King of the Point Guard Era

Chapter 76 Battier's Defense
"Andre, guard against his long-range shot. After breaking through, try to hand it over to Whiteside and Cousins ​​to solve it. Try not to foul again." Westphal told Iguodala, Iguodala Godala is not only a defensive champion, but also the team's second ball-handling point and third scorer. Without him, the Kings will allow the opponent to further double-team He Yixiang.Then he replaced Cousins ​​and let Yi Jianlian play. Just now in the first quarter, he mainly played the inside line, which consumed a lot of Cousins. He didn't want to add this core name to his injury list.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the voice of the Kings was getting louder and louder. Martin was a little jealous. When he was still in the Kings, the Kings almost never had such a situation.He Yixiang is still defended by Sean Battier. The player who led Duke University to the 2001 NCAA championship has completely transformed in the NBA and has become a typical 3D player.Relying on astute judgment and excellent awareness, he has spent his entire NBA career playing against some of the most athletic perimeter players on the planet.And he has excellent defense, he is a player who can really defend from the 1st position to the 4th position.

To be honest, this guy in front of him made He Yixiang feel very irritated. Don't look at the 9 points and 3 assists in the first quarter, but this is when Cousins ​​​​attracted double-teams in the interior. Now that Cousins ​​is off, it is exactly When the two faced off, it was a duel between the two MOPs of 01 and 10.He Yixiang shook his center of gravity several times in a row.Battier's height of 201cm is 6 centimeters taller than that of He Yixiang. He Yixiang doesn't have the ability to make a strong shot against him if he doesn't sway the space.

Immediately, He Yixiang decided to rely on his speed to pass him, forcing his way to the left. Battier stepped aside and leaned against He Yixiang with his body.When he was about to rush to the penalty area, He Yixiang was surprised to find that the guy in front of him was not fast, but he still didn't lose his position until now.When He Yixiang rushed up, he used a little physical confrontation to slow down He Yixiang's speed.He Yixiang had no choice but to pass it to Iguodala, who was responding on the right. Fortunately, Iguodala's big heart buff was triggered at this moment, and it took only three seconds to directly hit Martin with a strong three-pointer and succeed.

Iguodala, who scored the goal, was not very excited. He seemed to see that He Yixiang was defended badly. Sure enough, He Yixiang encountered setbacks whether he was running without the ball or attacking with the ball. He made 5 of 6 shots in 2 minutes and made 6 of 5 free throws and only contributed 1 points. Yi Jianlian and Hyde, who came up as a substitute, Udrih, both felt average. The two made [-] of [-] shots together.

The Rockets also took advantage of the situation to chase points. Scola began to explode, showing the diamond dance steps from Argentina in front of Yi Jianlian, holding the ball with his back in singles, first turning to the left to attract attention, then quickly turning to the right and scoring a fadeaway jumper.Yi Jianlian didn't react at all.Then, when Yi Jianlian was attracted to come out to defend, Lowry quickly made an empty cut. Lowry also passed the ball directly with quick hands.

Miller made an air cut and went inside to receive a high-throw pass from Martin and succeeded in an alley-catch dunk. The Kings, one of the alley-catch teams this season, was scored in the best way by others, which directly stopped the Kings. Miller He and Martin happily bumped their chests to celebrate.The two former kings played well in the second quarter, and Scola took on the task of chasing points. The rocket hit a climax of 18:8 and overtook the king by 40:39 by one point.

"He Yixiang was restricted a bit in the second quarter! As expected of Battier! Recently, he was selected to the best defensive team for two consecutive years." Zhang Weiping also saw He Yixiang's state.

"Indeed, although Battier's defensive data has not been obvious, he is indeed a very good defensive player. The vote for the best defensive player in 08 was ranked third, and the vote for the best defensive player in 09 was ranked fourth. It’s Kobe, top superstars like Wade have a headache when they meet him.” Yang Yi also nodded in agreement, “I think Westphal’s top priority is to replace He Yixiang first and let Cousins ​​continue to lead the team. He Yixiang rested while resting. It’s also good to find a way to break the defense.”

Sure enough, as expected, He Yixiang played for 17 consecutive minutes and then took a break. Iguodala also left the court. Now Cousins ​​is leading the team alone.Fortunately, the other four, Udrih, Hyde, Casspi, and Yi Jianlian, all have three-point ability, which is enough to help him open up space.

"He, take a rest first, and study Battier's defense by the way, and you will have to tear through the defense later." Seeing He Yixiang feeling a little lonely, Westphal stepped forward to comfort him.This game cannot be supported by Cousins ​​alone, and two people must play at the same time.

He Yixiang also nodded seriously, looking at the white ocean at home, but he was determined in his heart that this game must bring a victory to the fans who came to watch the game.As the core of conventional tactics, I didn't perform well, so I must stop being so depressed.Battier's defensive style is different from Iguodala's in team training, and He Yixiang is also thinking carefully about how to better get past this kind of defense off the court.

On the court, Cousins ​​is still a dominant player in the interior. Cousins, who had enough rest, expressed his dissatisfaction with Miller just now when he secretly scored 6 points in a row and had an empty dunk without him. Just teach him a lesson, hold the ball directly outside the three-point line, and lean on Miller like a strong small forward for a three-step layup. The Rockets never expected that Cousins ​​​​could be so strong. No one could catch up.

In the next round, Cousins ​​was still holding the ball at the top of the three-point line. Miller was afraid of Cousins' strong attack, so he let go of a step to leave room for filling. Unexpectedly, Cousins ​​raised his hand and shot a three-pointer.Because of the King's weakness inside and He Yixiang's ability to hold the ball outside, the league seems to forget that Cousins ​​is a big killer even without He.As soon as he played, he scored 5 points to suppress the momentum of the Rockets.Everyone stood up in their seats and chanted Cousins' name.

In the last 3 minutes of the half, He Yixiang also appeared on the field again, but now Cousins ​​is in a good state on the field. He Yixiang mainly relies on precise three-pointers to play a certain role in the outside line, playing more off the ball, and putting his physical strength to the next level. Stay in the third quarter.Looking at Battier in front of me, wait, the third quarter is when we will decide the winner.

In the second quarter, Cousins ​​scored 11 points and 3 assists again, dragging the Kings forward almost by himself, allowing the Kings to still lead by 58 points at 52:6 after halftime. Before halftime, Cousins Adams even had a little collapse after scoring the last goal.For a big center who weighs 125KG and played 20 minutes in half, it can be said to be an exaggerated playing time.Over the playing time is not only a physical problem, he also suffered three fouls.

Cousins ​​had a premonition that he might have to rest off the court for a long time in the third quarter, so he raised his head and said to He Yixiang, "He, the third quarter is up to you!"

"Don't worry! With me here, I won't lose. I'll wait for you to come back."

(End of this chapter)