Chapter 785 Harden: Targeting Me?

The process and result of this game were shocking.

The Rockets of the Big Three were actually helpless in front of the Pelicans, and even performed worse than the Mavericks in the first round.

D'Antoni became the target of public criticism.

Those who used to brag about how good D'Antoni is now have nothing to do but greet D'Antoni's family.

However, amidst the scolding, Tang Tian, ​​who performed well, could not escape the disaster.

"What is the best defensive player? He just relies on the system to win. System player!"

The Pelicans won easily, and Tang Tian played easily. Some people were so angry that they took out the players in the system again.

Tang Tian couldn't laugh or cry when he saw it. There were thousands of people trolling you, and there was nothing they couldn't even imagine.

But players in this system said it reminded him.

The Rockets' unexpected loss in the first game was related to D'Antoni's suffocation operation.

In the second game, D'Antoni would definitely not do that again as long as he wasn't stupid.

At that time, in addition to using the bright spot that he and Stevens thought of, the Pelicans also had to consider how to defend Harden.

The Rockets suffered a disastrous defeat in Game 1. Harden only played 26 minutes, but he scored a team-high 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

The scoring efficiency of basically one point per minute is enough to illustrate his state.

In fact, in the first round against the Trail Blazers, Harden averaged 28.8 points, 7.8 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 44% from the field.

Although D'Antoni has just coached and Harden has not yet become the MVP-level unsolvable player in history, his strength and condition are indeed the best among the Rockets' Big Three.

The Pelicans won easily in the first game, but that doesn't mean they will have an easy game later.

Similarly, just because the preparations for the first game are not used, it does not mean that preparations will no longer be needed later.

Prepare for a rainy day, they are aiming for the championship and must do this well.

This time Tang Tian took the initiative to talk to Stevens about this, and the two hit it off. It turned out that he had been thinking about this issue too.

They studied it all night and came up with a system that can definitely surprise Harden.

Didn’t those scumbags say that the Pelicans rely on the system to win? Then they will continue to rely on the system to win!

Just as the two were studying tactics, the last group series of the first round of the Western Conference had just ended.

The Thunder defeated the Spurs 118-108 at home, eliminated their opponent with a total score of 4-2, completed the victory, and successfully advanced to the conference semifinals.

Tang Tian's original premonition came true, and the last game of the regular season became the last time he and Duncan competed on the same stage in the NBA.

The Thunder's opponent in the Western Conference semifinals will be the defending champion Warriors.

As luck would have it, Durant was debating whether to go to the Warriors or stay with the Thunder, and now the Warriors have become his opponent.

The feud between Westbrook and Curry, the showdown between the Thunder and the Warriors, this set of conference finals is also full of excitement.

But the game will be two days later. Before that, the second game of the conference semifinals between the Pelicans and Rockets will continue at the New Orleans Arena.

Fans are even more excited than they were two days ago.

The big win in the first game made them look forward to the home team.

Rockets fans scolded D'Antoni bloody after the first game. He was obviously dissatisfied, so keep fighting until he is convinced!

There were still fifteen minutes left before the start of the game, and players from both sides entered the stadium one after another.

Although the first game was a disastrous defeat, the Rockets players did not look bad.

It seems that they have done a good job in ideological work and psychological adjustment in the past two days.

Neither side's starting lineup has been adjusted.

The Pelicans have a regular lineup, as do the Rockets.

Paul Gaharden on the outside, Tucker and Morris on the forward side, and Cousins ​​on the center side.

Davis used his spring speed to beat Cousins, officially kicking off the game.

The Pelicans attacked the frontcourt, Tang Tian broke through with the ball, and the Rockets did not double-team again.

D'Antoni's actions in the first game were not completely unreasonable.

In the first round against the Trail Blazers, the effect of his double-gun attack was very good. Both Lillard and McCollum performed well below normal levels.

This is why D'Antoni said those words with confidence before the first game.

It was just that he underestimated the difference in strength between Tang Tian and the Blazers, which led to the first tragedy.

But after trying it, he felt confident, so he didn't do it again this time.

Tang Tian took advantage of Davis's pick-and-roll to get past Morris, and hit the ball with a sudden stop.

The Rockets don't double-team, so Tang Tian can rest assured to fight one on one.

The Pelicans took the lead in scoring when Paul dribbled the ball past half court and handed the ball to Harden.

The core of the Big Three is still Harden.

Harden holds the ball and Ariza is guarding him.

But Ariza's defensive style is very strange.

Ariza stands to the left of Harden, to be precise, it should be the back left.

This weird defensive method left the right wing completely empty.

Harden can get in with any breakthrough.

Harden did exactly that. He broke into the mid-range and the Pelicans had no defense.

But when he broke into the three-second zone, Jokic came out inside.

Harden European-stepped past Jokic to take the shot.

"boom!"

Davis on the weak side assisted in defense and directly gave Harden a nail-biter!

Jokic received the defensive rebound, the Pelicans counterattacked, and Holiday hit a layup from Jokic's long pass.

4-0, the Pelicans got off to a good start.

During the Rockets' offense, Paul continued to give the ball to Harden.

Ariza still defends the same way.

Bzdelik stood up from his seat, his eyes fixed on the Pelicans' half of the court. He had never seen this type of defense before.

Harden continued to walk to the right and took a mid-range shot.

Ariza jumped up from behind and blocked the shot!

Harden dodged in the air and then shot.

The ball avoided the block, but the rhythm of the shot was obviously gone.

"Bang!"

The basketball smashed out of the frame!

Jokic protected the defensive rebound, and the Pelicans played another fast break. This time it was Tang Tian who received a pass from Holiday and scored with a one-handed dunk.

The fans at the scene cheered. Although they didn't understand the tactics on the court, the Pelicans' 6-0 start was the same as the first game. They were going to beat the Rockets!

Harden was a bit unbelieving. After dribbling the ball past half court, he walked to the left side of the court, but Ariza refused to give him life or death, so he could only go to the right side given by Ariza.

He broke into the basket, Jokic continued to grab it, and he directly gave the ball to Morris on the baseline.

However, the two made mistakes in cooperation. Harden passed the ball too early, Morris did not get the ball, and Harden passed the ball directly out of bounds.

There were constant cheers at the scene. Harden's performance tonight was particularly bad!

Bzdelik and D'Antoni whispered for a while.

After Tang Tian made a sudden stop and hit his second goal, helping the Pelicans get an 8-0 start, D'Antoni reached out and called a timeout.

The cheers and whistles continued for a long time.

Everyone, including them, thinks it will be difficult for the Pelicans to beat the Rockets.

But so far, these two games are no different from the regular season!

Stevens looked at Tang Tian at the end and glanced at him with a smile.

They stayed up late to formulate a defensive strategy against Harden, and it worked, and the effect was better than they imagined!

On the Rockets bench, D'Antoni was arranging tactics, and Bzdelik was pulling Harden to analyze the Pelicans' defense.

The Pelicans' approach is really cruel.

Harden is a left-handed player, so the Pelicans blocked his breakthrough from the left and forced him to go to the right.

Harden is the core of the Magic Ball. He likes three-pointers and breakthroughs. The Pelicans guard his step-back three-pointers and the basket.

Harden also has a hand in the mid-range, but his shooting speed is slow, and Ariza is chasing him. There is a high probability that his mid-range shot will be interfered with or even risked like before.

Moreover, Harden is not yet at his peak, his throwing is not so stable, and his passing is not so stable.

The Pelicans are really targeting him to death.