team to win.

Capela and Zhou Qi double-screened in Niujiao, Harden used the screen to kill towards the basket, Mu Xiaobei and Adelaide followed Harden closely according to the arrangement of Popovich's head coach before the game, Zhou Qi still went to the arc Cut outside the top three-point line. After Capela picks and rolls, he goes down to the basket and kills. Aldridge follows Capela, Mu Xiaobei helps defend Harden, and Butler goes out to defend and cut. Zhou Qi.

The defensive end explained very clearly that Harden didn't find a suitable passing space, and then suddenly pulled back, took a step back, and directly pulled out his hand.

Swah——

Harden stepped back and hit a mid-range jumper.

After D'Antoni took over the Rockets, Harden's signature step-back mid-range and Paul's signature lateral free throw line mid-range, the two famous tricks in the league, have disappeared. The most important thing is that D'Antoni doesn't like mid-range shots. , He thinks that mid-range shots are similar to three-point shots, but one point less than three-pointers, so he only advocates more efficient three-pointers and layups with higher shooting percentages.

But superstars always have certain favorable conditions, just like Harden can also shoot a few step-back mid-range shots per game, and Paul can also shoot a few mid-range free throw lines, because their tricks have a very high hit rate. High, so D'Antoni will not say much.

Both teams are teams with a lot of scoring points.The coach also formulated a lot of tactics.But for the Rockets, these tactics are often useless, and they will still hand the ball to Harden at the last moment.Even if the Spurs reach the last moment, they will probably give the ball to the team's core Alder, Butler and Mu Xiaobei once.

Sure enough, as Su Qun said, when Mu Xiaobei was playing a pick-and-roll for Jeremy Lin in the high position, Zhou Qi would be defending Mu Xiaobei. Go up to defend Aldridge.

Adelaide's three-point line caught Capela asking for the ball, Jeremy Lin lobbed it to Aldridge, and Mu Xiaobei pulled it outside the three-point line at a 45° angle, ready to receive Adelaide's pass at any time.

There was a cross screen between Kuzma and Butler, Butler slid to the bottom line, Kuzma directly inserted into a path going straight to the basket, Aldridge made a ground pass to Kuzma, Kuzma caught the ball and made a layup.

"The cooperation between Adelaide and Kuzma, after Aldridge returned from injury, his role in the team is no longer the same. Last season, Adelaide was still a big killer in the low post, with a shooting ability A very strong super scorer. But this season Aldridge has taken on more roles, especially the organization point in the low position and the support point in the high position." Wang Meng said.

"Yes, in the high post, he did a lot more ball-holding pick-and-rolls for Jeremy Lin than last season, and in the low post, he held the ball in the waist, waited for the air cut of the second and third positions, and then started to pass the ball. "Su Qun said: "We can often see James, Green, and Jokic in the low post against the defender, and other players are cutting and running, and then the person holding the ball with the back can Pass the ball in a timely manner. It turned out that Adelaide would not do this kind of work, but this season he began to take on this kind of work."

Capela made a pick-and-roll for Paul from a high position, and then immediately slid down. Paul also went to the right to speed up and pass the ball to Zhou Qi in the bottom corner. Then Zhou Qi picked up the ball and dribbled it directly, and suddenly scored to the top of the arc, and the ball was given to Harden.

Butler's mind has always been on Harden, he knows no matter how other players play.In the end, it will probably be returned to Harden, or Paul will play singles directly, because except for the light bulb, none of their other three players have the ability to control the ball.

really.Harden immediately accelerated after receiving the ball, headed left to the basket, and scored a throw against Butler.

It's Butler, he should be regarded as one of the best forward defenders in the league, but there is no way, this is Harden's personal ability.

To a large extent, the Rockets relied on this personal ability and somewhat incredible goals to kill the Warriors all the way to complete the feat of black seven.

Both sides felt good at the beginning of the first quarter.The tactics of the two teams have also opened up separately, and the Rockets and the Spurs have played back and forth.The Spurs are mainly Butler's piecemeal play and Aldridge's low-post singles, while the Rockets are more relying on the light bulb to show off on the outside.

Mu Xiaobei hit Capela several times in a row in the low post, but it is true that Capela's low post defense ability is very strong, and Mu Xiaobei missed several consecutive singles.He simply does not play alone, but plays a more important role as the team's pivot.

This season, Mu Xiaobei's desire to shoot has become a lot more Buddhist. As a domestic player, his coach has been teaching him to be a team since he was a child.And the Spurs are also a team-oriented player.His division of labor in the team is not as a super scorer, offensive arrow, but a support point, catch and shoot point, etc., rather than a low single point.

In many ways, Popovich is quite similar to many domestic coaches. No matter how famous the player is, as long as you are disobedient, I will take you down.Of course, after experiencing Leonard, Popovich, a stubborn old man, has also changed a lot.

The game lasted 5 minutes, and both sides entered their own rotation period.

Mu Xiaobei was replaced by Popovich. When he was replaced, the Spurs led by 15 points to 14 points. Mu Xiaobei made two of four shots and scored five points and two rebounds.

(End of this chapter)