The invincible kryptonite of basketball

Each of the five games is full of highlights. This is definitely the most interesting Christmas game in recent years.

This year's Christmas Eve, Tang Tian also lived more lively than ever before, his parents have not returned yet, plus Olsen's parents and two sons.

Their first Christmas in Newgrange was quite a festive one.

Tang Tian gave Olsen a Ferrari F50berlinetta worth 12 yuan as a Christmas present.

Olsen doesn't have high requirements for cars, but as the number of luxury cars in the garage continues to increase, she can return to the days of driving luxury cars.

It's just that it's different from before, the car used to belong to her two sisters, but now it's her own.

Before the training session on Christmas Day, teammates gave each other presents.

Boyan's gift was very interesting. He gave each team member a high-end household dehumidifier.

New Orleans is a port city with very high humidity, so this gift can be said to be quite practical.

It seems that apart from being optimistic and talkative, this guy is also a very caring person.

But what excited the team members the most was Tang Tian's gift.

Before the start of the playoffs last year, Tang Tian once said that if the team won the championship, he would spend a week on the yacht on the "Mars Project".

The Pelicans missed the championship last season, and that reward ultimately failed to materialize.

But for now, Tang Tian's Christmas gift is a two-day yacht party in the bay of the Mississippi River!

At that time, he will also invite well-known local models and car models to join the party!

This is directly a condensed version of the previous championship reward.

And he has already communicated with Stevens that after the Christmas game, the league will have a four-day offseason, and the team will arrange a two-day holiday to cooperate.

82 games a season in the NBA is very long. Only when there is a degree of relaxation and a combination of work and rest can the players perform at their best.

There were whistles and cheers in the locker room when the gift was heard.

The Pelicans are a young team, many of whom are still single, and this kind of party is their favorite.

After giving the party gifts, the morale of the Pelicans was boosted, and some of them fought in the next Christmas game.

On the day of the match, both teams arranged open training sessions. Tang Tian also met his old acquaintance Zhang Weiping at the training site.

White hair has covered Zhang Weiping's head, and he is over 65 years old.

The Pelicans and Rockets are the top two most popular teams in China, which can be seen from the previous China games.

This Christmas game is the first time the two teams have played against each other this season, and the domestic attention is unprecedented.

The two chatted a lot. In addition to this game, the basketball school and the draft were also mentioned a lot.

As a basketball player of the older generation, Zhang Weiping, like Yao Ming, always pays attention to Chinese basketball.

After decades of waiting, he finally got the scene he wanted to see. He had admiration and gratitude to Yao Ming and Tang Tian.

If he was Weiping Bryant before, then with Kobe about to retire, his main identity now is Weiping Tian.

On another field, Yang Yi also appeared, and he and Harden also made an exclusive interview, talking about Harden's love for Chinese fans.

Yao Ming made the Rockets a household name in China, and the Rockets must do such things if they want to maintain the Chinese market.

Especially before the Pelicans led by Tang Tian, ​​this can help them a lot.

Harden was doing an exclusive interview on one side, and on the other side, Rockets coach D'Antoni also accepted an interview with ESPN reporters.

"We have run in, they are no longer invincible, we can win tonight's game."

D'Antoni's face is full of confidence, his mustache is raised upward.

His words are not without reason.

Because the two teams played against each other twice in the China game and lost both games, they naturally became the underdog in this game.

Including the part where they experienced lineup running-in and tactical running-in before, the record is far from what the fans expected.

But after entering December, they found a suitable lineup, and the magic ball finally began to show its power.

They have just achieved the longest 7-game winning streak of the season, and the team is in a hot state.

And the Pelicans have already lost to the Blazers, as D'Antoni said, they are not invincible.

Just like what he showed in his words, the Rockets are determined to win this game.

Of course there is another very important point.

D'Antoni was basically determined to coach the Pelicans at the beginning, but finally chose to go to the Rockets.

Now the Pelicans have achieved an unprecedented record under Stevens, while the Big Three of the Rockets have experienced a long period of running-in at the start of the game.

In such a comparison, fans are secretly glad that the Pelicans fortunately did not sign D'Antoni.

The Christmas game is highly anticipated, and this is also a battle for D'Antoni to prove himself.

That night, the New Orleans arena was very lively.

A new poster was put on outside the arena not long ago. Tang Tian stood at the C position, Jokic and Davis lined up on both sides, and the three cores were full of momentum.

Fans wore various Christmas decorations and entered the arena holding up signs supporting Tang Tian and the Pelicans. Many even posed for photos under the posters.

The Rockets' current record is second only to the Pelicans, Warriors and Spurs, ranking fourth in the West.

The Pelicans War is another focus battle after the Pelicans War. Fans of such a game are naturally excited.

Moreover, the Rockets are the super Big Three, with bright stars, and the attention is not lower than that of the Warriors and Pelicans.

The New Orleans arena is full of Christmas atmosphere, and even the side of the broadcast booths of various countries are placed with Christmas hats full of festive atmosphere.

Chapter 759 The Weakness of the Magic Ball Theory (Fourth Update!)

After a brief warm-up, the scene quickly entered the opening ceremony.

The Rockets' starter was first introduced.

The Big Three of Paul, Harden, and Cousins ​​all started, and the remaining two are PJ Tucker and Luke Richard Mbah a Moute.

At the beginning of the season, the Rockets let Capela and Cousins ​​​​play with the Twin Towers, but the effect was not good.

Especially D'Antoni is a head coach who advocates offense, and the slow-paced offense makes him unbearable.

After playing a few games, he put Capela on the bench, and then began to try various lineups.

Brewer + David West, Brewer + Tucker, Tucker + West, Brewer + Mbah a Moute...

After various trials, he finally got the lineup he wanted.

Tucker was a 3D player with excellent immediate combat power during the Suns period, and his exposure increased after the Rockets, and his advantages were further magnified.

Although he is short in height, his confrontation is particularly good, especially in the small ball era. The general fourth position can't stand him in the low post.

And his corner three-pointer has also been seriously underestimated. He can allow Cousins ​​​​to get enough offensive space in the bottom corner.

Mbah a Moute was completely a defensive engineer before he came to the Rockets. The team he played was basically a four-on-five scene.

The Rockets used him this way at the beginning, but D'Antoni experimented with the lineup and crazily encouraged three-pointers on the wing.

It was during this process that Mbah a Moute showed a completely different outside shooting stability from his previous career.

Everyone, even himself, discovered that he could score.

In the end, he successfully squeezed Brewer into the starting lineup, and he and Tucker also supported most of the Rockets' defensive system.

After introducing the players, the head coach D'Antoni was introduced next.

There were boos when his name was read.

D'Antoni had reached a preliminary agreement with the Pelicans, but in the end he did not choose the Pelicans but went to the Rockets.

The Rockets offer a higher contract than the Pelicans, and there is nothing wrong with making money and killing birds for food.

However, this kind of sudden departure after the negotiation still makes the Pelicans fans unhappy. Although it will not go to social media to attack, the boos at home are inevitable.

The Pelicans had a regular lineup, and when Stevens came out, there was now deafening cheers.

The comparison between the two coaches one after the other, the fans deliberately embarrass D'Antoni.

Sure enough, D'Antoni's face was very ugly. He is also a famous coach. He must be upset when he is suppressed by a young head coach like Stevens.

The warm-up is over, and the starting players of the two teams have all appeared on the field one after another.

Davis jumped and beat Cousins, officially kicking off the prelude to the Christmas battle.

Jokic went to the frontcourt to hold the ball. Tang Tian cut into the reverse run and was double-teamed. He gave the ball to Ariza in the bottom corner.

The goal was scored in time, but the Rockets assisted in the defense very quickly. Ariza shook Tucker and broke through. Cousins ​​interfered and missed the layup.

Cousins ​​turned around and got a defensive rebound, the Rockets counterattacked, and Paul made a long pass to Harden from the backcourt.

But the Pelicans retreated quickly, and Harden made a layup and was blocked by Tang Tian.

The Pelicans hit the frontcourt, Tang Tiansan threatened to hit Mbah a Moute, and after the breakthrough, he made an emergency stop and made a hit.

Looking back, Harden stepped back and made a three-pointer after running to catch the ball in the positional battle.

The opening rounds became the epitome of the first quarter of the two teams.

The current offensive ability of the Pelicans has been adjusted to [-]% to [-]% of what Stevens wants, and they can play more freely against ordinary teams.

But this Rockets team, because of the presence of Bzdelik, is different from the Knicks and Lakers coached by D'Antoni in the past few seasons.

He has defense, and he is a top-notch defense after the lineup is run-in.

The reverse is also the same, the Rockets' Big Three have finished their run-in, and their offensive strength has soared.

But facing the Pelicans, who have basically run in on the defensive end, they also did not play so smoothly.

After the first quarter, the two teams tied at 27.

This situation is not small for both teams, but the home fans are very excited.

This kind of evenly matched high-level game, just like the previous Pelicans battle, makes people want to stop.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Harden led the Rockets on the court.

The Rockets traded for Paul this season, but D'Antoni has a lot of ambitions, and he also tried to let Harden play the organization.

This is very consistent with his personal characteristics. He is good at training point guards. Now that he has two super giant guards, he can't wait to use them all as point guards.

And it worked, so he could use Paul and Harden separately.

After Harden came up, he first passed West for a layup in seconds, and then he made a signature step back 2+1, leading the team to a wave of 5-0.

The Rockets had a poor bench last season, but now let Harden play the main role in this transition from the bench, which can not only train Harden, but also greatly increase their bench strength.

Stevens called a timeout at this point.

Back from the timeout, Bo Yang hit a key catch three-pointer through a tactical move, setting the New Orleans Arena on fire.

This summer, the Pelicans sent away the team's sixth man Gordon, which also attracted fans' reluctance and doubts.

But with Bojan's outstanding performance in the Pelicans, it has begun to make them forget Gordon.

This three-pointer helped the Pelicans narrow the point difference to 2 points. When they return to the defensive end, the Pelicans have tactical adjustments.

Stevens had studied the Rockets' magic ball theory before, and already had a set of coping methods in mind.

It's just because this is the first time the two sides have played against each other this season, he needs more on-the-spot observations to decide whether to use countermeasures.

He already knows how long this section will last.

The Rockets have taken 20 shots so far, 14 of which were on the three-point line, 6 of them were in the penalty area, and none of them were in the middle distance.

This includes positional warfare and defensive counterattacks, and they have completely abandoned shots in the mid-range area.

The Pelicans put up a 2-1-2 zone defense.

This is a defensive formation that is rarely used in zone defense, because it is basically equal to the air distance.

This zone defense, when the Spurs played the Pelicans last season, Popovich put it up, but Tang Tian forced him to make a shot and dare not use it again.

Now Stevens saw the weakness of the magic ball and used the same method.

Harden was strictly guarded from beyond the three-point line, West was also marked to death at the basket, and the Rockets' offense was restrained.