Rebirth of Hayes Cyclone

Chapter 72 [Rocket lifts off!Unstoppable! 】

On December 12, Chuck Hayes embarked on an away trip with the team again.

This is the most terrifying schedule for the Rockets this year, with five away games in a row.They first met the Warriors, played back-to-back against the Lakers, then challenged another team in Los Angeles, the Clippers, and then flew to Portland to face the Trail Blazers, and finally encountered the strongest opponent, the San Antonio Spurs on the 23rd. Immediately flew back to Houston, and the next day they played against the Clippers back to back.

If it wasn't for the Rockets being able to take a day off in Los Angeles during the period, there must be something shady about this schedule.

In the first game against the Warriors, the score was 112 to 95, and the Rockets won very easily.

Yao Ming scored 21 points in the first quarter, which was not the key to the Rockets' victory.

The key is that the Warriors' number one star Baron Davis was injured and left the game in the first quarter.

This dear friend is the fiercest point guard in the league. One of the things he is best at is stabbing people with a big beard (why is this number one?), and the other is playing basketball well with a strong body.Last time at the Rockets' home court, he used his strength to clean up the Rockets' back line.

Baron Davis is the strongest of the guards and should have been comfortable bullying the guards with his body.But this time, he was overconfident in his own strength and chose the Rockets' stronger small forward.

Only 2 minutes into the game, Hayes, who served as a small forward, rushed into the interior by pick-and-roll.After Baron Davis switched defenses, he jumped bravely in an attempt to prevent Hayes from dunking. He is often called the smaller Barkley and has participated in the slam dunk contest.Hayes is Barkley's chosen successor!As a result, the ball still went in, Davis was hit and fell to the floor, and was sent off the field after inspection.

It was the first quarter again, and it was the second-in-command Odom of the Lakers who entered and left the field; this time Hayes directly injured the leader of the Warriors.

After the game, Hayes accepted an interview with a Golden State reporter (Golden State Warriors) on the field. He expressed deep regret for Davis' injury and hoped that Davis would be fine and would not affect the next regular season.

He thought that Davis must be fine, because when the other party left, it didn't look like he hurt his leg or knee, and he didn't need anyone to support him. It was a sprain at most.

As a result, the news was announced the next day. After inspection, Baron Davis injured his tailbone and will be out for at least a month.

In two consecutive games, they hurt people at the beginning.The media began to strongly condemn, and Hayes collapsed directly.

I wipe!Injured tailbone? Is that okay?Is it a fucking action when this thing falls?

The Golden State Sports Daily used "The Rocket Monster Injures People Again" as the headline, mildly condemning Hayes - "People say that Shrek has a kind heart, but in essence he is a monster, he should restrain himself on the field. "

The Rockets fought the Lakers back to back.

As the most improved player of this season, Hayes can often hear cheers in away games, and some fans play Shrek slogans, hoping that he will join next season.

No cheers awaited him tonight at the Staples Center in Angeles City, though. Slogans such as "garbage from the swamp" and "dirty fellows" can be seen everywhere.

As soon as Hayes appeared on the field, he was booed, and fans raised their middle fingers.

Fans want to see Kobe lead the Lakers to successfully avenge the Rockets.However, that hope turned into a luxury shortly after the game started.

In this game, the Rockets didn't feel as useless as when they played the Lakers at home.Yao Ming and Juwan Howard easily overwhelmed the Lakers inside.Hayes as a small forward, so that the Lakers are very uncomfortable.If tall players are used to defend against Hayes, Howard will have the opportunity to use his height singles inside.

Without tall players to guard against Hayes, the Lakers were even worse, and Luke Wharton even got ass work.Hayes was going to study a new style of play and wanted to make himself tougher, so he directly experimented with the thin Wharton.

The inside line can't be defended, and the Rockets don't even care about the outside line shooting.

Kobe, who vowed to take revenge, did not show the energy he should have, and played mediocre. After half the game, the Lakers fell behind by more than 20 points.

As the game drew to a close, the atmosphere on the pitch changed as well.Many Lakers fans have already started to applaud the powerful Rockets.

104 to 81, the Rockets swept the Lakers away.There is no dispute that they won, and the two new aids Jamalio Moon and Van Wever also got the chance to play.Weaver performed well, scored 7 points, and also staged a wonderful dunk with both hands, proud of his old club.

Yao Ming had 26 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, Hayes had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, and veteran Juwan Howard had 18 points and 8 rebounds. Without Tracy McGrady, the Rockets could form a new offensive front and win easily.

21 wins and 2 losses, in the absence of McGrady, the Rockets created the most perfect start in club history.Their crazy performance also conquered the visiting team fans.

This is the fifth best start in NBA history. Experts analyze that if the Rockets can continue this momentum, the regular season is likely to achieve 72 wins.

72 wins!This is an achievement that only Michael Jordan's Bulls have achieved. Can the Houston Rockets catch up with that Bulls?

Judging from the data comparison, it is too possible.

Let's talk about offense first. The Bulls averaged 105.2 points per game that year, ranking first in the league; the Rockets are currently averaging 104.8 points per game, second in the league, not much different.

The focus of the two teams' offenses is different.The Bulls have Jordan and Pippen's outside golden partners, while the Rockets have Yao Ming, Hayes, and Tracy McGrady combined inside and outside.

Compared with the Bulls star invincible mode, the Rockets' offensive points are more scattered.Jordan can easily score more than 30 points in a single game. Yao Ming, the current top scorer of the Rockets, averages only 22.8 points per game. Yes, McGrady, Wells, Alston.Apart from Jordan and Pippen, only Kukoc scored in double digits on the Bulls.

Three-pointers are the Bulls' offensive weapon. Jordan's three-pointers hit 42.7% that season, and Kukoc is also a sharp shooter from the outside, not to mention the three-pointer Kerr on the bench who made 51.5% of his three-pointers. .

The Rockets are stronger on the outside this year, and almost everyone can shoot three-pointers.Among them, Hayes shot 43.2% from outside, Battier 40.4%, Hyde 44.7%, Novak 42.8%... The Rockets are the only team in the league with an average three-point shooting rate of more than 40%.

The Bulls have Michael Jordan, who can often hit the game-winning shot.Except for Hayes' free throw against the Pistons, the Rockets haven't had a game-winning performance this season.This is even more terrifying, because they rarely fight to the last moment.

Looking at defense again, the Bulls conceded 92.9 points per game, and their opponents shot 44.8%, ranking first in the league.The Rockets' defense was actually stronger than that of the Bulls back then. The defense line can be described as "bronze wall and iron wall". They conceded an average of 89.3 points per game and their opponents shot 44.3% from the field.

With Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman, can the Bulls' defense be strong?The Bulls occupied three spots in the NBA's best defensive team that year.These three were the core of the team at the time. When they were separated, each of them had a strong single-defense ability.Jordan was elected as the NBA's best defensive player in 1988; Rodman was also elected as the best defensive player twice in 1990 and 1991; Pippen was also selected to the best defensive team 7 times.If it weren't for the center Langley to hold back, he would definitely lose fewer points.

The Rockets have defense-oriented Van Gundy as their coach, and their defensive skills are unquestionable. In the first two seasons, they mainly played half-court man-to-man defense.This season, the zone defense system has been added.The Rockets are the only team with less than 90 points, which can explain everything.The giant Yao Ming is on the inside, Hayes is an all-round defender, Battier is a defensive expert on the outside, and even Tracy McGrady has worked as a blue-collar player before. Except for Alston's handicap, the Rockets' defense has almost no weaknesses.

Comparing the data of the main players of the two sides can better reflect the unstoppable momentum of the Rockets.

In the 95-96 season, the Bulls' Big Three averaged 55.3 points, 25.9 rebounds, 12.7 assists, 4.5 steals and 1.6 blocks. From the perspective of the scene, the division of labor between the Bulls' Big Three was very clear. The main defense, Pippen connected internally and externally, the strength of the Big Three has been brought into full play to the greatest extent.The three of them are all veterans of the Chizu League for many years. If they do their jobs well, the Big Three will naturally be formed.

而新赛季火箭三巨头的场均数据是60.4分、24.3个篮板、12.3次助攻、3.2次抢断和3次封盖。一点不逊色公牛，得分甚至更强。

Moreover, the Rockets already have a group of powerful bench bandits.Bunche-Wells who is strong enough to compete for the best sixth man, Hyde and Novak who shoot three-pointers, Spanoulis who is good at playing team basketball, rookie Azubuike who is hard at defense, veteran Dikembe Mutombo , Howard, etc...

Maybe the only thing the Rockets are worse than the Bulls is the coach.

Phil Jackson's ability to match star players is unmatched. He can make Jordan and Pippen the most harmonious pairing, and he can also knead the Lakers OK combination that is in dire straits.Phil Jackson's training of Rodman is also a successful example.Tactically, Jackson's triangle offensive tactics are well known.The only thing he seems to be criticized for is that he will always be with superstars.

Compared with Jackson's scenery, Jeff Van Gundy received as little honor as the hair on his forehead.He is more like a defensive professional. Before coming to the Rockets, his best achievement was to bring the Knicks to the Finals.

After 15 consecutive victories, no one doubts the strength of the Rockets. They are definitely capable of hitting the championship!
After the game, the general players enter the locker room to take a shower. After the players take a bath, they can be interviewed by the media.The visiting team's locker room, which was supposed to be deserted, was flooded with media today. The reporters rushed in even before Yao Ming finished his shower.It was almost time for Yao Ming to take a photo of "The Giant Getting Out of the Bath".

They are eagerly hoping to get something from the Rockets players.Veterans need breaking news, and the Rockets are now the best interviewees.A day earlier, they hoped the Lakers would end the Rockets' winning streak.Now that the Lakers have been dealt with, public opinion suddenly realized that the Rockets were going to catch up with the [-]-[-] magic Bulls [-] years ago, so they rushed over again.

"Man, we've only played 23 games now." Hayes smiled and said to a young reporter: "Isn't it too early for you to say that we can break the Bulls record? By then we can't play well and will be punished." People are trolling, these days, there are more and more non-mainstream and trolls, don’t you know it?”

The reporter was dizzy. The Yankees didn't know what trolls and non-mainstream were. They only knew how to analyze data to draw conclusions.

Faced with the sudden contrast with the Bulls, the low-key Yao Ming said: "Let's not mention this in the future. Our next schedule is not easy. It is too far to surpass the Bulls. We can only fight game by game and strive for success." Every game."

The Rockets have already figured it out.The Bulls played [-] wins and [-] losses that season. If the Rockets really want to enter that field, they must at least guarantee not to lose for a month.

The Rockets are not far from the big test.The Clippers and Trail Blazers are not strong and can almost be ignored.But the Spurs are a hurdle they must overcome!

(End of this chapter)