This season, free throws have become a very important scoring tool for James Harden.

In the regular season that has ended, he has made 792 free throws, which is the most in the league.

Dwight Howard has long dominated the free-throw line, but his shooting percentage is not destined for his scoring efficiency.

Harden, on the other hand, is the second guard to rank first in the league in free throws since the 2006-2007 season.

The last one was none other than Kobe Bryant.

Harden averaged 8.6 points from the free-throw court, second only to Kevin Durant, who shot a little more from the free-throw line.

Behind the two, one is Kobe, and then Russell Westbrook.

Well, there is still some truth in these three people being called the "Three Whistles of Thunder".

Of course, foul making is a way to score points using the rules, and any good NBA scorer is a good scorer.

Adrian Dantley is far away, Paul Pierce and Kevin Martin are close.

Harden stepped up to the free-throw line and hit two free throws to allow the Rockets to continue scoring.

But in the playoffs, it's not so easy to make fouls like the regular season.

Bryant has little interest in making fouls, and his goal is the basket, not the opponent's hands or body.

The reason why he was able to get so many free throws was mainly because the opponent was afraid of being beaten, and he couldn't bear to watch him score without fouls.

Bryant ate two fouls on Harden and was clearly angry.

In the next round, Kobe Bryant received the ball on the outside, used the double cover of Li Liang and Howard to enter the inside, and hit the board against the throwing of a master of Asik!

At 37:26, the margin was still in double digits.

For the Rockets, if they can't close the gap as soon as possible, the game is a slow death.

Grinding positional warfare is not their specialty, and the rocket must play out the speed.

After Beverley came on the court, the Rockets had an extra point on the outside to handle the ball and shoot three-pointers.

They gave up on the inside frontcourt rebounding scramble.

Although Smith had an amazing performance against the Lakers before, this is a playoff game after all.

Jeremy Lin handed the ball to Harden in the first half, and it was still Kobe Bryant vs. Harden.

Asik came out to do a pick-and-roll cover, but Howard didn't follow at all, and after the screen, Harden found an open in the middle, and Nash came over to block it.

Harden immediately sent the ball to Jeremy Lin on the wing, and Jeremy Lin had an open three-point shot!

But Li Liang pounced in the bottom corner, and Jeremy Lin's three-point shot was interfered with and the iron missed.

Asik got the rebound and handed the ball to Parsons.

Parsons took a sudden step and didn't dare to go on his own, because Ci Shiping came over.

After a few passes, the Lakers' defense was completely messed up.

But it doesn't matter, everyone has their own role, even if it is misplaced, with the size and defensive experience of Lakers players, as long as it is not Nash, they are not afraid.

Parsons still passed the ball to Jeremy Lin, who still had a three-point chance.

He voted decisively, but unfortunately he still missed.

The first time he played the playoffs, Jeremy Lin's hands were too tight.

The ball didn't feel right as soon as it was shot, and the shooting action was a little disjointed.

Howard grabbed the backcourt rebound, Nash held the ball across the halfcourt, and Ci Shiping had a chance to single Harden in the low post on the left.

The two happened to be in opposite positions, and I don't know if I was afraid of Ci Shiping's elbow greeting, Harden took a step back.

But Ci Shiping was not fooled, he accepted the pass, turned inside to kill the basket, and pushed Asik to hit the board and layup!

At 39:26, that's how the playoffs are played.

McHale called a timeout again, and the second quarter was almost halfway through, and the Rockets had not yet broken 30.

In the regular season, the Rockets were a fast-paced whirlwind, ranking second in the league in points per game behind the Denver Nuggets and second in the league with 106 points per game.

It's just 0.1 points less than the league-leading Nuggets.

They undoubtedly lead the league in three-point attempts made and are tied for first place with the New York Knicks.

They also rank in the top five in the league in assists and can be said to be an out-and-out offensive team.

Now they can't play the offense, and they scored 26 points in the first quarter and a half, how can this be played?

Three-pointers So far, Harden has hit a shot, Garcia has hit a shot.

Multiple other attempts, none of which hit.

Mike Brown undoubtedly noticed the Rockets' three-point shooting in the pregame preparation meeting, so he focused on one-on-one in his defensive strategy, easily not shrinking, and maintaining pressure from outside the three-point line.

Except for Harden, the Rockets players are not strong in their own offensive ability with the ball, and they do not have a strong offensive point in the low post.

It relies on a quick offensive and defensive transition, an unstable foothold, and a three-point drive to improve efficiency.

As soon as the speed is strangled, the rocket loses power.

McHale knows that this is a reflection of the difference in strength between the two sides, and no matter how it is adjusted, it is difficult to have an immediate effect.

However, he made a substitution, bringing on two veterans, Delfino and Garcia, for Parsons and Jeremy Lin.

When it comes to the playoffs, veterans are still more reliable.

Parsons and Jeremy Lin were almost single-handedly tackled by Li Liang in the first half.

He first directly defended Jeremy Lin in the backcourt and did not let him accelerate through the half.

After halftime, he switched defenses with Nash.

Parsons held the ball at that point and couldn't take the opportunity to play Nash in a misplaced position.

Once Li Liang is replaced, Parsons will be even more unable to fight.

His ball-holding shooting feints are more realistic than Terrence Jones's.

Li Liang didn't shake it at all, and he even had the energy to help defend the inside line.

After Delfino came on the court, the pressure on Li Liang was greater.

Delfino has a more well-rounded and experienced style of play and is an important point of possession on the Rockets' bench.

The Rockets now have to score first in the positional offense, otherwise they will be constantly counterattacked, and the gap will get bigger and bigger.

When Delfino came on the scene, it had an immediate effect.

After he used the cover to get inside, he was forced by the bag to make a clever pass to the basket, and Asik received the ball and dunked it with both hands.

In comparison, the Lakers' positional offense is much more routine.

There are at least five different tactics such as giving the ball to Kobe, giving the ball to Nash, giving the ball to Howard, giving the ball to Ci Shiping, and giving the ball to Li Liang, as well as various tactics derived from them.

Head coach Mike Brown knows almost nothing about it.

Whatever, just grasp the general direction.

This time, Nash handed the ball to Kobe, who was more cautious in his offensive options in the playoffs than in the regular season.

After Delfino and Garcia got up, the Rockets slowed down on the defensive end.

Harden is protected on the weak side and won't let him defend Kobe, and the person who is one-on-one with Kobe is Beverley.

This small defender, who is not tall and full of energy, is a typical garbage dog type player.

The defense is extremely hard, the offensive end is very good at grabbing frontcourt rebounds, and there is a good three-point shot.

It's a good choice to use him to deal with Kobe, but his figure is really not enough.

If you don't have enough figure, you just rely on your vitality.

Kobe Bryant caught the ball with his back, and he kept picking up the ball with his hands to interfere with Kobe.

But how could Kobe be afraid of this interference, he made a glance to the weak side.

Nash was on the weak side and ran to the middle to cover Bryant.

Point guards do cover, rarely, but not nonetheless.

For example, when Stockton was in the Jazz, he was very good at covering Malone.

The point of this cover is to bring Harden over.

If Beverley squeezes through, Bryant will go straight to the basket and attack Harden.

If Beverley bypasses, then at the free throw line, Kobe Bryant will definitely hit directly.

Delfino wants to come over to help defend? Li Liang was ambushed in the bottom corner, and his three points were very deadly.

It's a dilemma for the Rockets' defense, and they don't even have time to think about it.

Beverley chose to squeeze through, trying to protect Harden in advance.

But Kobe Bryant hit the three-second zone like a snake, and Harden could only defend.

Asik was pulled away by Howard.

As a result, Kobe Bryant pressed Harden to make a layup, scored two points and caused Harden's foul!

Harden has no way to play this ball, so he can't watch Kobe Bryant go to the basket.

And Kobe Bryant was going to induce Harden to foul, so the pace was adjusted just right.

There are also free throws when he scores, and Kobe Bryant stands on the free throw line and hits the free throw.

Kobe Bryant looked at Harden and said in his heart that you kid wants to fight with me, and he is a little tender.