I'm really not a superstar

Chapter 175 Unexpected Arrangement

After winning three consecutive away games, on November 11, the Rockets returned to Houston to play against the Indiana Pacers at home.

The day before the game, the Rockets adjusted the game list, moving Tracy McGrady and Barry into the daily observation list, replacing them with Mutombo and Novak.

This is the first time that Uncle Mu has entered the game squad this season.

Although Uncle Mu's injuries have basically recovered, his age has always been a mystery, and he is one year older. It is hard to say how much condition he will have left.

Dayao joked with him: "Dikembe, have you already set the record for the oldest appearance in the NBA!"

The uncle laughed hoarsely: "I don't know if it's the oldest player, but I must be the oldest DYOP (Defensive Player of the Year). I was 34 or 35 that year. Anyway, it was 8 or 9." Years ago!"

Landry then joked: "Uncle, have you ever seen Hitler with your own eyes?"

"Haha, brat, I'm not that old!"

Uncle Mu's comeback is an important supplement to the Rockets' combat power. Although he no longer has the style of DYOP in the past, and his contribution on the offensive end may not be much better than Hayes, he is still reliable on the defensive end. What's important is his experience, consciousness, and status in the world, which can play the role of a magic needle at critical moments.

Another point is that after the uncle comes back, he can share more than 10 minutes of playing time in each game, allowing Yao Ming to get more rest time.

For Uncle Mu's comeback, Dorsey is both happy and worried.

Fortunately, the Rockets' inside strength has been further enhanced, and I can also learn more from this legendary star.

The worry is that the competition inside will become more intense, and my playing time will definitely be further compressed, which is very detrimental to myself who is in a period of rapid rise.

As for Novak, this big white shooter has a stable output in several appearances and has gradually gained Adelman's trust.

At least in terms of starting lineup, Novak, with an annual salary of $69, is ahead of Kenny Thomas, who earns $856 million.

With Tracy McGrady and Barry out, the Rockets' starting lineup is:
PG Alstom SG Metta World Peace SF Battier PF Scola C Yao Ming
Everyone has noticed that the Rockets' outside lineup is weak.

Only Brooks and Weaver were left on the bench, and small forward Metta Shiping had to fill the position of shooting guard.

Everyone is sweating for the Rockets.

However, after the game started, everyone found that the Rockets played quite well.

The Rockets continued the play style of the previous Eastern Conference trip, resolutely passing the ball to Yao Ming's hands.

Dayao's state is still hot, and the Pacers are a team without a good center.

Dayao played various low-post singles, turned around and made mid-range shots, caught the ball and dunked, and scored 5 points in the opening 8 minutes.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the Pacers quickly adopted tactics of pinching and going around.

Although the Pacers don't have a particularly good center, they do have a lot of big men. While resolutely going forward, they flank on the weak side.

The Rockets and Dayao reacted quickly and adjusted their playing style immediately.

Alston and others increased the breakthrough points, while Scola and Yao Ming strengthened the pass response between the high and low positions. After Yao Ming received the ball, he immediately moved to the outside.

When the Pacers further strengthened their defense against Yao Ming and surrounded Yao Ming, the Rockets did not pass the ball through Yao's hands, but directly transferred the ball to the weak side and shot directly from the outside.

In this way, even if Yao Ming didn't touch the ball, it showed his great restraint.

In the first two quarters, with Yao Ming as the axis, the Rockets operated extremely smoothly, and their lead once expanded to 15 points.

The long-awaited Uncle Mu finally appeared at the end of the second quarter.

Sure enough, as Dorsey expected, his playing time in the first two quarters was greatly reduced, and it took less than 5 minutes to play together.

Much lower than the average playing time in recent times.

But this is understandable, since the main players play so well, there is no need to risk others.

Dorsey can only hope that in the second half, the Rockets lead more, enter garbage time early, and let themselves perform well.

But I don't know, as soon as the third quarter came up, the situation changed suddenly.

The Rockets got a good chance to attack. Yao Ming pulled out to catch the ball. This time, only Foster was behind him. Yao Ming turned around nimbly, passed Foster, took three steps and made two steps, and arrived at the basket to dunk. .

Pacers power forward Troy Murphy made a slanting stab, and seeing something bad, he jumped forward and slapped Yao Ming right in the corner of his eye.

Yao Ming let out a scream of "ah", and squatted on the ground, covering the corners of his eyes with his hands.

Everyone rushed around, only to find that blood was seeping from Yao Ming's fingers.

The referee hurriedly called the team doctor to come up for treatment, and the perpetrator Murphy also rushed over to apologize.

In all fairness, he really didn't do it on purpose, it was just a moment of impatience, and he made a bigger defensive move.

But this also became an unexpected gain for the Pacers. Yao temporarily went off the court to deal with the wound, and the Rockets lost their biggest advantage on the court.

Mutombo played, but there was still nothing wrong with Dorsey.Adelman subconsciously chose to believe in the veteran's experience in unexpected situations.

The Pacers immediately stepped up their offensive rhythm, shooting wildly under the leadership of star players Granger and TJ Ford.

Although Uncle Mu's defense at the basket is old and solid, but the defensive coverage area is far from as large as it used to be, and he is a little powerless against the opponent's mid-range shots.

This wave of Pacers' offense was very ferocious, hitting one after another, while the Rockets' offense fell into temporary confusion due to Yao Ming's departure, and the point difference was quickly narrowed.

After 3 minutes, Yao Ming re-entered the game with bandages and gauze around his eyes, and the score was reduced to 6 points!
The Rockets wanted to continue to repeat the previous style of play, and still handed the ball to Yao Ming.

However, Yao Ming's state was obviously affected by the episode just now. It was difficult to turn around and shoot when the opponent was double-teaming him. However, when he tried to transfer the ball away, the gauze at the corner of his eye blocked his vision and affected his vision. Vision, he can no longer use the corner of his eye to observe the situation on the field, but has to keep turning his head in a wide range to find his teammates, which is awkward and affects efficiency.

The ball cannot be passed to the outside line, and the weakness of the Rockets' weak offensive power has also been exposed when the physical fitness of several outside lines is declining.

They are all good fixed-point shooters, but due to height, strength, speed and other reasons, it is difficult to break through to the basket to cause damage.

The current Rockets can't open the inside and can't get in the outside.The problem of the Rockets' original dual-core inside and outside line changing to single-core has been highlighted.

Under the ebb and flow, the Pacers' already warmed up feeling became hotter and hotter, and they still kept hitting jumpers.

At the end of the third quarter, the Rockets were 74:76, but fell behind their opponents by two points.

Adelman frowned and had to think of a way.

Finally, he decided to take a risk.

"Joy, come on later!"

Dorsey was overjoyed, but it was my turn to play!It seems that at the critical moment, the coach still trusts me!Dayao is injured and is not in good condition, so it is only natural for me, a super substitute, to come on the field.

Everyone else basically thought the same way.

But what Adelman said next surprised Dorsey and everyone else.

He made an unexpected arrangement:
"Joy, go outside and play shooting guard!"

(End of this chapter)