Superstar Athletes’ Black Tech Systems

This season, free throws have become a very important means of scoring for James Harden.

In the regular season that has ended, he has won a total of 792 free throw attempts, ranking first in the league.

Dwight Howard once occupied the first place in free throws for a long time, but his shooting percentage is doomed that his scoring efficiency will not be high.

Harden is different. He is another guard who ranks first in the league in free throws since the 2006-2007 season.

The last one was Kobe Bryant.

Harden can score 8.6 points on the free throw field, second only to Kevin Durant, because Durant's free throw percentage is a little higher.

Behind the two, one is Kobe, and then Russell Westbrook.

Well, there is still some reason for these three people to be honored as the Three Whistleblowers of Thunder.

Of course, drawing fouls is a way to use the rules to score, and any good NBA scorer is a master of all.

Adrian Dantley is far away, Paul Pierce and Kevin Martin are close.

Harden stood on the free throw line and made two free throws, allowing the Rockets to continue scoring.

However, in the playoffs, it may not be so easy to make fouls like in the regular season.

Bryant had little interest in drawing fouls, targeting the rim, not the opponent's hands or body.

The reason why he can get so many free throws is mainly because the opponent is afraid of being hit, and it is too much to watch without fouling.

Bryant ate two fouls on Harden, obviously angry.

In the next round, Kobe caught the ball from the outside, used the double screens of Li Liang and Howard to go inside, and hit a throw from a master Asik!

At 37:26, the point difference is still in double digits.

For the Rockets, if the point difference cannot be narrowed as soon as possible, then the game will be a slow death.

Ground warfare is not their specialty, the Rockets must play out the speed.

After Beverly came on the court, the Rockets had an extra point on the outside that could handle the ball and shoot three-pointers.

They gave up the fight for offensive rebounds inside.

Although Smith had an amazing performance against the Lakers before, this is the playoffs after all.

Jeremy Lin handed the ball to Harden after halftime, and it was still Kobe to Harden.

Asik came out to do a pick-and-roll screen, but Howard didn't follow at all. After the screen, Harden found a gap from the middle, and Nash came over to block it.

Harden immediately sent the ball to Jeremy Lin on the wing, and Jeremy Lin had an open three-point shot!

But Li Liang rushed over from the bottom corner immediately, and Jeremy Lin's three-pointer was interfered and missed.

Asik got the offensive rebound and passed the ball to Parsons.

Parsons took a step forward, not daring to go up by himself, because Ci Shiping was on guard.

After a few passes, the Lakers' defensive matchup was completely messed up.

But it doesn't matter, everyone performs their duties, even if they are misplaced, with the size and defensive experience of the Lakers players, as long as it is not Nash, they are not afraid.

Parsons still passed the ball to Jeremy Lin, and Jeremy Lin still had a three-pointer.

He shot very decisively, but unfortunately he still missed.

Playing in the playoffs for the first time, Jeremy Lin's hands were too tight.

The ball didn't feel right as soon as it was released, and the shooting action was a bit out of joint.

Howard grabbed the backcourt rebound, Nash held the ball across half court, Metta Shiping had a chance to single Harden in the low post on the left.

The two happened to be facing each other, maybe because he was afraid of Ci Shiping's elbow greeting, Harden took a step back.

But Ci Shiping was not fooled, he received a pass, turned inside to kill the basket, pushed Asik and hit the layup and succeeded!

39:26, that's how the playoffs are played.

McHale called a timeout again, almost halfway through the second quarter, and the Rockets hadn't broken 30 points yet.

In the regular season, the Rockets have gained a foothold in the league with fast-paced whirlwinds. In terms of scoring average, they are second only to the Denver Nuggets, ranking second in the league with an average of 106 points per game.

It is only 0.1 points less than the league's No. 1 Nuggets.

They unquestionably lead the league in 3-point attempts and are tied for first with the New York Knicks.

Their assists are also among the top five in the league, and they can be said to be an out-and-out offensive team.

Now their offense can't be played, and they scored 26 points in one and a half quarters. How can they play this way?

Three-pointers so far Harden hits one and Garcia hits one.

Several other attempts were made, none of which hit.

Mike Brown undoubtedly noticed the Rockets' three-pointer in the pre-match preparation meeting, so he focused on one-on-one defensive strategy, did not shrink easily, and maintained pressure outside the three-point line.

Except for Harden, the Rockets players themselves are not strong in attacking with the ball, and there is no low-post attacking point.

Relying on quick offensive and defensive transitions, the foothold is not stable, and the three-pointer is added to improve efficiency.

Once the speed is choked, the rocket loses momentum.

McHale knew that this was a manifestation of the strength gap between the two sides, and no matter how they were adjusted, it would be difficult to have immediate results.

However, he still made a substitution, letting Delfino and Garcia play two veterans, replacing Parsons and Jeremy Lin.

In the playoffs, the veteran is still more reliable.

Parsons and Jeremy Lin were almost handled by Li Liang alone in the first half.

He first defended Jeremy Lin directly in the backcourt, preventing him from accelerating past halftime.

After halftime, switch defenses with Nash.

With that point of possession, Parsons couldn't seize the opportunity to play Nash in a misplaced position.

Once Li Liang is replaced, Parsons will be even more unable to fight.

His fake shot with the ball looks more realistic than that of Beatrence Jones.

Li Liang didn't eat at all, he even had the energy to help defend the inside line.

After Delfino played, the pressure on Li Liang will be greater.

Delfino has a more comprehensive style of play and rich experience, and is an important ball-holding point on the Rockets' bench.

The Rockets must first score in the positional offense, otherwise they will be counterattacked continuously, and the gap will grow wider and wider.

After Delfino appeared on the stage, it had an immediate effect.

After he entered the inside with the help of a screen, he made a clever pass to the basket when he was double-teamed. Asik caught the ball and dunked with both hands.

In comparison, the Lakers have a lot more offensive routines.

There are at least five different tactics such as giving the ball to Kobe, giving the ball to Nash, giving the ball to Howard, giving the ball to Ci Shiping, and giving the ball to Li Liang, as well as various tactics derived from it.

In this regard, head coach Mike Brown is almost ignorant.

Never mind him, just grasp the general direction.

This time, Nash handed the ball to Kobe. Kobe's offensive choices in the playoffs were more cautious and meticulous than in the regular season.

After Delfino and Garcia played, the Rockets' defensive end slowed down.

Harden is protected on the weak side and will not let him defend Kobe. The one-on-one with Kobe is Beverly.

This short, energetic little guard is a typical trash dog player.

The defensive end is extremely hard, the offensive end is very good at grabbing offensive rebounds, and he has a good three-pointer.

It is a good choice to use him to deal with Kobe, but his body is not enough.

The figure is not enough, it depends on the vitality.

Kobe caught the ball with his back against him, and he kept hitting the ball with his hands to interfere with Kobe.

But how could Kobe be afraid of this little interference, he made a look at the weak side.

Nash was on the weak side, running to the middle to set a screen for Bryant.

Point guards on screens are rare, but not uncommon.

For example, when Stockton was in the Jazz, he was very good at providing pick-and-roll screens for Malone.

The point of this screen is to bring Harden over.

If Beverley squeezes past, Kobe will go straight to the basket and attack Harden.

If Beverly bypasses, then at the free throw line, Kobe will definitely hit directly.

Delfino wants to come over to help defend? Li Liang was lying in ambush in the corner, and his three-pointer was deadly.

For the Rockets' defense, this is a dilemma, and they don't even have time to think about it.

Beverly chose to squeeze through, trying to get in early to protect Harden.

But Kobe entered the three-second zone like a snake, and Harden could only defend.

The insider Asik was pulled away by Howard.

As a result, Kobe pressed Harden to the layup, scored two points and caused Harden to foul!

Harden has nothing to do with the ball, so he can't watch Kobe make a layup.

And Kobe wanted to induce Harden to foul, so the pace was adjusted just right.

There was an additional penalty for scoring. Kobe stood at the free throw line and made an additional penalty.

Kobe looked at Harden and said to himself that you kid wants to fight with me, and you are a little tender.