Zhiba NBA

Chapter 197 (190) The Emperor's Challenge
After the Lakers lost to the Rockets, they relied on Kobe's brave performance to defeat the Mavericks, and then ushered in Gasol's debut. On December 12, Gasol announced his comeback in Orlando. In the first game, he helped the team slaughter the Magic with a 23+20 performance.The Lakers got on the right track and started a wave of winning streak, among which the ghosts under the knife even included the wealthy Heat led by old teammates O'Neal and Payton.For a while, the Los Angeles media rekindled their confidence, announcing in a high-profile manner that the Zijin Lakers, the favorites for the championship, had officially returned.

And the Rockets are still keeping their feet on the ground, taking down opponents one by one.At the beginning of the new year, they played away against the Wizards in Washington.Reid broke out and scored 9 points on 6 of 29 three-pointers. The poor Wizards started the new year with a 25-point defeat.

Next, the Rockets will face an opponent with some weight.They will visit Cleveland to challenge the Cavaliers, who rank second in the East with 19 wins and 10 losses.The Cavaliers signed the much-criticized Larry Hughes in the summer, and it's hard to say how much reinforcement has been made.Their greatest wealth is the growth of the little emperor LeBron James.As James matures, this team has gradually acquired the arrogance of the Eastern upstarts. In the game on December 12th, LeBron scored an astonishing 4+32+11+11.This kind of scary data is something that other players can't meet, but it's commonplace for LeBron. This is the third time in his career that he has scored 5+30+10.

Facing the little emperor who is in full swing, the Rockets really feel a little worried.Adelman is a good player in training offense, and Princeton's offense has also benefited the players a lot, but when it comes to defense, Adelman is not good at it.The Rockets also lack top 3D players in the true sense. Facing the strong LeBron, they can only let Jefferson and Turkoglu play their lives.

In an interview with reporters before the game, James said that the Rockets are a great championship team, and he is happy to accept the test of this top team.Although LeBron joined the league after graduating from high school, and his education is not high, he is well-mannered and well-spoken, and he is deeply loved by the media.

At noon on the day of the game, Wang Yuanfei's personal phone rang, and he answered it immediately. Those who had his number were all important members of the team, so there was no delay.

"Hi, Jason." A familiar voice came from the phone.

"Brother Ming, Cleveland isn't fun, is it boring?" Yuanfei answered the phone and heard that it was Yao Ming. He immediately relaxed a lot and said with a smile.

"Hey, Jason, I'm really not used to our head coach. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with Mr. Adelman. It's just that I'm not used to his Dugu Nine Swords-style coaching style." Yao Ming sighed.

"Oh, Ashuai really advocates letting players play freely. Isn't Tomjanovich the same?" Yuan Fei asked.

"Although Laotang also loves players and likes to pour chicken soup, at least he has more ideas on the spot. Now this old man, if you ask him how to play, he will say how he played when he won the championship last season, and how he plays now." Dayao asked eagerly: "I have nothing to complain about now, so I can only ask you. Quickly remind me, what should I do if I play against the Cavaliers?"

Yuan Fei laughed secretly. Dayao is a traditional Chinese thinking. He always thinks that the coach is the leader, and he should play according to the instructions of the leader.And Adelman feels that whether it is a player or a coach, it is all work, and everyone is equal in work, and it is impossible to talk about who directs whom.

"Ah Shuai is also training your ability to think about problems. You can't always try to push the problem to the coach. After all, only what you think about is instinctive, and it will be executed very smoothly on the court." Yuan Fei said: "But this time I will remind you. Who do you think is the most terrifying player in the Cavaliers?"

"Of course it's LeBron James." Yao Ming replied affirmatively.

"Where is LeBron's technical advantage? Where is the disadvantage?"

"According to experience, it's probably because he's very good at breaking through and making layups, but his shots at COSCO are average." Yao Ming replied hesitantly.

"That's right. LeBron's shooting percentage at the basket was an astonishing 72.5% last season, which is higher than most centers. In comparison, you were only 71.9% last season, and he was a little higher than you. And his big two-pointer is the main weakness, and he only shoots more than 40%." Yuan Fei analyzed: "Generally because his wrist skills are very good, but his elbows are not very flexible, and his shooting posture is not very standardized."

"That is to say, I want to focus on curbing his breakthrough layup and forcing him to shoot mid-range." Yao Ming seemed to understand.

"That's right, what LeBron is most afraid of is that a tall center interferes with his breakthrough layup. As long as you sit well on the basket, observe his movements, and help defend and block shots at the right time, that's enough." Seeing that Yao Ming has almost comprehended it, Yuan Fei came to a conclusion: "In addition, your main opponent is Ilgauskas. There is nothing to say, just blow him up."

"Understood!" Now that Yao Ming had an idea, he felt much more relaxed and happy.

As soon as the match started, Yao Ming straightened his mentality and made frame protection his top priority.LeBron's first breakthrough came up when he knocked out of the basket under the interference of his long arm. Bosh grabbed the rebound and immediately launched a fast break. Billups and Reid easily succeeded in two-on-one frontcourt.

With the Cavaliers lineup, it is not easy to reach the second place in the Eastern Conference.Larry Hughes suffered a severe finger injury and needed to recuperate for at least one and a half months.The remaining two guards, Eric Snow, can defend well, but his organization and scoring ability are not good; while Damon Jones can shoot three-pointers, and his defense is poor.Billups seized Jones' defensive weakness and hit hard, making consecutive breakthroughs and attracting the help of "Big Z" Ilgauskas, and then passed to Yao Ming.Yao Ming succeeded in a row in the inside line, and the big Z made two fouls early and was replaced for a rest.

When Big Z goes down, the pressure on Gooden will increase.Gooden and Yao Ming are students at the same level, but after a few years of being together, their performance is far from Yao and Stoudemire, and they can barely play the main force.Although he was much stronger than Bosh, he was far behind his opponent in speed, and was pulled out by Bosh to shoot several consecutive shots.

Seeing that his teammates were not good, LeBron finally became anxious.Although he has a good temper, he is also a master who is arrogant and unwilling to be subordinated to others. Otherwise, why did he come up with the story of "bringing talent to the south coast" later?Although the Rockets are strong, in his opinion, they will only be replaced by him sooner or later.And if this ball can interrupt the Rockets' 17-game winning streak, it will be a good signal for dynasty change.

When James was in a hurry, he went hard by himself. He hit a fadeaway jumper against Turkoglu's defense.After Billups returned a goal, James made another three-pointer.Lao Te frowned and was a little dejected, Yao Ming immediately encouraged his teammates loudly, so Lao Te insisted on forcing James to shoot some difficult shots.

Rational persistence will always be rewarded. LeBron missed 2 shots in a row.

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown saw that he couldn't do it, so he quickly transferred back to Big Z.Big Z can be regarded as the best player in the Cavaliers besides James, and the effect is immediate when he plays.James rushed to the basket. This time Yao Ming was still ready to block the block, but James made a pass to find the big Z behind Yao Ming. The latter was unmarked and dunked with both hands.

The tenacious style of the Cavaliers has been well reflected. The Rockets have just widened the point difference to double digits. Marshall, who came off the bench for the Cavaliers, received a pass from James and hit consecutive three-pointers to close the score.

But the Cavaliers rely on James to win the game. When his specialty breakthrough layup is suppressed by the Rockets, it is difficult for the Cavaliers to play at a comfortable pace.In particular, their overall lineup is still very weak, and they simply cannot fight against the Rockets with a deep bench throughout the game.When new players such as Roy and Spann came on the stage one after another, the point difference gradually widened.In the end, the Rockets defeated their opponents by 11 points. James scored 26+5+9. Although the challenge failed, he still saved his face.Yao Ming scored 19+10 and rewarded James with two big caps, both of which were on Fox Sports' top ten highlights of the day.

(The chapter number of the previous chapter was wrong, I am really sorry)

(End of this chapter)