basketball hero

Chapter 441
This season, the Raptors have played against the Pacers twice and defeated their opponents both times.It's just that the previous two matches were at the Raptors' home court, and the third game of this campaign was at the Pacers' home court.

Needless to say, both teams will attach great importance to this game.You must know that in the playoffs, home court advantage is very important, especially if two teams with similar strengths accidentally hit the tiebreaker, the team with home court advantage will have a clear advantage.

In the NBA, there is often the term "home dragon, away worm", but there are very few examples of the reverse. This also reflects from another aspect that the vast majority of players still play better at home.Not to mention the whistle and other factors.

For the Raptors, this game is not easy to play. The Pacers' defense is among the top in the league, and their defense is not only good, but also tough. The five players in the starting lineup have no defensive weakness. This is extremely rare among the 5 teams in the NBA.What's more, the team's No. 30 pick center Bargnani will not be able to play this game due to injury, which is even worse for them who are not strong inside.

For Xiong, this is a test. How to win a victory at the opponent's home court that is related to the team's playoff ranking is very important.Not to mention that winning would have a huge boost to team morale.

The Pacers arranged for Yingxiong players with both athletic ability and perfect flank physique like Granger and Paul George, and there were also giants like Lance Stephenson and Dengtai Jones on the bench.

Facing such a Pacers, for Yingxiong and his Raptors, it seems that as long as they back down, they will be torn to pieces by their opponents.

In this game, the starting lineup of the Pacers at home is: center - Roy Hibbert, power forward - David West, small forward - Danny Granger, shooting guard - Paul George, point guard -- George Hill.

The starting lineup of the Raptors in the away game is: center-Along Gray, power forward-Amir Johnson, small forward-DeRozan, shooting guard-Ying Xiong, point guard-Calderon.

Judging from the starting lineups of both sides, except for the position of Yingxiong, the Raptors can hardly take advantage of the other 4 positions, and they are completely blown by the opponent in terms of defense.

——However, a basketball game is not a sport in which the final result can be judged by looking at the lineup on paper.

Hibbert and Allong Gray jump the ball around the middle circle.This game is very important to both sides, so the fans at the scene also felt the strong tension on the scene. Some fans didn't even dare to show their atmosphere, and stared at the center of the field closely, for fear of missing any wonderful moments.

Game start!
Hibbert beat Aaron Gray with a jump ball, and George Hill slowly dribbled the ball across half court.

The Pacers' offense is not strong, and the offensive rhythm is not fast, especially when the big center Hibbert is there, they also play half-court positions.Like the Grizzlies, they are both defensive teams, and the two insiders also attack and defend.

Compared with last season, Granger's state has declined this season, but he is not bad, averaging close to 20 points per game.He is not that kind of superstar, regardless of ability and temperament.In fact, the most suitable role for him is a 2 head, or even a 3 head, but in the Pacers, a team that lacks superstars, he was kicked out and became the number one star.

Ying Xiong defends Granger.The two have faced each other in the previous two games this season, and Granger has lost to his opponent both times in terms of individual performance and team performance.

Granger's technical characteristics are still mainly shooting, and his ability to hold the ball is not bad on the wing, but under Ying Xiong's defense, he cannot easily get rid of it.

Here, Granger holds the ball and changes direction to attack Yingxiong with his left hand, but the opponent predicts it in place in advance and loses a good opportunity to get rid of his body.

David West came up to pick and roll, the Raptors quickly switched defenses, Granger singled Amir Johnson, missed a jumper...

Ying Xiong stuck his position, accepted the rebound, and advanced with the ball himself.

In this game, the Pacers made defensive adjustments. They no longer let Granger defend Yingxiong, but let the more athletic and younger Paul George defend.

Paul George has very good physical fitness, excellent height and wingspan, and has the physical conditions to become a superstar.The rare thing is that in the Pacers, he started from 3D, started as a defense, and has a bright future.

Ying Xiong also likes the player Paul George very much. He feels that the opponent is somewhat similar to himself back then.It's just that I was arranged by the team to play 3D, but my biggest advantage is holding the ball instead of off the ball.

Ying Xiong held the ball to the top of the arc on the right, faced Paul George's defense, and suddenly made a scalpel-like pass, which was skillfully passed to Along Gray who was in the open position under the basket.

But unfortunately, Along Gray was too slow, and when he turned around to take off and dunk, the ball was cut off by George Hill who was flying over.To make matters worse, the cut ball still hit the baseline out of his calf...

Even though he was as calm as Coach Casey, he couldn't help but shook his head slightly. He felt a little helpless about Along Gray wasting Yingxiong's second pass.But this is the talent of the current team. Without Bargnani, the center forwards available to the team are either too old or too incompetent.

Here Roy Hibbert made a hook under the basket, and there was none.

Both sides played a little tight at the beginning, which made the game feel bad.In addition, the defense of the two teams is very targeted, which makes their offensive efficiency even lower.

Three minutes into the first quarter, the score between the two sides was still 3:0, and the fans at the scene were literally watching an "iron duel".

Ying Xiong held the ball from the top of the arc, facing Paul George's strict defense, with the help of Along Gray's pick-and-roll, took a step laterally, and made a 3-pointer-finally hit!
Under the circumstances that both sides could not find the hand feeling collectively, the core of the Raptors Yingxiong used his personal ability to forcibly hit the first 3 points of the game, officially kicking off the prelude to the battle between the two sides.

On the Pacers side, Danny Granger is locked by Ying Xiong, and the ball will be handed more to the waist power forward David West.

David West partnered with the league's top point guard Paul in the Hornets for several seasons, and he has developed an excellent offensive skill.Whether it is low singles or high shooting, he has certain attainments.His playing time and average points per game this season have declined compared with his time in the Hornets. On the one hand, the team has more people who can use this position; The difficulty of scoring has increased a lot.

——After all, George Hill's organizational ability is more than one level behind Paul's.

(End of this chapter)