Chapter 631: Conditions of Temptation
If the New York Knicks want their team to win tonight at the Toyota Center, then in addition to their efforts on the defensive end, they must be in a high-burning state offensively!
The Rockets' training and operation in recent years has made it impossible for the media to say what they do. Almost half of the players were used to change to a Paul! After a constant chase from New York until you got Anthony!
Anthony's trade is still relatively satisfactory to both parties, the melon is gone, and the Rockets urgently need the team to strengthen the team. Although Anthony needs to increase his salary during the negotiation, Houston has no worries, and the two sides hit it off at the end to complete the player reinforcement operation that shocked the whole league!
Houston is not only willing to spend money on big-name stars, but also gives a high degree of trust. A certain amount of attention, nurturing and expectation is also given to newcomers. Although the other players of the Rockets team do not have a lot of salaries, they all have good performances in terms of ability and condition!
Even some of the players on the bench have a highlight performance in other teams! The Nets are one team that has benefited from this! Capela's rapid rise made the team quickly give a two-year contract of 17.33 million!
He is now playing as the main center forward in the team! He is currently averaging 14.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game! Over the course of a few seasons, this strong guy has learned to be less prone to passing the ball and attacking too much.
Such a state of affairs will continue to reduce the defensive level of the whole team and affect the offensive efficiency of the team. This season has seen Capela with increased flexibility on the field and a stronger defense! At the same time, the explosiveness he sometimes shows is what the Rockets need!
Obviously, on the defensive end, the Rockets have also worked hard, in addition to Ariza's steals and Capela's rebounds, Tucker, a former Toronto defensive giant, has given the team a defensive bonus on the forward line or guard!
As a typical 3D player, Tucker has nothing but projection ability and his strong physicality! You can play defender, and you can switch between the 3rd and 4th positions! To the team's surprise, he sometimes showed the ability after coming to the Rockets, which made both teams a little "overwhelmed".
There are times when the Rockets have a series of defensive problems. However, in the third game of this season, Tucker got 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 2 blocks!
The outside three-point is accurate, and both the guard and the opposing small forward have paid enough attention to him! But he still didn't escape Tucker's defense! Even when the Rockets thought they were going to let go of the opponent like that, Tucker immediately went inside, interfered with the opponent's No. 5 position, and took the basketball and passed to Harden!
He made up for the team's blind spots and shortcomings in some places. At present, he is averaging 6.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game this season! It can be said that he is an excellent basketball player with no low mental strength and aura in the team!
After Bamot came to Houston from the Los Angeles Clippers, his personal ability has also improved somewhat. His current record of 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1 assist makes him a good role player!
"With a team like this, you just don't have to fight them too much, and that's true in a lot of ways. What you have to remember on the pitch is to play at our pace. Be sure to do as much as you can. If you don't do this well, you will immediately fall into passivity. That's when we're in trouble......"
The players also know what level they are up against. Such a team is now a team that can compete with the Warriors in the West! Interestingly, they were especially excited when they faced the Golden State Warriors!
In recent years, the regular season has been won more and lost less. Beasley was sent to the field early by Chen in the recent game, and he was a little proud~ Although he sometimes plays very alone, there are times when his scoring ability is good. Chen took a fancy to the latter and put him on it.
The players are also faced with a choice when holding the ball. The ball to Beasley is basically a bet. Chen Yinan has to say a few more words about Beasley every time he plays, such as about defensive enthusiasm and more passing.
"You pass the ball more, the number of assists reaches 3, and you will play 1 minute more in the next game~ The defensive ability and enthusiasm have come up, and you can give more playing time as appropriate~" Today's game was quite tempting when there were only him and the coach at the time~
The main purpose is to stimulate him to pass the ball more and defend more! The players on the scene looked at the basketball in the hands of the referee. When the ball was thrown into the air, Kanter jumped up first, got the basketball, and passed the ball quickly like a conditioned reflex to Hardaway Jr.!
I could have scored points with a layup! But Hardaway Jr. immediately ran to the other side and jumped directly to hit a three-point shot! Inadvertently confronted his own coach. Chen just looked at him and nodded slightly.
If a player can make the team reluctant to fire, or is willing to pay a high salary to retain, his ability is always underestimated by the team or the outside media! Capela rubbed to the sidelines, Anderson got the basketball and came to the frontcourt, Gordon took the basketball and feigned a layup and quickly passed the ball to Harden, who didn't have three points!
Capela immediately got the rebound and then passed the ball to Harden. The latter immediately passed the ball to Tucker, and Tucker missed a three-point shot in the face of no defense. Beasley unexpectedly took the basketball to the front court by himself, and only remembered what the coach had told him before the game at the moment of the layup......
But the basketball was still in the hoop. 5:0! The Knicks are off to a good start. Gordon dribbled slowly to the frontcourt, and after Harden took the basket, he faced Hardaway Jr.'s defense quickly and strongly, and then suddenly made a stop-and-go jump shot for 2 points and went into the basket steadily!
At this time, the shot was given to Zhou Qi. Followed by Chen Yinan. Chen was looking at the big demon king on the big screen at this time, but Zhou Qi didn't pay attention to this, and was watching the game more attentively.
Jack quickly got past Gordon and then stepped into the front court. After Noah got the basketball, he immediately passed the ball to Carter, who directly deducted the points when Capela didn't come over in time to defend! 7:2!
Now the audience at the scene found that New York was in a very focused state, and it felt that their home team was playing a little carelessly. Tucker took Harden's pass and hit a three-pointer in front of Beasley! 7:5!
"This kid really dares to vote!" Beasley thought to himself with some chagrin. I thought he was going to break through forcibly, but I didn't pay much attention to it. That's when Tucker made a move!
For the Knicks, the players were not happy at all about the five-point difference. Because the other party is about to catch up. And now Porzingis has not come up on the pitch.
Hardaway Jr. passed the ball to N'Golo Kante after half-time, who missed his shot in front of Capela. Noah went straight to get the basketball and passed it to Beasley. Jack took Beasley's pass and immediately returned a three-pointer! 10:5!
It was only when I threw it that I remembered who gave it to him. It was a bit of a surprise, but it immediately pointed to Beasley. The Knicks immediately cheered for Beasley on the bench!
Excited as if he had completed a whistle! "Do you remember how many assists Beasley has picked up so far this season?" Nelikina said to the god of waves.
"What? Did he have assist stats before? How did I not know? After saying that, the two of them laughed together.
Harden was a little more serious at this point. The other party looks pretty good. Anderson hit a 2-point shot as soon as he got the basketball! 10:7!
Noah ran to the sideline and served to Hardaway Jr. After halftime, Harden leaned in. Facing Harden's defense, suddenly Hardaway Jr. turned around and jumped!