start with scouting

Chapter 731 Three Philosophical Questions
NO.14 of the next day, the game day between the Kings and the Rockets.

Su Yang arrived at the Toyota Center at 04:30 in the afternoon, arranged the training content, and went to the media center for pre-match interviews as usual.

"ESPN released the prediction results of 21 commentators at noon, and 11 of them are optimistic about the promotion of the Kings. The main reason is that Giannis' absence will not affect your offensive and defensive system. In an away game, encouraged by the previous reversal of the Spurs, it is easy to win after Giannis returns, what do you think?"

How could Antetokounmpo not affect the offensive and defensive system?
The reporter is suspected of digging a hole.

Alienation meter?
Su Yang chuckled: "Giannis is very important to us. They are the core of our defense and an important part of our offensive and defensive transition. Thank you so many people for being optimistic about us. As for whether it matters if we are behind 0 to 2, I don't know for the time being. But with Giannis back, I'm sure I'll be stronger, and this series has nothing to do with the Spurs, it's a separate event."

The reporter asked again: "Until now, Bill Simmons, Scottie Pippen and others have not commented on the Kings and Rockets series. Some people think that they were embarrassed by the Kings' 4-3 reversal. What do you think? That kind of statement?"

When the series started, many commentators who were very active on platforms such as Twitter chose to remain silent.

The main king is too slapped. There has never been a 0-3 reversal in NBA history, so let the king break the tradition.

Even if Brother Antetokounmpo was absent, a group of Jingyu who like to play tricks quietly chose to remain silent. After all, if fans remember this kind of thing more times, the professional label will be greatly reduced, and it will easily lose traffic. plate.

Su Yang suppressed a smile: "In my opinion, whether the prediction is correct or the prediction is wrong, it is a normal thing.

There is a tendency to make predictions. It is nonsense to say that both teams have a chance to win. I appreciate their courage to make predictions. As for their predictions being wrong, it does not affect their professionalism. I thought Curry would explode after his comeback , As a result, Curry's efficiency in four consecutive games failed to reach the normal level, and I was wrong in my prediction, but I am still professional! "

"Last question, in the announcement of the best team and the best defensive team in the morning, Giannis was selected to the best team and the best defensive team at the same time, and there are predictions that he is expected to win the best defensive player, do you think he is in those progress?"

Su Yang shrugged slightly: "To be honest, in my opinion, he was the best first defense and first team last season, but the honor selection is delayed most of the time, and he contributed so much to the team that last season He didn’t get much personal recognition this season, and as you said, he’s still making progress, and for him, the sky is the limit.”

After the interview, return to the arena.

Brother Antetokounmpo was explaining the offensive and defensive strategies formulated by the coaching staff to the generals of the king. Su Yang stood by and listened for a while, and found that Brother Antetokounmpo was not thinking clearly. He just recounted what he had memorized without forming his own understanding. It was a rote back.

It is also understandable that among the many players in the NBA, there are only a few who can really read the game and organize teammates. Antetokounmpo can learn as much as he can. He does not want to be an offensive and defensive commander like Paul. It is OK to remind his teammates on the defensive end.

At seven o'clock in the blink of an eye, the game officially started.

Some fans waved the banner of "Defend Texas Glory", wearing a Rockets jersey on the outside, a Spurs jersey on the inside, and a Mavericks hat on the inside, just barely painted their necks red, and the fans next to them went crazy applaud.

Rockets boss Phil Tino also made a speech in person, promising to renew Paul in the off-season and maintain his strength for the championship for a long time, but he did not say that he was not going to renew Ariza. Paying the luxury tax is tantamount to death. Open restaurants.

The Rockets started, Paul, Harden, Tucker, Ariza, Capela.

The Kings started, Curry, Brogdon, Tatum, Covington, Lopez.

Cheers erupted in the arena, and the Rockets won the jump ball.

As expected, the first offense was that Harden asked Capela to play a pick-and-roll. According to the pre-game plan, the Kings asked Covington to go up to grab the smoke, and Harden chose to hit the ground and pass the ball. Capela got the ball and took advantage of the trend Rush to the basket, face Daluo to make up for Ariza.

Ariza just got the ball in the bottom corner, and Tatum on the King's wing completed the replacement at the same time, and defended closely to induce a breakthrough or pass.Anyway, as far as Ariza's ball-handling level is concerned, he couldn't even practice when the Rockets gave the ball back then, let alone the difficulty of rushing to the basket.

Ariza decisively distributed the ball to Tucker, who was temporarily open, but like him, as soon as Tucker received the ball, Brogdon had already rotated and defended in place. Encourage Tucker to attack the inside.

There is Daluo, a master frame protector, on the inside.

Tucker didn't dare to rush, and turned to Harden who passed the ball around each other. Harden hesitated for a moment, and chose to single out Covington. After pulling the ball with one pass, he withdrew his hand for a three-pointer. If you want to catch signs of a foul, smash the basket and strike the iron with a bang.

Seeing this, Su Yang laughed out loud: He thought to himself: "Arden, Arden, your habit of stretching your legs after a long rest has really not changed..." The Rockets rested three days longer than the King, and the last time they played was six days Before, Harden Ming was having a good time and needed to find his status slowly again.

While thinking about it, Curry passed the ball to Covington on the left, and went straight to the bottom corner on the right, making a gesture to join Daluo and make a ladder screen for Tatum, but actually stopped suddenly and used Tatum's back Screen off Paul, get back to the three-point line, catch and shoot.

The basketball slammed into the net hollowly.

Su Yang applauded himself. This traditional tactic of shifting the strength of the starting hand to connect with the ladder cover perfectly uses Paul's characteristics of being good at reading offense, creating a contrast of habits, so that the more Paul knows how to defend, the less he can defend. But next time he will It doesn't work anymore.

Such tactics are only suitable for occasional use.

The principle is similar to that of a Shabik master, you predict my prediction, but I don't predict it that much, and I really hide in the corner and shoot black guns.

The two teams switched offense and defense, and Harden asked Capela to play a pick-and-roll.

Facing Covington's defense change, Harden still did not attack by himself. After passing to Capela, the process was exactly the same as the first attack.

A big circle of transmission, in the end it was Harden himself, Ariza and Tucker's ability to hold the ball was deviated, and they pursued a safe start.

But Harden himself was bored and didn't dare to continue the one-on-one. He called Capela again for a pick-and-roll, and after getting rid of it, he stopped and made a mid-range shot.

The basketball slammed, the King got the rebound and pushed for a fast break. Brogdon took advantage of Harden's complaint to the referee that he didn't call a foul, and quickly came down to catch the ball at the center line. He dunked into the basket and caused a foul and an additional penalty.

Brother Antetokounmpo who was sitting in the back row suddenly asked: "Coach, I feel that LeBron and Harden are the same. Most of their teammates are always players who are not very good at attacking with the ball. Is it because of their style of play that they decide that they cannot be divided? Take too much possession, and hope that someone can hit the shot to create space for them, but at the critical moment, the player in charge of the shot is difficult to hit.

Is that really good? "

Su Yang nodded, thinking that Brother Antetokounmpo said this, if he said it himself, it would be too easy to be taken out of context.

"That is the characteristic of all big cores with the ball, but there is no difference between that system and the triangle offense and other systems, only suitable or inappropriate, but since you choose that system, you have to bear the difficulty of your teammates at critical moments. risks of…"

Between the words, the Kings led 9-0.

The Rockets' offenses initiated by Harden in the first few games were all blocked by the Kings, but Paul had no choice but to organize them.

But Harden didn't enter the state, and he didn't run very actively. He didn't play the fake off-ball before, and his offense was still constipated.

The first quarter of the game ended quickly, and the Kings led 31 to 22. If the three-pointer wasn't blocked too hard, they could lead even more.

The game started in the second quarter, and the two teams fought defensively.

The Kings made 8 single fouls, but still scored 4 points more than the Rockets. The main reason is that Harden's performance was too sluggish. Not only did he miss 2 shots and made 3 of 1 shots, but he didn't send assists to revitalize the team. Paul also scored 5 of [-], and the Rockets relied on [-]. An offensive rebound to support the situation.

Back in the locker room after the halftime break, Su Yang browsed the data and found that Curry made 11 of 3 shots and his performance was quite poor. I don’t know if he was continuously affected by the thigh strain. He has not played with normal efficiency for a long time. Worry about the back.

I was going to find a way to make Curry look better.

Unexpectedly, Curry took the initiative to speak: "I played shit in the first half, and I will make changes in the second half."

After the words fell, Su Yang immediately echoed: "I completely believe in you!" Brother Antetokounmpo and others also expressed their expectations.

The third quarter started immediately.

Curry did what he said, making seven of seven shots, two of two three-pointers, and two free throws, scoring 18 points. In the first quarter, they won the Rockets by 6 points and entered the fourth quarter with a 4-point lead.

The main reason for the Rockets is that Harden failed to open the situation. He made 4 of 2 shots in a single quarter, and even his best free throws were zero.

Amidst the boos, Su Yang arranged for Curry to play in the fourth quarter without rest. The Rockets reacted a bit slowly. It took 2 minutes to replace Harden, but Harden did not change much. Control the situation accurately and establish the victory in advance.

In the end, the Kings beat the Rockets 119 to 86 in the away game, taking a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals series.

In the whole game, Curry scored 23 points on 13 of 35 shots, and Tatum and other five scored in double figures.

火箭那边，哈登16投7中，仅有20分9助攻5篮板，附带4个失误3个犯规。

Discussions on social media exploded, and fans yelled at Harden, even worse than before TMZ broke the news that Harden went to a nightclub.

The retired star Kwame Brown joked that Harden is softer than him, and the Rockets have been eliminated in the seven-game series.

Su Yang participated in the press conference and talked about whether Harden's downturn helped the Kings win. He said calmly: "Everyone will have a downturn. I know very well that this game is not Harden's normal level. I believe he will do it." respond."

The next day, the King fought the Rockets again.

Harden responded strongly, scoring 49 points and 4 rebounds, but only had 3 assists. The rest of the Rockets, including Paul, pulled across. The King finally beat the Rockets 119-114 and scored 2 points in the Western Conference Finals series. Leading to 0.

Just after the game, Antetokounmpo tweeted jokingly: "Who am I, where am I, and what is the value of my existence?"

(End of this chapter)