Zhiba NBA

Chapter 66 (65) Reinforced debut

The Lakers who returned to Staples are not afraid of the Rockets at all. In the last round, they returned to the home court under the unfavorable situation of 0-2 and started the winning streak. They killed the mighty defending champion Spurs in straight sets.This 1-1 tie grabbed the home court advantage, the Lakers certainly have confidence.After all, the Lakers strengthened a lot last summer, while the Rockets' lineup hasn't changed much.

If the Rockets have made the biggest improvement compared to last year, it should be Yao Ming's growth.Last season, the Rockets mainly used Yao Ming to play O'Neal's backup center when he was resting, and tried their best to use Okur and Wang Zhizhi to open up O'Neal.In this series, Tang Shuai did the opposite, arranging for Yao Ming to beat O'Neal head-on, trying to form a match.In the last game, O'Neal only grabbed 7 rebounds, and Yao Ming's ability to fight has improved significantly after gaining weight.Every time they competed for rebounds, the two men fought hand-to-hand and interfered with each other under the basket, causing most of the rebounds to fall into the hands of other players.

The third game was still arranged like this. As a result, Okur became the beneficiary. He scored a double-double of 16+10.But for the Lakers, Malone scored 30+13, and Okur, Bosh, and Wang Zhizhi could hardly defend against this veteran who will be 41 years old in two months.

In the last 6 seconds, the Lakers relied on Malone's free throw to seal the victory. With Tracy McGrady's final three-pointer, the Lakers won 97:101 and took a 2-1 lead.

The seasoned Zen master is also secretly proud. The Lakers and the Rockets are too familiar with many confrontations. Now the Rockets are basically out of cards, but the Zen master can cleverly use the aggressive method to stimulate the bloodthirsty Kobe, and then use Malone's body and technical advantages to blow up the Rockets.If the Rockets can't make any changes to deal with it, they will die.

Can the Rockets make any changes?

At the beginning of the fourth game, the Rockets started with the original five players, Yao Porter McBee.The Zen master couldn't help sneering inwardly, this rocket is really out of luck, Lao Tang has played all his cards.

The Lakers also repeated the same trick. Kobe Bryant and George Payton stretched beyond the three-point line on the first ball. O'Neal also pulled Yao Ming to the weak side and handed Malone a single in the ribs to play Bosh.The Rockets were torn apart by the Lakers. Only Yao Ming was closer to Bosh, but he was firmly stuck in the position by O'Neal.

How can Shoubo resist Malone's tendons, he forced his position to the basket, got up and made a 0:2 shot.As Zen Master reminded him before, although Malone is not good at pushing back, it is still more than enough to squeeze Bosh.

Billups showed no sign of weakness, and immediately assisted Turkoglu to make a successful shot.The two sides came and went, and the game lasted until 13:17. The Rockets called a timeout, and Tang Shuai made some arrangements and came off the bench.The Lakers were surprised, Wallace came!
Speaking of the American Wallace, he was injured in the regular season against the Kings on March 3, and finally returned after a long break.At this moment, Wallace is full of thoughts of repaying the trust that the team has given him.

***
20 days ago, Dawson and Yuan Fei interviewed Wallace.

"After careful consideration and observation of your injury situation, the team has now decided on the 12-man roster for the playoffs." Yuan Fei said.

"It's okay, I'm mentally prepared." Wallace smiled wryly. He felt that he should not be able to make the playoffs.

"The team's roster for the playoffs this season includes: Tracy, Yao, Chauncey, Heaton, Mehmet, Richard, Tony, Wang, Michael, Chris, Joe, and—" Dawson paused while reading: "You, Gerrard."

Wallace was dumbfounded. The team is really willing to leave a place for him while he is still injured?He said awkwardly: "What about the captain? Is he not playing in the playoffs?"

"This time Hakim took the initiative to mention it to the team management. His back injury is already serious. Although he is capable of returning to play for a short time, he may be injured again at any time." Yuan Fei said: "So he hopes to give up the position to you, or Monk. In the end, the team decided to give you the position."

"The team has given enough trust to young players, and I hope you can repay the team with your performance on the court." Dawson smiled kindly.He looked at Wallace as he looked at his own son.The old Dawson is also approaching the age of retirement. He has dedicated his life to the team and only hopes that the young players can work together to win the championship for the team.

"Yes, I know." Gerald Wallace, a tough guy, actually cried at this moment.

(Small knowledge: In this era, each NBA team can only report 12-man rosters in the playoffs, and they cannot be replaced at will. Only serious injuries that cause active players to miss more than 3 games can apply for substitutions. Therefore, Wallace attaches great importance to this 12-man roster, which is related to whether they can play in the playoffs. This rule was changed to 06 players in 13.)
***
Wallace shoulders a heavy responsibility when he comes on the court-marking Kobe.Yuan Fei couldn't help thinking that Wallace never suffered from Kobe in his previous life. Although it is impossible to completely contain the superstar Kobe in terms of statistics, there are still more wins and fewer losses.

McGrady made a mid-range shot and narrowed the point difference.The Lakers once again handed over to Malone, who has the greatest grasp of offense, he hit Okur hard and turned around to make a jump shot.Wallace suddenly stepped in to help defend and slapped the ball away.

Billups got the ball and made a fast break, tying 17.

Payton dribbled the ball and commanded his teammates to move, and suddenly sent the ball to Fox. Wallace's magical soldier made a steal from the sky and succeeded in stealing the ball. Payton followed but failed to prevent him from scoring.

There was a burst of applause from the Rockets bench, and Tang Shuai nodded in satisfaction.That's it. Although Wallace's shooting ability is mediocre, he provides the Rockets with defense and vitality that other players cannot replace.You did the right thing by keeping him on the list!

The Zen master gritted his teeth angrily.This was the case last year. When the Lakers were about to crush the Rockets, a big shooter Wang Zhizhi stood on their bench and led the Rockets' bench to shoot through the Lakers' bench lineup.This year is when the Lakers are dominant again. The Rockets raised the defensive gate Wallace from the injury number, which changed the situation again.He was so angry that he wanted to stomp his feet, but he had nowhere to vent, so he could only loudly instruct Peyton to be steady.

Payton was not discouraged, and he still insisted on implementing the tactics and kept feeding the ball to Malone, who hit Okur again and again.But I don't know if it was overshadowed by Wallace's help defense. Malone's success rate was not high these few times.

As Reed's buzzer shot was blocked by Payton, the first quarter ended and the Rockets overtook the score at 23:22.

　Elvis Presley came back to save the team!The bus also explained that he will not play this season.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)