Soul of the Golden State

Chapter 791 Never Satisfied
On May 5, the Warriors ushered in their second game against the Rockets at home.

The first defeat was beyond everyone's expectations. No one expected that the Warriors would lose the first game of the series at home.

For a long time, the Warriors have rarely lost at home in the playoffs. One reason is that the Warriors are generally stronger. It is difficult to give the Warriors a good limit, which often makes the Warriors go crazy in the first game.

Generally, after being hanged in the first game, some countermeasures are found, and then there is a chance to defeat the Warriors.

However, this year's Rockets did not waste the first game, they are quite well prepared.

In defense, relying on Olajuwon's super defensive ability, the Rockets successfully protected their penalty area. As a result, in the first game, the Warriors scored only 41% of the points inside the three-point line, which was less than before. nearly 20 percentage points.

Don't look at the Warriors who are known for their outside shots on weekdays, but when you really look at the distribution of shots, the percentage of shots in the basket area is very high.

It is not difficult to understand that it is precisely because the threat of three-pointers from the outside is too great that the defensive team must expand outwards, making it easier for the Warriors to break into the penalty area and score close to the basket.

However, when facing the Rockets this time, the effect of the usual trick is greatly reduced. The main reason is Olajuwon's defense.

As for Olajuwon's defense, the Warriors are indeed quite a headache.

For Olajuwon, the Warriors are no strangers to the whole team. It has been nearly 10 years since they have played against Olajuwon one after another.

But Olajuwon's performance in the playoffs this year made everyone feel that Olajuwon seems to have stepped up to a higher level, even better than when he won the MVP season last year.

Therefore, after the first loss, there was a heated discussion within the Warriors, and everyone had a lot of discussions about how to play against the Rockets next.

Finally, after some discussion, Nelson made up his mind.

When the first five players played tonight, what surprised the fans was that Rodman actually sat on the bench, and the position of power forward was replaced by Robert Horry.

Since Rodman officially became the starter in the third year, Rodman's starting position has almost never been shaken in these years, whether it is Schramf, Anthony Mason or Antonio Davis. Rodman's starting position.

However, in such an important playoff game today, the Warriors actually put Rodman on the bench. How can this not be surprising?
You know, among the first five players of the Warriors, the importance of Rodman can be said to be second only to Li Weisi. He is the core of the Warriors' defense and guarantees rebounds. Everyone has thought that the Warriors will make substitutions, but more is thinking about it. , The Warriors will replace Divac with PJ Brown. After all, Brown's defense is better, but no one thought that the Warriors would replace Rodman.

In fact, not only the fans were so surprised, but even the opponents on the court were so surprised that Olajuwon almost lost to Divac in the jump ball.

Fortunately, it is not allowed in terms of strength. Although Olajuwon took off late, he bounced fast and still hit the ball before Divac.

The Rockets took the lead in attacking. After Kenny Smith dribbled the ball through halftime, he immediately handed the ball to Olajuwon, who was in the inside position. Obviously, the Rockets still planned to play from the inside first.

After receiving the ball, Olajuwon once again successfully got rid of Divac's defense with his footsteps, and made an easy layup. The first goal at the beginning was almost the same as the previous game, and it looked no different.

Then it was the Warriors' turn to attack. Li Weisi and Divac broke into the penalty area after a pick-and-roll, and directly chose to split the ball to the bottom line.

After receiving the pass, Horry immediately chose a three-point shot. The defender Murray’s position tonight is the same as the previous game, but he ignored one point. His defender tonight has changed from Rodman, It was replaced by Horry, who made 38% of his three-pointers.

Therefore, until Horry completes the shot, Murray has not even been able to take off.

Horry lived up to everyone's expectations. He replaced Rodman as the starter. Horry was under much more pressure than he showed. Fortunately, Horry was born with a big heart, and his anti-stress attributes were almost full. The first shot on the field, a hollow hit.

In just the first offensive round, Horry showed his worth, and made those fans who supported Rodman at home obediently shut up.

Don't underestimate Rodman's fan base. In today's Warriors team, Rodman's popularity is second only to Li Weisi and Mullin, ranking third, even higher than Richmond.

His maverick, perverse temperament, eccentric dress, and various scandals have allowed him to gain a large number of fans. Coupled with the Warriors, a spotlight-focused platform, Rodman's name has already resounded all over the world, let alone Fans of the United States are fans of all skin colors all over the world.

Among them, there is even a student studying at an international school in Bern, Switzerland.

However, all dissatisfaction was suppressed with Horry's goal, and more people focused on the game.

In this game, the two sides are still playing very anxiously. Due to the lack of the ubiquitous Rodman inside, the breakthrough success rate of the Rockets' outside players has increased by more than one level.

In addition, in the offense, Horry also opened up more offensive space for the Warriors. It seems that there are advantages and disadvantages, and the situation in the previous game is no different.

It didn't get better, it didn't get worse, it can only be counted as a substitution that failed to achieve the desired goal.

Olajuwon's performance tonight is still extremely brave, and he stands out from the crowd on the entire court, even surpassing Li Weisi.

Compared with Olajuwon, Li Weisi's performance after the opening was indeed a bit dull. He seemed to have a thin sense of presence, and he seemed to hope that his teammates would exert their strength.

But even so, at the end of the first quarter, he scored 8 points and 4 assists. From the data point of view, his performance was not bad.

It's a pity that people's expectations for Li Weisi are not just good. Once this game loses, the Warriors will face a 0:2 big score behind and the opponent's two home games, so this is a game that must be won.

And in this kind of game, as the ace of the team, Li Weisi still does not stand up to turn the tide. Watching Olajuwon turn the tide on the court, no fan will be satisfied with this.

However, the fans know the situation facing the Warriors, and Li Weisi knows even more that the reason why he restrained his edge is to observe and wait, waiting for an opportunity that can completely break the situation.

(End of this chapter)