Zhiba NBA

Chapter 117 (110) Defensive Victory

Yuan Fei didn't know how much his previous speech could help Yao Ming.The next day, the players flew to the east, playing consecutive away games.The first destination is New Jersey.

The Nets are a powerful team in the Eastern Conference in recent years. Last season, the defense was second only to the top three of the Spurs, Pistons and Pacers, ranking fourth in the league, but their recent situation is not good.The core superstar Kidd underwent knee surgery in the summer and has not yet returned. The two main players, power forward Martin and shooting guard Kittles, were sold off in the offseason.Now the only player in this rebuilding team who can be considered a big name is Alonzo Mourning, who has undergone a kidney transplant.Speaking of Mourning is definitely a legend, in the summer of 03 the Nets introduced the star center to fight against imaginary enemies Duncan and O'Neal, but he soon found out the symptoms of kidney failure again.The doctor forced him to announce his retirement in November 03 after a diagnosis.A month later, Mourning received a kidney transplant and announced his comeback shortly after. This is the third time in his career that he has overcome the disease and announced his comeback.

Facing such a team with a broken lineup, the Rockets should be able to win.McGrady also rushed to the away game in New Jersey with the team and said that he could come back, but under the strong request of Yuan Fei, Lao Tang promised to let McGrady simply play and practice.

As the saying goes, there are three catties of nails in a bad boat. The 34-year-old Mourning is a two-time best defensive player despite his illnesses, and his basic skills are still there.Yao Ming failed to make a few offenses, but was fouled twice by Mourning and was replaced early.Tracy McGrady, who just came back, also felt bad and repeatedly hit the iron, but the overall strength of the Rockets was higher. Under the leadership of Billups, they ended the first quarter with a 2:20 lead.

Yao Ming only scored 0 points and 1 rebound in the first quarter, and his performance was relatively poor.He was also very dissatisfied with his performance and felt a little anxious inside.But at this time, he remembered what Yuan Fei said yesterday, and his mind gradually calmed down.

"Center players are indeed constantly being weakened on the offensive end, but they are still irreplaceable on the defensive end."

In the second quarter, the Rockets saw a more resolute and decisive Yao Ming.

"Chris, I'll go up to guard against Mourning, pay attention to help me back up!"

"Richard, watch out for a pick-and-roll."

"Tracey, keep an eye on No. 10 Planinic!"

McGrady glanced at Yao Ming in surprise, no one except Olajuwon directed him to defend like this.After all, he is the boss of this team.

Tang Shuai nodded secretly, Yao Ming seemed to have matured a bit.

Eric Williams forced a layup under Bosh's defense. Yao Ming had already helped defend in place, stretched out his giant palm, and covered the sky with a big hat!
Jefferson picked up the ball and quickly counterattacked successfully. At 30:17, the Rockets defended well in the second quarter and beat their opponents to a 10-0 climax.

Although Yao Ming was plagued by fouls and was replaced after half a quarter, and McGrady was not in good condition, the Rockets played a high-intensity defense, making it impossible for the opponent to close the score.In the second quarter, the Nets only scored 13 points in a single quarter, which also consumed their energy.By the time the fourth quarter started, the score had become 68:49.With the offensive firepower of the Nets players, chasing 19 points in the last quarter is tantamount to nonsense.

Tang Shuai also replaced the substitute players with confidence, and the substitutes such as Daba, Varejao, and Barrett, who did not play much time, had the opportunity to show themselves.These bench players play very seriously, and their attitude is not inferior to that of the main players.Because playing time is very precious to them, if they perform well, even if they can't stay in the Rockets in the future, other teams can offer olive branches.But what Tang Shuai didn't expect was that the bus was the most active performer.

"Anderson, I-35, you-rebound!" Bus's English is not very good, but he still expressed the meaning clearly.

"Andrew, pick-and-roll, pick-and-roll!" The bus stepped forward to cover, and Barrett was a little dazed about how to organize the attack, and saw the bus's cover and broke through decisively.Nets guard Best finally twisted his body around the huge body of the bus, but saw Barrett pass the ball back.

"Oops!" Barrett felt wrong after passing the ball, "This is Monk and not the king. A center holds the ball at the top of the arc. Isn't that bad?"

The bus took aim calmly, made a three-pointer, and hit! At 80:59, the point difference has expanded to more than 20 points.

"This big guy can also shoot three-pointers? Did he get caught?" Not to mention the Nets players, even Barrett didn't know that the bus had hidden a three-pointer.

(Historically, the bus has taken 15 three-pointers in the NBA, hit 5 goals, and the hit rate is still above the pass)

"It seems that Munch can be given more playing time." Tang Shuai thought to himself: "No, I still want to train Varejao. It's really hard to choose."

最终火箭客场90:69大胜篮网。姚明受困于犯规仅打了22分钟，11投仅3中得到6+3，但贡献了3次盖帽；麦迪16投5中仅得了15分。火箭在两位当家球星手感不佳的情况下，依靠整体坚实的防守取得了一场大胜。

But what makes Yao Ming a little depressed is that this victory came after Tracy McGrady came back.It is really difficult to lead the team to win the game by yourself.

On November 11, the Rockets flew to Atlanta to fight the Eagles back to back.This time the ball flew far and issued a kill order. The Hawks' pick in the coming year belongs to the Rockets. The Rockets are more likely to get a high pick if they play at the bottom of the Eagles League.

Unexpectedly, the strength of the Eagles was much higher than expected. The fat-headed Walker and Al Harrington they brought in in the summer all have certain strengths. Together with the veteran Rockets Joe Johnson, high-ranked rookies Childress, Josh Smith and second-year Boris Diaw, this lineup is also quite effective.Of course, the shortcomings of the Eagles are also obvious. They have poor tactical discipline, poor defense, and the offensive end is not enough to score a ball. Several major rotation players like to hold the ball in their hands.

In the last 5 minutes of the game, the Rockets still lead by double digits at 83:73 away, and the situation is very good.But a singles team like the Eagles is unreasonable. As soon as they feel good, they suddenly set off a strong counterattack.

Billups hit the iron with a jumper, and Harrington made a strong pass to center Drobiak after McGrady made a strong pass, and the latter made it easily.

Jefferson was intercepted by Joe Johnson, and Walker added 2 points in a mid-range shot, 83:77.

After McGrady missed a three-pointer, Yao Ming grabbed a rebound and fouled, and the Eagles got the ball.It was Johnson who fouled Jefferson again and made 2 of 2 free throws, only 4 points away.

McGrady's pass was once again intercepted by Johnson, who scored 2 points for an unmarked layup, 83:81.The Rockets were called a timeout, and the game entered the last 2 minutes.

"Joe is so cruel!" Jefferson complained.

"Don't panic, we are still in the lead, defend well! Attack slowly and make sure you don't make mistakes!" Tang Shuai commanded calmly.

After the timeout, at least the Rockets made no mistakes and played steadily to complete an attack. Unfortunately, Billups missed a layup.The Eagles' offense has no rules, basically relying on personal ability.Walker wanted to shoot a jumper when he got the ball, Bosh jumped up violently, his fingers blocked the ball and changed the route, and he missed the shot.Drogbiak grabbed the offensive rebound and tried to force a dunk, but Yao Ming slapped him with a big cap.Billups grabbed the ball, and the Rockets finally held on to the attack.

Jefferson still missed a jumper, but Bosh grabbed the offensive rebound and gave it to Billups.After the latter made a strong breakthrough, Yao Ming succeeded with a wonderful pass, 85:81!

Joe Johnson hit McGrady with his back and caused a foul.It's a pity that only 2 of 1 free throws was made.Still three points short, but time is running out.

The Rockets spent 24 seconds patiently, and McGrady missed a three-pointer at the last moment.The Eagles got the ball with only 20 seconds left.Walker made a mistake and passed the ball too hard, and McGrady succeeded in stealing.Johnson could only foul, and McGrady made 2 of 2 free throws, declaring that the game had lost its suspense.

After the game, the Rockets players hugged and greeted their old teammate Joe Johnson.Joe has gradually grown into the core of the new generation of the Eagles. He contributed 17+7+5 in this game. It was the outstanding performance of him and Walker that made the Eagles fight to the last moment.

87:82, the Rockets narrowly won away.They only scored 5 sports goal in the last 1 minutes, but relying on their tough defense at critical moments, they successfully contained the Eagles' counterattack and guaranteed the final victory.

　The plot settings in the last few chapters are well-founded.Old fans who are familiar with the Rockets may look familiar. There was a period when McGrady was injured and Yao Ming led the team to a 7-game losing streak.It is estimated that Yao Ming's mood is quite depressed at this time.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)