More than an hour before the start of the game, the Toyota Center began to be lively, and the audience became more and more, and Leon could see that there were many Chinese fans at the scene. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info Indeed, as Yao Ming gained a firm foothold in the NBA, the Rockets became more and more important in the hearts of China and the Chinese, and almost became the home team of the vast majority of Chinese fans.

When he came to Houston to compete last year, although public opinion was also hot, there were still many voices questioning Yao Ming at that time, but now it is different, and he has completely won the respect of the United States with his performance. At the press conference before the start of the game, Yao Ming was also asked about the comparison with Wang Zhizhi, and he said, "Wang Zhizhi will always be ahead of him." ”

Leon knew that this was a kind of humor from Yao Ming, and Wang Zhizhi did take the lead everywhere and walked in front of Yao Ming; But Leon also knew that this kind of humor would stab Wang Zhizhi, because he knew that the subtext of Yao Ming's humor was "Except for being a little older than me and the team is better than me, he has nothing to compare with me." “

Yao Ming may not have this meaning, but he can't stand people thinking like this, Leon understands people's psychology deeply, and he knows that this is a good opportunity for Wang Zhizhi to break out.

In terms of strength, the Celtics have no need to be afraid of the Rockets, the only thing Leon needs to worry about is that the Rockets often play the role of giant killers this season, they have no overwhelming advantage in the face of weak teams, but they often play at a high level in the face of strong teams; The second is that Celtic is close to 20 consecutive wins in this game, and the mentality of both sides will have a great impact on the outcome of the game.

Leon said that he didn't value 20 consecutive wins, in fact, anyone who can win who doesn't want to win, even if he knows that defeat will come one day, he has to keep fighting for victory.

The record Leon is not a concern, but the victory he will not let go.

Therefore, in this kind of game where the mentality plays a key role in encountering a giant killer away from home, the odd soldier is very important. In the previous games against the Rockets, Wang Zhizhi played the role of a surprise soldier, and now Leon has put his trust in him as always.

………………

The tournament officially kicked off at 7:30 p.m., and the new Toyota Center was full of Chinese flavor, not only the most festive red color in China, but also their home logo, which was claimed to have absorbed the essence of Chinese calligraphy.

The Celtics started as always, and the Rockets sent a large four-small lineup of Yao Ming, Jim Jackson, Mobley, Francis and Scott Padgett, and also because the team's main interior Carto missed the game due to injury, so Rockets coach Van Gundy simply sent a small lineup.

Leon was a little surprised by Van Gundy's arrangement, the coach who is known for his defense and brought great changes to the Rockets this season, actually played with himself as a big four, although Padgett is nominally a big forward, in fact, he is an out-and-out small forward in terms of play, likes to shoot three-pointers, and is also weak on the defensive end.

Leon knew that Van Gundy was gambling that since Cato couldn't play, then whether it was Taylor or Paget, it would make no difference to Kevin Garnett on the defensive end, but it would be better to play Pagett with a larger attack range and create more trouble for Garnett on the offensive end.

"Whimsical choice, if it were me, I would definitely go to Taylor, and I wanted to avoid it before the game started, even if it worked wonders, it wouldn't work again and again." Leon thought to himself when he saw Van Gundy's arrangement. As a coach with a lot of intrigues, Leon is now paying more and more attention to the head-on confrontation of hard power, and he believes that the intrigue may have a temporary effect, but in the seven-game series, the momentum and growth accumulated in the head-to-head collision is the foundation to become stronger and defeat the opponent.

Van Gundy is a good coach, a workaholic outright, and extremely meticulous in preparing for the game, which is exactly the same as Leon, but as a halfway head coach, he is still missing something.

As the referee tosses the ball in the center circle, the game officially begins. Yao Ming took the lead in dialing basketball, and the Rockets began their first offense.

Yao Ming is 7-foot-6 tall and is so huge on the court that PJ Brown and Kevin Garnett have become a lot thinner and shorter in front of him, and the Rockets' first offense is also launched from Yao Ming.

Compared to last season, Yao Ming's body shape has changed significantly, his legs are thicker, his arms are stronger, his body is thicker, and he looks more burly and majestic in his new jersey. When he sat down on PJ Brown in the low post, Brown was buried in the back, the Rockets pulled away, and Francis passed the ball to Yao Ming.

The Celtics did not interfere with the bag and let Yao Ming play alone, but the result was, of course, Yao Ming turned over and made a jumper after receiving the ball, Brown couldn't even touch Yao Ming's hand, and watched Yao Ming hit a jumper.

That's the point of the super attacking interior line, making everything easy and making the opponent's defense meaningless.

Yao Ming scored the first goal for the Rockets and also set the tone for the first quarter of the game. The Rockets focused on the interior, while the Celtics insisted on not wrapping up, and they responded with a performance on the offensive end.

The Celtics' strong point is undoubtedly Garnett, Pagett can't match Kevin at all, after Yao Ming shot a two-pointer, Garnett immediately responded with a mid-range, also ignoring Padget's defense.

The two sides relied on their respective interior strengths to hurt each other, but obviously the Celtics were superior, because PJ Brown was PJ Brown after all, and his defensive level was not comparable to Padgett's, and when Yao Ming scored consecutive points on his head, the veteran was obviously a little angry. He began to add more movement to the defense and began to disrupt Yao Ming's catch with the front line, which stopped Yao Ming's two attacks in one go, and the score became 9-12, and the Celtics led by 3 points.

The Rockets began to shift their offensive focus to the perimeter, allowing Frances and Mobley to start the main offense.

In addition to Wang Zhizhi and Yao Ming's Chinese derby before the game, another eye-catching topic is the confrontation between the backcourts of the two sides, Arenas Garid, facing Frances and Mobley, are both an attack and a defense, a fast ball control and a shooter who can defend, Francis and Mobley appear more wild, and Arenas and Reed have been proven in the finals.

With Yao Ming restricted, Francis attacked one-man and forced his way inside from the middle, causing Garnett's foul and his folding layup close to the end. After hitting two free throws, Arenas was not to be outdone, he also forced a breakthrough in the middle, and he was fearless in the face of Yao Ming and forced a layup.

Yao Ming still didn't have enough experience on the defensive end, and Arenas was a little out of step as soon as he changed speeds, and Arenas took advantage of the time difference to make a small throw.

The two sides played back and forth quite fiercely, the Rockets did not fall behind at all, and even sometimes played a very imposing ball, the score of the two sides at the end of the first quarter was 29:27, and the Celtics led the Rockets by two points, which can be described as tied.

In the second quarter, the Celtics still maintained their suppression of the Rockets, but Yao Ming and Francis were in good shape. The Celtics' offense has always been scattered, without forming a continuous offensive attack wave, and Leon on the defensive end did not use a super powerful ultimate defense, feeling like he was leading the Rockets to follow up.

Such a game is obviously not very favorable to the Celtics, because this is Houston, once the Rockets play with momentum, the situation on both sides of the first half cannot be found, and it may be difficult to say in the second half.

But Leon sat firmly in Diaoyutai, Wang Zhizhi had not yet gained a minute of playing time in the first half, Wang Zhizhi himself was anxious, the Chinese fans on the sidelines were anxious, Yao Ming was a little anxious, and the host of the Chinese TV station thousands of miles away was even more anxious.

"Oh, this ...... It should be Wang Zhizhi, he has experience with Yao Ming. ”

But Leon is still not in a hurry, he knows that the third quarter is the moment to change the situation, judging by what he knows about the Houston Rockets. (To be continued.) )