Chapter 165: The First Opponent in the Playoffs (1/3)
The camera is on Harden again.
He didn't react much. Just watching D'Antoni's set-up from the sidelines, the Rockets players stood a little anxiously on the sidelines.
The players on the Bucks' side are different.
They are calm at this point. There's even something to look forward to. Kidd knew that their team's form was fine at this point.
But at this time, Kidd did not show the joy in his heart.
Maybe it's the years that make him less likely to show his emotions. Perhaps it was his fear of his own pleasure that made the players let their guard down.
This string has to be tightened! Kidd is confident that his teammates won't collapse!
D'Antoni: "You can't open up the situation from the outside. Pass the ball to Ariza and Josh.
Don't mess around! What kind of game do you play when the rhythm is out of order? If you are allowed to go down, you will say that I will not give you a chance.
But I'll let you play as a substitute and drag out the game. You ......
We dragged the other side into garbage time in the first half. You defenders should be more defensive. ”
I want to say something harsh. But in the end, it was controlled. In the game just now, the team made several low-level mistakes in a row.
This annoyed the head coach of the Rockets.
He was reluctant to put the main forces back prematurely. Originally, his team was ahead by a big score.
It doesn't look good if it's being chased and beaten by Milwaukee.
The Bucks didn't change the lineup after they came back, and fans hoped that Mayo would play at this time and chase the score to about 5 points in the third quarter!
But it's too hard! Kidd had no intention of doing so. He wants to see how far his team can play.
McCarvey has undoubtedly been given another chance to show itself.
Today he felt that his shooting accuracy was much higher!
With a hot hand, he didn't want to be replaced directly. Luckily, the coach didn't.
Ariza's personal abilities are still very strong!
When the game came back, he took the lead in rushing to the basket with the ball and let Ilyasova get a foul and successfully play 2+1!
McCarvey quickly dribbled the ball to the front court, but was blocked by Ariza!
Parker immediately came out to get the ball, then lifted it high and found that the furthest from Ariza was the letter.
Li Feng rushed directly to Antetokounmpo to catch the ball, relying on his body to shoot a three-point shot!
……
! Such an outcome is still acceptable.
The difference of 28 points is still 12 points away from the end of the third quarter!
Harden was unhappy with his teammates' performance. But there was no choice but to roll my eyes a few times.
At the end of the third quarter, Li Feng stepped off the court and replaced him with Mayo.
McCarvey played the third quarter himself, scoring 11 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists! He was already very happy with the result.
As a member of the team's bench, he is now averaging only 6.3 points per game.
They don't have Parker, Antetokounmpo, Li Feng and they don't have the right to fire in the ring without limits.
You can only rely on about 10 minutes of playing time per game, and hurry up to brush up your data!
Kidd: "Playing seriously without getting hurt.
It's acceptable to lose, after all, the opponent's strength is here. It's up to you for the rest of the game......"
Coming back in the fourth quarter, Li Feng replaced McCarvey. He's going to join forces with Mayo! At this time, the Bucks don't have much to play.
They can only find more than three points! And the Rockets have more points of attack after all!
Both inside and outside players can score.
The Bucks' way of playing in the final quarter is very simple, switching between two tactics: mirror placement + offensive and defensive conversion.
Harden: "I think you still want to win?" Interesting~"
Li Feng: "I also think it's very interesting~ Let's see you after the game then." How is it? ”
Harden: "Losing allows you to gain a little more experience playing against a team like ours. Li Feng is not pre-season now.
We will no longer be kind to you. You know what I mean? ”
Li Feng: "I've never asked you to be polite to us bucks. ”
Harden nodded vigorously.
Antetokounmpo received a pass from Li Feng, and his running on the field at this time was very fast! And the confrontation of the letters is not left behind here in the rocket!
Warcraft there the Bucks basically gave up. But the Rockets also knew they couldn't always feed Howard.
Because the Bucks also clearly showed their three-point ability in the third quarter. You shoot a two-pointer, the opponent hits a three-pointer, and the Rockets still lose.
Ilyasova misses a three-pointer from a pass from the alphabet. Howard gets the rebound and passes the ball to Harden!
Li Feng directly signaled to Mayo to change guards. The scene is gradually heating up! But immediately the fans let out a lot of exclamations!
Before Harden could play his dribble in front of Li Feng, Li Feng directly broke his ball and ran over. But it didn't take long for Terry to stop him.
Mayo received Li Feng's ground-hitting pass in the chaos and hit a three-point jumper!
Then Harden missed a three-pointer, and Ilyasova hit a three-pointer on the other side of the Bucks! The difference has narrowed to less than 10 points!
......
! There are 21.9 seconds left until the end of the race! There is no pause on either side.
Li Feng receives the ball. Team Rocket was a little panicked at this time! At this point, you will deliberately foul the Bucks or play overtime with them.
But is there another possibility?
Terry pounced on Li Feng at this time. But I didn't touch him! Terry signaled to the referee that he had committed a foul.
The referees also told Terry that they know, but you always have to make fouls, right?
Harden ran over a little annoyed at this point. But the ball was passed to Antetokounmpo!
The Bucks' stances are scattered. The Rockets really didn't foul for a while.
Harden yelled from the front court! The whole team started chasing the Bucks players all over the court!
When Parker was about to catch up, the basketball passed to Li Feng again!
In today's game, what makes the media feel strange is that the Rockets can't prevent it many times and can't catch Li Feng.
Li Feng's pace was still not fast, but the opponents couldn't catch up with Li Feng's pace.
At this point, there were less than 6 seconds left before the race. Originally, Kidd wanted the team to be deliberately fouled by the Rockets and then play the next round.
But this gave Team Rocket a chance to kill! So he didn't say anything, just stood quietly on the sidelines and watched the final moments of the game.
At this time, Harden is in a hurry! He ran over and jumped up directly, wanting to fall out of the arena with Li Feng! Even if you are ejected from the referee, it doesn't matter!
But Li Feng saw it at this time and immediately passed the ball to Mayo next to him. Then he took a step back, ignoring Harden and falling off the court alone.
Embarrassment from Harden +699!
With less than 2 seconds left before the game, Li Feng jumped up directly, got Mayo's pass in the air, and then scored three points into the net! It's game over!
At this time, even if the referee wants to help, there is no way. You Harden didn't touch Li Feng at all just now? How is a foul counted?
Harden pounded the floor in anger on the sidelines!
Li Feng: "If you fail, you will have more experience." No thanks~"
Embarrassment from Harden +705!!
At this time, seeing the embarrassing value of the backstage, Li Feng was so frightened that he took two steps back, and then left the scene with his teammates.
Since he had the system, this is the first time in Li Feng's memory that he has received an embarrassing value of more than 700!
Kidd watched the live game end. Breathed a sigh of relief. Then no one looked at it and left the arena directly.
He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. The Bucks team didn't have a lot of power at the beginning of the season.
Kidd has spent the entire season developing his players, honing tactical drills with his assistant coaches and getting them used to the current pace of the game game game after game.
As he told the players.
Finished eighth in the East, there's nothing he has to do to keep the team going.
Whenever they encounter such a game, in fact, the players of the Bucks are playing in the dark.
They don't know how far this game will end up.
You can only control the number of mistakes you make in each turn. Cooperate with your teammates and try to prevent the opposing player.
The Rockets still have time to rest and relax, and the Bucks players just need to be on the court! They can only grit their teeth and fight with Team Rocket to the end!
From the beginning of the third quarter of the game, the Bucks' side was in the race for time! One three-pointer after another made the rhythm of the Rockets mess up many times!
Including in the fourth quarter of the game, the Rockets still couldn't adjust the pace of the game. And their shooting percentage has dropped a lot.
Maybe it's because you don't need to use too much force to defeat such a team.
At the beginning of the game, they didn't think so. But when leading by 28 points at the end of the first half, the Rockets as a whole relaxed.
In two quarters, the Bucks scored 29 more points than the Rockets! Narrowly won the game with a lead of 1 point. Kidd didn't feel anything, but his players were so happy!
At the press conference, Kidd praised his opponent's performance today. Harden didn't show up at all at the Rockets' press conference.
Howard got rebounds and 7 blocks in this game! Josh had 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Ariza had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, and Harden had 49 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists! Terry had 17 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists!
Harden didn't score 50+ points, and their winning streak was interrupted by the Bucks!
Whether the team is in good shape, or when the team is still in a slump in the fourth quarter, Harden can come out and score right away!
This season, the Rockets think their three-point shot can beat the Warriors! But I didn't expect to be defeated by the Bucks, the team ranked ninth in the East, with three points in this game!
Parker had 7 points, 6 rebounds and 12 assists! Antetokounmpo 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists! Ilyasova 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists! Li Feng 30 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists! Mayo 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists!
In this game, Li Feng on the Bucks' side is the one who scores the most! In the face of the Rockets' indiscriminate bombardment, the team can only rely on the overall strength to play the game!
But today Li Feng played very steadily. McCarvey also had an eye-catching performance in the third quarter.
Ahead of this game, some Bucks players also had questions about their team's ability to make the playoffs. But now they don't have that in mind.
......
The Hawks and Cavaliers are more stable in the East. The Eagles have risen completely this season!
The Atlanta Hawks, led by Coach Budenholzer, who has just become the team's coach, directly became the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference regular season!
LeBron returned to Cleveland to form the Cavaliers' Big Three, but they failed to shake the Hawks' rankings!
But after a season, the Cavaliers team is already running in well. The Wizards and the Bulls are different.
The two teams fought for the final game of who was the third in the East. But in the end, the Bulls had a better win percentage, so they finished third in the East.
Kidd's original idea was to get the team and finish sixth in the East. Then the first round of the playoffs against the Bulls.
But apparently the next match shook his mind. It didn't take long for the Bucks to end their winning streak and go on to win and lose, leaving them hovering around seventh and eighth place in the East.
The management and coaching staff of both teams have met to discuss the matter. At the end of the day, the Bucks have little hope of finishing sixth in the East.
In other words, the Bucks, who are seventh in the East at this time, will meet the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs if their ranking remains the same......
The Cavaliers are characterized by the individual strength of the starters. Needless to say, LeBron, former Timberwolves main center Love, and smart guard guard, as well as Smith's three-point ...... this season
But the weaker part of this team is their coordination. But the team is also sending a signal to the whole league so far.
That is, the Cavaliers can completely use their individual combat power to make up for the lack of player cooperation. Give the ball to Irving at the critical moment and it's over, and it's over to James~
On the other hand, the Atlanta Hawks, their team characteristics are. There aren't any superstar players on the team. It belongs to the civilian team, but what does it mean that such a team can rush to the first place?
The Hawks, known as the "Eastern Spurs" throughout the season, have come to this day by relying on their cooperation and crazy offense like a "copy of the Spurs" on the field!
If this team is compared to the Cavaliers, Kidd feels like the Hawks look slightly weaker......
If you compare with the Hawks and Cavaliers in terms of win percentage, statistics, player quality, etc., then the Bucks might as well plan the next vacation immediately.
It's not as good as the Eagles. It's not as good as the Cavaliers.
But one thing the Bucks and the Hawks have in common is that they don't have any big stars.
Playing against the Hawks makes the Bucks feel like if you can get this far, why can't we beat you...... Illusion?
Kidd also asked about the players in his hands. None of these players want to play against the Cavaliers......
Now that they're playing against the Eagles, they still have some hope. Playing the first round with the Cavaliers, it is estimated that there will be despair left.
So in the last few games of the playoffs, the Bucks lost all three games under Kidd's adjustment, and finally dropped one place to the eighth place in the East.
The regular season is over. In this way, the Bucks will face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the season.
The Eagles can now say that the players are already very confident! It doesn't matter which team they are, when they finish first in the regular season, they will be proud.