Zhiba NBA

Chapter 142 (140-[-]) The second generation of Pippen
Yuan Fei appeared at Staples, which caused the Rockets players to exclaim. They didn't know that the small boss would come to watch the game before.

"Jason, I didn't expect you to come to watch this game." Yao Ming said cheerfully, "Actually, the Lakers are not that strong, so it's not worth your special trip."

"Haha, I'm here to talk about something else, an old friend." Yuan Fei smiled and showed a row of white teeth, "The Lakers are playing badly. Their strength is not that weak, just like us in previous years. Yao may not be very clear, but most of the players have experienced it together in those years."

"What do you think of the Lakers, Jason?" Bosh asked.

"Needless to say Kobe, superstar! Odom and Williams are also very capable, and they have the ability to make the playoffs. But think about how they can add two high-ranked first-round picks in the coming year, especially the Jazz's pick. The future of this Lakers is very scary, and they are likely to become our biggest enemy on the way to the championship in the next three years!"

"But they are not our opponents right now." Tang Shuai interrupted with a smile: "We lost to them through injuries and running-in at the beginning of the season. Now the Rockets are completely different."

"That's right, we've been in a good state recently, and we seem to have regained the feeling of last year." McGrady has been training very hard recently and has become more and more confident.

"However, there is an old saying in China that goes, 'A lion fights a rabbit with all its strength'. Now the Lakers are doomed to fall out of the playoffs, but we and the Mavericks have to decide. Our goal is to finish with a complete victory and overtake the Mavericks!" Yuan Fei said.

"Win more than 20 points today, I'll treat you to dinner tomorrow!" McGrady said to everyone.

Yuan Fei laughed, and so did the players.Maddie has really changed.completely different.McGrady was a lonely fighter last season, carrying the team forward by himself.But now his athletic ability has declined a bit, but he has begun to try to actively integrate into the team.

***
Kobe was very excited facing McGrady. His desire to attack today was very strong. He shot a three-pointer against McGrady, but unfortunately missed.

And McGrady was relentless, and forced Kobe to stop and hit a jumper and caused a foul, but it was a pity that he missed the penalty.

"This game is the last battle for the No. 35 shooting guard this season." Smith explained: "Because the Lakers only have a poor record of 8 wins, while the No.42 Grizzlies in the Western Conference have reached 9 wins, and the No.40 Timberwolves have 8 wins, so the Lakers have no hope of reaching the playoffs. Even if he wins the next [-] games, it is only theoretically possible to return to the playoffs."

"Speaking of the first shooting guard, have you forgotten Allen Iverson and LeBron James? Especially the latter, he played very well. I think he will surpass Bryant sooner or later." Barkley never forgets to quarrel with his old partner.

"LeBron is so strong, he will go to the small forward position sooner or later." Smith disagreed with Barkley: "Bryant is not so easy to surpass."

Then Kobe's performance slapped Smith in the face. He made consecutive high-difficulty shots and repeatedly hit the iron under McGrady's interference.

"Bryant's strength should be stronger than T-Mac's. Why can't he even take back hits?" Barkley, as a back up expert, has a keen observation ability on this issue.

Yuan Fei laughed. In a sense, McGrady was a blessing in disguise. Overeating for a period of time made him gain weight, and after returning from hard training, he gained weight and became stronger.Of course, this will also cause his explosive power to weaken.

"Bryant relies too much on his skills. If you look closely at his shoulders and head, he has fake moves. But the experienced McGrady doesn't like him too much, but uses his better wingspan to form effective interference." Smith explained: "McGrady's excellent defense reminds me of Scott Pippen."

这一节打得节奏很快，科比一个人就出手9次还罚了6次球。可惜只投中2球得了10分，效率平平。麦迪则是7投5中高效砍下11分。火箭33:26领先结束首节。

"Kobe, you need to play more tactics!" The bad-tempered Van Gundy began to growl: "Don't be brave and only know singles, don't insist on competing with Tracy McGrady!"

Kobe nodded again and again. He respected Van Gundy very much, and he really took it to heart after listening.Sure enough, in the second quarter, he reduced his aggressive attack and began to use his ball-holding threat to attract the defense to play for his teammates.

"Strike!" Even Kwame Brown dunked Yao Ming under Kobe's wonderful pass. The No. 01 Scholar of 02 and the No. [-] Scholar of [-] met in this situation, but the achievements of the two are no longer the same.

McGrady suddenly changed his defensive strategy and took the initiative to double-team the ball holder.As soon as Xiao Mo came out of the dribble, he was double-teamed by McGrady and Billups on the baseline. Xiao Mo reluctantly threw the ball to Kobe, but too much time wasted.Under Turkoglu's blocking, the Lakers violated the law in 8 seconds (the offensive side must dribble the ball across the half court within 8 seconds)!

"I didn't arrange this tactic." Tang Shuai was also a little confused, "It's a bit too risky, but it was played beautifully."

McGrady immediately switched back to the defensive gate mode, sticking to Kobe again like nougat.

Kobe asked for the ball with McGrady behind him, and his teammate made a lob pass, but McGrady suddenly pushed forward and poked the ball in the first half!

"Pippen has a soul!" Barkley yelled: "I still remember him being squeezed behind me and still relying on long arms to steal passes. For any offensive player, Jordan and Pippen's defense is a nightmare."

The offense was powered by an easy layup by Parker.

McGrady started again, and he formed a perfect single defense when Xiao Mo dribbled the ball just after half court, surrounding the opponent in a corner.There was no way for Xiao Mo to retreat, and it was a violation of the law to return to the field after taking a step backward.

"This is a retro-style defense, very similar to the defensive mode of the Celtics who won eight consecutive championships in the last century." Smith praised.

"But this tight single defense still reminds me of Pippen." Barkley said: "He has such long limbs, such a balanced speed, strength, experience, and awareness. It's perfect."

The ball that Mo reluctantly passed was intercepted by Bosh again, and the Rockets' defensive climax beat the Lakers.At the end of the first half, the point difference had widened to 18 points.Kobe failed to score on 2-for-0 shooting in this quarter.

Jason Bass' complexion also became a little ugly.During the intermission, he also comforted Kobe: "Our season is over, and the record is not important. The important thing is that we will get a high draft pick to quickly complete the reconstruction and build a new championship team around you."

"I know, but I don't have much patience to wait." Kobe replied forcefully.

"Don't worry, I won't let you down." Bass said confidently.

"Shut up everyone, I'll arrange the tactics next." The rude Van Gundy interrupted their conversation: "In the second half, we insisted on playing in the second quarter, using Kobe as a bait, Sasha, Devin and Mo La opened up space to shoot..."

Kobe faithfully implemented Van Gundy's tactics, and he sent out 5 assists in the second half, but it was always difficult for him to play a smooth personal offense in front of Tracy McGrady.

At 120:93, the Rockets beat their opponents away to end their losing streak.Kobe made only 19 of 4 shots and got a triple-double of 19+10+10, but he had no joy of hitting a triple-double with a livid face.After leaving O'Neal, for the first time, he felt that it was not his own touch, but the opponent's excellent defense that curbed his shooting.

"I will become stronger!" Kobe secretly made up his mind.

McGrady didn't take many shots in this game, scoring only 17 points on 7 of 19 shots.But his excellent performance on the defensive end has been praised by industry insiders. ESPN praised: The Rockets regained Pippen after 6 years, and this time Pippen is not an old man, but is at his peak.

This report may not be correct, McGrady's personal singles ability may not still be at its peak.But he is constantly integrating into the team and constantly transforming himself to fit the team.In Yuanfei's view, the current McGrady may be the strongest McGrady.

(End of this chapter)