Chapter 52: Battle Rockets
After four consecutive 50+ games, Anxi only needs one more 50+ score to surpass Kobe Bryant and achieve five consecutive 50+ points. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info
Anxi wanted to see if he could break this record and upgrade the system, so in the next game, the 76ers returned to the home court to face the Rockets, Anxi's goal was still 50+ points, and in the face of the Rockets' weak outside defense, Anxi was very firm.
This season, with the Warriors and Spurs firmly in the top two, the Rockets' record is firmly in the top four in the West, and occasionally surpasses the Clippers to rush to the top three, which can be described as a brilliant record.
After getting Josh Smith on board, the Rockets had some ups and downs, but then, they got on track.
Former Eagle King Josh Smith is no longer at his peak, but his strength is still quite strong, and it is still a great reinforcement for the Rockets.
As a result, the Rockets began to win consecutive games, gradually rose in the rankings, and even slowly caught up with the Spurs.
Before facing the 76ers, the Rockets had a wave of six consecutive wins and were in hot form.
The 76ers are also on a winning streak, after defeating the Pelicans, the 76ers are already on a 12-game winning streak, and this wave of more than 10 consecutive wins continues, and if they win the Rockets, the number of consecutive wins will reach 13.
The winning streak, Anxi's consecutive 50+ records, and the two consecutive game records are in front, and the pressure on the Rockets is also very high.
For James Harden, he won numerous accolades in the summer of 2013, with Coop being seriously injured and Dwayne Wade degrading, James Harden was considered the league's new No. 1 quarterback, plus the addition of Dwight Howard, the new No. 1 quarterback and No. 1 center combination, countless touts followed.
But soon, the regular season began, and the moment James Harden was in high spirits, Anxi broke out.
Winning streaks and scoring high points in a row, An Xi, who also appeared in the second position, made everyone forget James Harden on the other side, and An Xi proved with his performance that he is the first quarterback in the post-Kobe era.
This season, Anxi further opened the gap with James Harden, Anxi's average points per game has risen to 33.6 points, and the average assists per game have also risen to 9.2, plus an average of 3.3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
Now he even has a chance to compete for the all-time No. 1 quarterback.
Of course, it's an exaggeration to say that the competition is the No. 1 quarterback in history, but at least, Anxi can now compete with Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade for the all-time ranking of point guard.
And James Harden? He's still far off.
This season, James Harden has also lost a lot of fanfare, and instead, countless controversies have poured into him.
Including his inappropriate relationship with Khloe Kardashian, as well as James Harden's defensive attitude on the court, etc., many commentators have compared Harden to Anxi.
Compared with Anxi, who is dedicated to Abby Hornacek off the court, started with defense on the court, and even if he became a superstar, he didn't lose his defense, James Harden was chaotic off the court, his defensive attitude on the court was too problematic, and his offensive end was always unstable.
Some commentators believe that if James Harden is replaced by Anxi, the current Rockets may already be competing with the Warriors, the biggest dark horse of the season.
Of course, some commentators believe that Harden's problem is not that big, it's just that he is not so focused on the court.
Ahead of the Rockets-76ers game, new ESPN commentator Sean Battier made predictions and evaluations for the game.
"Before the big game, the 76ers had a record of 33 wins and 8 losses, while the Rockets had a record of 29 wins and 13 losses, and the difference between the two teams was 4.5 games.
"The 76ers are a championship-caliber team, and the Rockets are still a little bit away from reaching the championship-caliber team."
"However, judging from the recent performance of the two teams, the Rockets have won 6 consecutive victories in a wave, and the 76ers have won 12 consecutive victories in a wave, and the state of the two teams is also hot.
"The core players and role players of both teams need to be paid attention to in this game, the core of the 76ers is the shooting guard and power forward, and the Rockets are the scoring guard and center."
"The comparison between Anxi and James Harden, so far this season, Anxi's average points per game has risen to 33.6 points, and there are 5.2 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.2 blocks.
So far this season, James Harden has averaged 27.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game, such a statistic can only be regarded as an ordinary superstar statistic, and it cannot be compared with Anxi's average per game statistic.
"In terms of the core of the two teams, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard still have some grievances and hatreds mixed in the middle, the two have accumulated a lot of conflicts during the Lakers period, and after their respective teams, both continue to shine, and their roles in their respective teams are different."
"Pau Gasol is averaging 19.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 blocks per game this season, and he is more of an axis on the offensive end of the team, influencing the 76ers' offense more."
Dwight Howard's scoring stats have dropped dramatically this season, averaging only 15.8 points per game, along with 10.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, but he has a great impact on the defensive end, and the Rockets' defense is almost all supported by Dwight Howard alone.
"In terms of role players, Jack Crowder has improved significantly this season, and his role is a bit like the Rockets' Trevor Ariza this season, but compared to Ariza, Jack Crowder has a stronger and more consistent offense. Compared to other positions, the point guard position is a stubborn problem for the 76ers, while the power forward position is a stubborn problem for the Rockets. Now, both teams have their own solutions for these two positions, with the Rockets choosing to start with the excellent offensive Motai Yunas as the starter to ensure offensive firepower, while the 76ers chose to start Ismael Smith to ensure the starting defense. ”
"In terms of the benches of the two teams, the 76ers have the old 76ers such as Louis Williams and Evan Turner, while the Rockets have the hairband gang of Corey Brewer, Josh Smith and Jason Terry, and the benches of the two teams are equally strong."
"To sum up, this game between the Rockets and the 76ers will definitely be a strong matchup, and the winner of the game is the matchup between Anxi and James Harden, if Anxi can continue to be in good shape, the 76ers' chance of winning will be as high as 80%."
As a Rockets celebrity, Sean Battier made an analysis and prediction of the next game between the two teams, overall, Shawn Battier is optimistic about the 76ers to win, but he is still a little biased towards the Rockets to a certain extent, if other commentators are asked to predict this game, most of them will definitely think that the 76ers will win.
After all, the two teams are not on the same level, and Anxi and James Harden are not on the same level.
The media commentators discussed hotly, but the players of the two teams were too quiet before the game, and Anxi did not even accept an interview with the media, and he arrived late to the stadium an hour before the game started.
On the other side, James Harden followed the team to the Wachovia Center, and he was interviewed by the media before the game, but James Harden only briefly answered a few sensitive questions, and then expressed his determination to win.
When it comes to dealing with the media, James Harden is still doing a good job.
After dealing with the media, the two teams began to warm up on the sidelines, and on the commentary bench, Turner Sports' two commentators, Sean Battier and Doug Collins, were also in place.
Turner Sports has sent a somewhat controversial commentary combination, Sean Battier has played for the Rockets for most of his career, and he has a deep affection for the Rockets, and this game is destined to favor the Rockets.
And Doug Collins has played for the 76ers throughout his career, and he also served as the head coach of the 76ers after retiring, and he has the same deep feelings for the 76ers as Shaun Battier, and his position will be more biased towards the 76ers in this game.
Two commentators with opposing positions commentating on the same game, and many people were worried about whether the two would fight between the games.
But at the beginning of the commentary, the two behaved very harmoniously.
"Sean, I think let's not talk about the outcome of this game, let's talk about another thing that many people pay attention to, about Anxi's consecutive 50+, now he has scored five consecutive 50+ games, do you think he will complete a five consecutive 50+ games?"
Doug Collins sidestepped the question of victory and defeat that could lead to an argument and talked about a streak record.
Indeed, Anxi's consecutive 50+ has attracted a lot of attention, this is another scoring feast since Kobe Bryant, when Kobe Bryant cut high scores, it caused the world to shout, and now, Anxi's continuous high scores have long attracted a lot of attention.
North America is still less concerned, on the other side of the ocean in China, in the past week, everyone has been discussing Anxi's consecutive high scores, and before this game, almost all fans are discussing the points that Anxi can get in this game.
Seeing Doug Collins ask, Sean Battier also expressed some of his own opinions: "I think it is difficult for Anxi to continue his 50+ performances in a row, four consecutive 50+ games, his physical fitness may be on the verge of limit, if I were Brett Brown, Anxi would not even play in this game......"
Sean Battier believes that after 50+ in a row, Anxi's fitness is already insufficient, and Brett Brown won't even let Anxi play.
But in fact, Anxi not only played, but also started.
But it's true that the physical fitness problem that Sean Battier said does exist, but Anxi has five full glory pools, and he consumes one to directly supplement his physical fitness, and in this game, Anxi can still kill and kill.
On the field, the warm-up was over, and the game soon began.
The starting lineup of the 76ers is point guard Ismael Smith, scoring guard Anxi, small forward Jack Crowder, power forward Pau Gasol and center Noren Snoo.
The starting lineup of the Rockets is point guard Patrick Beverley, scoring guard James Harden, small forward Trevor Ariza, power forward Donatas Motai Yunas and center Dwight Howard.
At the start of the game, Nolan Snoll jumped the ball to win Dwight Howard, and the 76ers attacked first.
Ismael Smith dribbled the ball through half court and then handed the basketball to Anxi.
It was Patrick Beverley who was defending Anxi on the Rockets' side, and as soon as Anxi got the ball, Beverley posted it.
Rockets coach Kevin McHale obviously knows very well that James Harden's defense is very problematic, and if Harden is allowed to keep an eye on Anxi in this game, he will definitely be beaten by Anxi, who has been in hot form recently, so McHale chose to let Beverley pester Anxi in the opening game and consume Anxi's physical energy as much as possible.
Patrick Beverley is a player returning from Europe who was drafted by the Lakers, but after being drafted, he didn't get any opportunities in the NBA, not even a full-fledged NBA contract, so he had to leave Europe.
After three years in Europe, Patrick Beverley was signed by the Rockets and has since established himself.
Beverley is also the favorite of 76ers general manager Samsinki's main point guard, Beverley is tenacious defensively, can always defend the opponent's arrowhead, and he also has a three-point hand, which is a rare 3-and-D player in the point guard position.
But the 76ers know Beverley's value, and the Rockets obviously know better, so Beverley is not for sale for the Rockets, unless the 76ers are willing to trade Paul Gasol or Anxi for it, or some other big chips.
But obviously, the 76ers won't be so stupid, compared to Beverley, Ismael Smith is equivalent to a Beverley without three points, although it is a little worse, but it is enough.
At the beginning, Anxi was entangled by Beverley, Anxi was also very smart, he saw that it was Beverley who was defending him, and quickly turned around and played back in a high position.
The difference between Beverly and Anxi's body tonnage is too big, and in the face of Anxi's back hit, Beverly alone can't withstand it at all, so after Anxi advances two steps, the rocket can only flank it.
At this time, An Xi made a pass to the bottom corner, Jack Crowder made a three-point shot, and with a bang, enter!
The 76ers started with a three-pointer, and then the Rockets' offense came.
Although James Harden's attitude on the defensive end is extremely poor, he has done a very good job on the offensive end, and the Rockets' offense is very dependent on Harden.
In the first attack of the opening game, the ball was also handed over to Harden.
Harden then used a pick-and-roll, a European step to dodge Anxi's defense, and rushed into the interior to make a layup.
2 points, 2:3!
The offense of both teams at the beginning of the game was very fast, the 76ers played Anxi with his back and solved the battle in three or four seconds, while Harden rushed to the front court on the Rockets' side, and it didn't take much time.
As a result, the combined offensive time of both teams took just over 24 seconds.
Judging by the timing, this game is destined to be an offensive battle.