Chapter 644: There Are Cameras

An important addition to the Rockets this season is the acquisition of Trevor Ariza.

The 3-and-D player who was the boss of the Rockets for a season and almost knocked Houston's basket off, was still very good as a role player.

In today's situation where every team is in great need of 3D players, the arrival of Ariza has made up for the last shortcoming of the Rockets lineup.

Rockets starting Al - Jefferson, Josh - Smith, small forward Ariza, guards Harden and Beverly.

It should be said that this is a very balanced starting configuration. After the running-in of last season, the team has integrated quite well.

If there is any flaw, it may be that Smith's shooting ability is somewhat insufficient.

Although Smith dared to vote, it was a pity that he was not very accurate.

The back line replaced Jeremy Lin with Beverly, making up for Harden's innate deficiencies in close defense.

The striker let go of Parsons, and Ariza proved that he was more useful than Parsons.

Of course, this kind of behavior of letting go of the players he cultivated for nothing, and then going to the free market to buy them in the trading market, is what Morey can do.

Because stupid?

No, just trying to save money.

As for whether you can win the championship, it depends.

Go for it if you have the chance, and save money if you don’t have the chance.

So the Rockets lineup looks good, can make the playoffs, and can attract fans.

But it is not a small distance from the championship, no matter how you look at it.

From the perspective of the lineup, the Pacers may not be too different from the Rockets. The only difference is that the Pacers have Li Liang, and the Pacers are in the East.

The core of the Rockets is Harden, and the Rockets are in the West.

Before the game, the showdown was very popular, and it was broadcast live across the United States, and even a large number of fans watched it in China.

After all, the Rockets can be regarded as the home team of Chinese fans, although after Yao Ming retired, the Rockets have nothing to do with Chinese players.

But China is such a big market, whether you like it or not, the rockets have to hang on China to suck some blood.

In fact, Texas, where Houston is located, may be one of the most racially discriminatory areas in the United States.

If it weren't for Yao Ming, the Rockets would never have been associated with China.

In terms of the number of Chinese, there are more Chinese in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco on the east and west coasts.

It can only be said that the Rockets are lucky.

Because of this, there are many more Chinese fans in Houston. Before the game starts in the evening, the Toyota Center is rarely full.

It's really not easy. The Toyota Center can be filled with spectators before the game starts, which is equivalent to the Heat fans not leaving the stadium early.

After the hot dance of the cheerleaders and the opening ceremony, the game between the two sides will begin.

The navy striped away jersey the Pacers wore tonight looked out of place at the red Toyota Center.

Tonight George - Hill still did not play, replacing him starting is Donald - Sloan.

Fortunately, the Rockets are one of the few teams in the league whose point guards basically have no autonomous attack power.

It can be said that the combination of a center and a shooting guard like the Rockets, once a classic combination in the league, has now become non-mainstream.

Now the mainstream of the league is super small forwards or super point guards with various shooters and tank centers.

Both sides jumped the ball in the middle circle, and Li Liang walked to the middle circle reluctantly, and it was him who jumped the ball again.

In the past, Li Liang was always able to win the ball without fighting, but now everyone has seen through his routine.

If you don't jump, your opponent won't miscall the ball.

So Li Liang still wants to dance.

A symbolic jump, no contest to Al Jefferson, Harden gets the ball, and the game begins.

On the first ball in the opening game, Harden held the ball in a high position. Josh Smith came over to do a pick-and-roll. Smith passed down. After receiving the pass from Harden, Li Liang came to assist the visit. Mori.

Jefferson received the ball, and Li Liang turned back to defend. Jefferson pushed Li Liang to force a layup, but Li Liang tapped the ball from behind and missed.

Grabbed the offensive rebound, went up again, was interfered, and still missed!

The referee bit his whistle and didn't call Li Liang's foul.

This ball Li Liang is a bit of a move, after all, he is at a disadvantage due to his height.

But the referee didn't want to be spit on by Li Liang at the beginning of the game, so he had to bear it after thinking about it.

After missing two layups, Li Liang grabbed the backboard and controlled the ball for half court.

In the absence of Hill, Li Liang has to be a center forward and a point guard.

Give the ball to JR-Smith, Smith then transfer the ball to Granger.

Li Liangzai finally covered for Granger. Granger broke through and went deep under the basket. Without a chance, he turned around and passed the ball to Li Liang.

Li Liang is in front of the middle, and the shot fake shakes away Josh Smith, and then...

"Beep!"

The referee whistled, needless to say, let's make a free throw.

This Smith was too careless and jumped up casually.

You play and train with Brother Deng every day, don't you know how to be careful?

Li Liang is also a very thief. He made Smith foul at the beginning of the game, and his defense will definitely be a bit of a mouse in the end.

With two free throws, the Pacers led the Rockets 2:0 in the opening game.

But the Rockets' opening three-pointer felt good.

On offense, Beverley attempted the first three-pointer of the game and made it.

Then the Pacers hit the basket, and West turned over and missed the hook.

Harden counterattacked with the ball and passed it to Beverly on the right. Beverly made another three-pointer and returned it!

2:6, the Rockets successfully overtook.

Li Liang sent the ball to Sloan from the bottom line, and scolded, "Can you defend? Can you mark people? Does the point guard want me to defend?"

Sloan said nothing.

If you are scolded, you must stand at attention.

Then, Sloan held the ball and ran a pick-and-roll with Li Liang, hitting the ground and passing the ball to Li Liang.

Li Liang received the ball, cut to the left at 45 degrees, made a quick stop for a jump shot, hit the board from close range, and hit two points.

Li Liang is now playing more and more like a power forward, cutting inside the pick-and-roll, rolling down the pick-and-roll, and eating cakes at the basket.

Those who didn't know thought he was a standard blue-collar insider.

If the defender thinks this way, he will definitely suffer a lot.

The Rockets' offense started well.

Harden immediately played JR-Smith one-on-one on the offensive end, and hit a mid-range jumper with a step back.

Fortunately, in the face of Li Liang's provocation, Harden did not give porcelain for porcelain, and he still had a middle distance, and his retreat was very chic.

Then Granger received the ball in the middle, broke through and then hit the ball to West, who made an easy layup.

Jefferson's defensive pace is still a little slow.

The offense on both sides felt good at the beginning, and the Pacers' defensive strength has not improved.

Subsequently, Ariza rushed to the basket with the ball, trying to break through Li Liang's ten fingers.

A very reluctant float shot missed, Li Liang grabbed the backcourt rebound, and the Pacers quickly counterattacked.

Granger dribbles ahead, Li Liang follows behind, Granger points the ball to Li Liang, Li Liang catches the ball at the top of the arc and shoots a three-pointer directly.

hit.

7:8, 1 point behind.

At this time, Brother Deng's stunt is about to debut.

Without further ado, he broke through the middle and slammed into Li Liang!

Li Liang turned sideways slightly, [Death Coil] shot, and slapped the ball in Brother Deng's hand...

Li Liang used his skills so early in order to make Harden restrain himself. Your trick is useless to me.

Harden has already led the league in free throws this season, far ahead of second place Westbrook.

The collision after his breakthrough is indeed very strong. If you don't defend, he will layup directly. If you defend, you will be rubbed by his arms and shoulders. If you are not careful, it will be a foul.

Li Liang used his skills to steal Harden's layup, and the Pacers counterattacked.

Li Liang rushed to the front, received the ball from outside the three-point line, paused, Josh Smith rushed up from behind, and rushed over the head.

Li Liang picked up his speed again and went straight to the basket from the middle. Facing Jefferson, he made a steady emergency stop and hit a jumper.

It's too steady. His close-range retro board jumper really hits the insiders in the league.

It's hard to defend, because you have to jump very far to defend, but it's easy to miss a lot of inside lines.

It's better to let him shoot, after all, the shooting percentage is not as high as the layup.

But Li Liang was quite accurate.

Ariza was on the attack, and he missed a three-pointer from the right corner, and the Rockets' shooting percentage was declining rapidly.

The Pacers' man-to-man defense is very much aimed at mid- and long-range shots.

It's time for the Rockets to consider low-post singles.

Li Liang received the rebound, and then in the attack, Harden followed the defense from the bottom line and succeeded in stealing.

It seems that Brother Deng will still defend, it depends on whether he is willing or not.

It is estimated that he was intercepted by Li Liang just now, which made him a little angry.

Immediately, Harden rushed to the basket again in the counterattack, his two arms firmly grasped the ball like crab claws, and sent the ball up from the bottom to the top.

If you want to reach out, hit him on the arm, which is a foul.

If you don't reach out, he will really layup.

If you want to block a shot, it is basically difficult to block it, because he holds the ball with both hands, and the block will almost certainly hit a certain arm.

Li Liang is pretty bad, so why don't I jump up and block the block, don't you rub up, I'll help you.

Li Liang pushed Harden directly from behind. Harden's center of gravity was too forward, and he rushed out of the bottom line...

"Beep!" Of course the referee called a foul.

Although Li Liang pushed the ball very covertly, he was still discovered.

Li Liang learned this trick from Paul. After one season in the Clippers, he didn't learn the good ones, but learned a lot from the bad ones.

Of course Harden was very upset when he was pushed, but he was even more upset that his tried-and-true trick seemed useless to Li Liang.

He got two free throws with the ball, but it wasn't the violated position he was used to, and he didn't like it.

This caused Harden, who has always been accurate in free throws, to miss the second free throw and was conceded by Li Liang for a rebound.

The offense and defense on both sides began to become fierce.

Generally speaking, the Rockets are a team without too many complicated tactics.

As Bird's former teammate, McHale didn't know much about tactics anyway.

The two hugged without saying anything before the game.

They are good partners on the court, but their relationship is not so good off the court.

The Pacers chose to let West force one in the low post.

West's low-post skills are still very good. He hit a jumper behind his back and scored two points.

The Pacers' offensive rhythm is getting better and better, while the Rockets appear to be a bit of a mess.

Harden broke through with the ball again and still hit the basket, he didn't believe in evil!

As a result, Li Liang stood upright in front of Harden, Harden bumped into Li Liang, Li Liang fell, Harden followed, and the two fell together.

The referee doesn't care, the whistle is blown first, anyway, there is a foul, either he or you.

So who is it?

Li Liang pointed at Harden and shouted: "Offensive foul, offensive foul!"

Then the referee called Harden an offensive foul.

Harden sat on the ground, staring wide-eyed, spreading his hands, with an innocent look on his face.

Li Liang got up and went to pat him, "Don't pretend, get up, there are cameras."