basketball hero

Chapter 620
In the NBA, a team plays a tribute video for a player at home, which means that the player has paid a lot for the team, and it also reflects the player's status and identity.Although Bargnani is not considered a star in the league, he paid a lot for the Raptors and helped the team win the first championship trophy in team history.

The Raptors did not play a tribute video to Bosh that year, not to say that Bosh's contribution to the team is not as great as Bargnani.The reason lies in the different ways of leaving the team: Bosh voluntarily left the team when he was free, while Bargnani was traded by the team.

Bargnani really didn't expect the Raptors to make a special tribute video for him, so he was grateful.In the ensuing championship ring awarding session, he finally couldn't help it and choked up for a while.

The other Knicks players looked envious when they saw Bargnani get the championship ring.You know, how many players have never had the chance to get this highest honor that symbolizes the NBA team.

In this game, the Raptors at home, relying on Yingxiong's triple-double and 7 players scoring in double figures, easily defeated the Anthony-less Knicks and ushered in a two-game winning streak.

After the Raptors won this game, their record also came to 14 wins and 14 losses. The winning percentage finally reached 50%, ranking 8th in the Eastern Conference.In this way, their December games are all over. This can be regarded as a month of first decline and then rise, but fortunately they finally survived.

On January 1, the Raptors visited Chicago and challenged the Bulls away.In this game, relying on Ying Xiong's 1+39+9, they captured the Bulls away and ushered in a 9-game winning streak.

Now, the Raptors' record came to 15 wins and 14 losses, and the winning percentage finally exceeded 5%.

On January 1, the Raptors returned to their home court to face back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers, No. 2 in the Eastern Conference.This game has received high attention from the outside world. The reason is that this game is the defending champion VS the current No. [-] in the Eastern Conference and the new season encounter between the two sides in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

The Raptors have recovered and have a gratifying record recently, so their fans are very excited and look forward to this peak match against the Pacers.In their view, as long as the home team's state can return to the level of last season, even if the Pacers are temporarily ranked first in the Eastern Conference, why should they be afraid?
In this game, the starting lineup of the Raptors at home is: center: Valanciunas, power forward - Amir Johnson, small forward - DeMar DeRozan, shooting guard - Ying Xiong, organization Guard - Jeremy Lin.

The starting lineup of the Pacers in the away game is: center - Roy Hibbert, power forward - David West, small forward - Paul George, shooting guard - Lance Stephenson, point guard - George Hill.

It was Van Gundy Jr. and Pacers legend Reggie Miller who explained the game.

"Reggie, Indiana is in good shape this season, who do you prefer in this game?" Van Gundy said.

Miller said with a smile: "I don't know, haha, don't try to trick me, this kind of game, anyone can win."

Hibbert and Valanciunas prepare for the jump ball near the center circle, and the game begins quickly.

Valanciunas beat Hibbert with a jump ball, and Jeremy Lin dribbled the ball slowly across the half.

The starting lineup of the Pacers has not changed in any way from last season. Last season, when the two teams competed in the playoffs, they also had this lineup.The stability of the first-round starting lineup, they are definitely the top few in the league.

Jeremy Lin's high-position pick-and-roll, suddenly points to Yingxiong from the outside, and Yingxiong catches the ball and points to DeRozan.

Facing Stephenson's defense, DeRozan made an emergency stop jumper after breaking through with the ball-missed.

Hibbert took the rebound and handed it to George Hill.

For the Pacers, David West didn't have a mid-range jumper either!

Ying Xiong took the rebound and counterattacked with the ball himself. The frontcourt failed to form more plays and less plays, and Jeremy Lin sank down to play positions.

Valanciunas hits Hibbert under the basket and makes a mistake...

But here George Hill made a pass to the basket and Hibbert also made a mistake...

Neither team scored at the start, but each contributed a turnover.

"Both teams defended very tightly at the beginning, and it was still not easy to pass a simple screen and get an offensive opportunity!" Van Gundy explained.

"Indiana and Toronto's starting lineups are mainly based on positional offense, and they have height inside and defensive gates outside. It is not easy to score easily." Reggie Miller said.

Ying Xiong misses a jumper on the right without the ball using a screen to catch the ball!But Valanciunas made a tip-up from the basket!
Amidst the cheers of the fans at the scene, the Raptors scored the first 2 points of the game.

"Jonas's defense is not as good as Roy's, but in terms of offense, whether it is skill or offensive sense, he is above Roy!" Van Gundy said.

"As a European center forward, Jonas has solid basic offensive skills and skilled offensive footwork. What he lacks is a sense of position and experience on the defensive end!" Reggie Miller added.

David West used his footwork under the basket and made a layup that caused a foul by Amir Johnson.

David West went to the free throw line and made two free throws.

The two sides draw!

Every time the Raptors meet the Pacers, they don't score very high, and their offensive tempo and number of possessions have dropped a lot compared to their season averages.The overall number of fouls is a little more than usual, which shows the intensity of the confrontation.

The Pacers have a strong defensive ability in every position, so the Raptors are also having a hard time offensively.When tactics are difficult to work, only the personal abilities of the stars can be used to solve the problem.

Ying Xiong held the ball on the left wing and faced his old opponent Paul George. He took a tentative step and quickly lowered his center of gravity to break through. Quinas, the latter made an easy layup!
"The response speed is faster than Paul, so it is difficult for Paul to limit him one-on-one!" Reggie Miller said.

"In my opinion, Ying just passed the ball behind the head, and the rhythm and timing were controlled just right. When the opponent couldn't help defend in place, Yunus, who has excellent finishing ability at the basket, received the basketball at that position. And It's not that Paul didn't defend well enough, it was too fast!" Van Gundy said.

Paul George's style of play is a bit like McGrady in the second half of his career. He is very floating and mainly shoots. Because of his height, his speed is not fast and his center of gravity is high, so it is difficult to play without a cover. Forcibly break through.

Here George Hill missed a 3-pointer.

Jeremy Lin grabbed the long rebound and directly scored DeRozan, who was going down the frontcourt. The latter caught the ball and made a layup, which caused Stephenson's foul!

DeRozan walked to the free throw line and made two free throws steadily!

"Jeremy's defense is not as good as George's, but in terms of passing and transitioning offensive organizational ability, he is above George!" Van Gundy said.

(End of this chapter)