In the battle of Tianwang Mountain, Popovich still maintained the strategy in the fourth game of Houston, and there was a lot of wrapping around Yao Ming.

This time on the road, Yao Ming's performance was even more sluggish, and there were serious physical problems in the fourth quarter. The physique of the yellow race and Yao Ming's height both determine that Yao Ming cannot be a physical monster, and in the face of a series that is like a quagmire of grappling, Yao Ming has taken on too much on offense and defense. And one of the opposing duo, there is also a stone Buddha Duncan, one of the best interior defenders in history, Yao Ming tried his best and couldn't break free from the bondage that Popovich put on him.

The Spurs' two-man package exposed the Rockets' big problems, and there were too few people who could change the opposing team's defensive strategy. If there is a Scola in the position of a power forward, the Spurs will never dare to wrap Yao Ming so unscrupulously, and a power forward with a reliable mid-range shot will be of great help to Yao Ming.

The style of the Rockets game also took a sharp turn from the fourth quarter onwards, losing by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter alone, and the Spurs destroyed the Rockets 123-81 throughout the game.

Yao Ming played the worst game of the playoffs, playing 41 minutes, shooting only 2 of 11, scoring 5 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks.

Ginobili is the best player for the Spurs again, with 36 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, and Manu is a superstar in the playoffs. Since the playoffs, Manu has averaged 23.6 points per game, ranking first among the Spurs, who are playing the slowest pace in the league, averaging only 80 rounds per game.

In the 2017 playoffs, almost all teams averaged nearly 100 rounds per game, and some even exceeded 100 rounds.

In this year's playoffs, Manu averaged only 23.6 points per game, but converted to 100 rounds, his playoff average was close to 30 points. The pace of the league is getting faster and faster, and after 2015, the data showed a big bang trend, in large part due to the acceleration of the league as a whole.

So the early 2000s were a big hit for the stars, as it was one of the slowest periods in league history, with very low scores.

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The Rockets lost the battle of Tianwang Mountain, and the backing candidates were self-evident, and everyone, including a large part of the domestic fans, and the media pointed the finger at Yao Ming, who played abnormally. In this era of rapid development of the Internet and the explosion of information, it is rare for a rational voice to come out of the Internet. The self-righteous nature of human beings is undoubtedly exposed, and no one will think about why Yao Ming played abnormally, and how much pressure Yao Ming beared, and some only ridiculed and abused. Only a handful of Rockets fans will see themselves as part of the team, regardless of whether the players on the team play well or badly, and cheer for them until the end of the game.

Fortunately, Yao Ming, who has always been serious and has limited English skills, will not be surfing the Internet in the middle of this series, and he chose to take a break to meet the sixth game in Houston. Because, he was so tired.

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Faced with a possible final game of the season, the Rockets put up a sign at home with the slogan "In or Go Home", calling on Houston fans to come home to cheer on the team.

In the pre-game interview, Yao Ming looked relaxed, and even said a little playfully when facing the camera of the imperial court.

"Why does Houston today make me feel a little 'sluggish and cold', so tens of thousands of people seem to be seeing me off, I don't want to be Jing Ke!"

Seeing that Yao Ming was in a good mood, Yang Jing, a beautiful reporter from the imperial court, also let go of her nervousness and said a few words of encouragement. Yao Ming is a leading figure in contemporary Chinese basketball, and who doesn't want him to get more honors in a foreign country and go to a higher palace?

But Yang Jing also had a question in her heart that she didn't ask, how would Da Yao crack the Spurs' strategy before wrapping around the game, and almost lost at this point twice in a row. But Yang Jing can't ask this question, she can only hold this question in her heart like the majority of fans, looking forward to Yao Ming, who will be on the court, to give an answer.

Hu Qingniu is of course very concerned about the answer to this question, and the entire Bobcats team, including players and assistant coaches, are watching the game in the video room at Time Warner Arena that could decide their Western Conference opponents.

But the moment he saw the starting list of the Rockets, Hu Qingniu understood everything in his heart.

The Rockets adjusted their starting lineup, and after that blockbuster three-way trade, Sean Battier, along with Mike Miller, and Hardaway all came to the Rockets.

The Rockets then adopted a backcourt combination of Hardaway and Mike James, and used Mike Miller and Battier as the front, so Battier was thrust into the power forward position. The line-up has played well throughout the season, with the forward combination of Battier and Miller opening up space up front of the pitch, with Yao Ming and Hardaway both benefiting. Until the first two games when Yao Ming was trapped, Battier was limited by height and weight, and repeatedly lost himself in the Spurs' hand-to-hand combat tactics.

In this crucial sixth game, Rockets head coach Van Gundy Jr. boldly adopted the veteran Juwan Howard on the bench, speaking of Juwan Howard, everyone knows that he is one of the Michigan Five Tigers, and also knows that he is not worthy of the name Mr. 100 million. He is 32 years old, which is an advanced age in the sport, and the decline in physical fitness has caused all the delicate basket skills of his peak to be lost. Offensive efficiency declined, and the defensive end didn't help much, making him quickly fall from a pre-All-Star caliber player to a role player. His career with the Rockets was the last time he could enter the rotation in his career, and although Juwan Howard eventually retired in his 40s with the Heat, the last eight years of his NBA career were spent on the team as a locker room leader.

Juwan Howard re-emerged as the starting power forward, Battier moved to the small forward position, and Mike Miller and Hardaway partnered the ultra-high guard line. No one in the Rockets' starting lineup is even less than two meters tall, and with Yao Ming, this is definitely the highest starting lineup in the league. In a slow-paced series, the role of height speaks for itself. ”

Hu Qingniu's remarks have been recognized by many celebrities, including Payton and Pippen, all of whom said that on the battlefield, in the era of cold weapons, one inch is long and one inch is strong, and on the NBA court, height is also an important advantage.

Hu Qingniu said with great certainty.

"I think the Rockets are going to win this game."

Hearing this, Boss Qiao on the side came to his senses.

"Hu, are you sure?" Then he opened the webpage and muttered to himself, "emmm, the handicap of the game is not closed yet, I will bet 3 million ......"