After playing the Grizzlies, the Rockets rested for two days and faced the Lakers at home.

Before this game, the focus of the Lakers and Rockets was not on each other, but on the other team, the Timberwolves.

"If the Timberwolves win this game, then the Lakers will have no reason to fight us." Qiao Hai made an analysis.

But Tang Yi questioned: "Not necessarily, Rick Carlisle considers that the opponent of this game is you, I am afraid he will not give up this game easily." ”

"No, Don Jr., if they don't see any hope of finishing fifth, they'll definitely choose to give up this game."

Looking at Tang Yi with a questioning face, Qiao Hai explained: "If they end up in the sixth place, then their opponent will be the King, the strength of the King is not bad, last year's playoffs almost killed the Lakers, in the face of such a strong opponent, Rick Carlisle will definitely be very careful." ”

"So, he's going to give up this game and gather energy to deal with the Kings in the first round of the playoffs."

Qiao Hai's analysis has some truth, so everyone began to pay attention to the Timberwolves' game.

……

The Timberwolves' final game of the season against the Grizzlies, a strong opponent.

Therefore, the possibility of the Timberwolves losing this game is still quite high, and in this game, the Timberwolves will start the game before the Rockets and Lakers.

So, by the time the Rockets-Lakers game began, the Timberwolves-Grizzlies game had reached halftime.

The Timberwolves led the Grizzlies by four points at 47-43.

For the Lakers, the Timberwolves and Grizzlies didn't end up in the half, but the Timberwolves still have the possibility of losing.

Therefore, at the beginning of the game, Rick Carlisle was still the main force.

Point guard Derrick Fisher, shooting guard Kobe Bryant, small forward Rick Fox, power forward Mark Madsen and center Shaquille O'Neal.

On the Rockets' side, Qiao Hai naturally responded with the main force, but some minor adjustments were made in the starting lineup.

Point guard Steve Francis, scoring guard replaced by Jamal Crawford, who has performed well in the last two games, small forward Ron Artest, power forward replaced by Carlos Boozer and center Yao Ming.

The Rockets' new starters are a set of all-offensive starters, and Qiao Hai's purpose is also obvious, it is impossible to prevent the Lakers from killing an O and a K on defense, so the only way to focus on the offensive end is to suppress the Lakers on the offensive end.

In the first quarter of the game, the Rockets played quite well.

Jamal Crawford, who started for the first time this season, scored 6 points on 2-of-2 shooting, which was super efficient, and Steve Francis also scored 7 points, but Yao Ming's performance was average, scoring only 2 points on 1-of-4 shooting in the first quarter.

The Rockets led the Lakers by 24-22 in the first quarter, two points.

……

In the second quarter of the game, the two teams fought an iron battle, and each played iron at the beginning.

At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets still maintained their lead over the Lakers, and at this time, the Timberwolves and Grizzlies also divided the winners.

……

The game between the Timberwolves and the Grizzlies has reached the last 4 minutes of the fourth quarter, and the Timberwolves suddenly broke out and opened up the difference, and the score became 87:77.

With a 10-point lead, the Timberwolves all but sealed the win.

Charles Barkley, who commented on the game, announced loudly: "With a four-minute lead of 10 points, it will be difficult for the Grizzlies to recover the difference, and in this game, we can declare that the Timberwolves won the game, and the Grizzlies will usher in a wave of two consecutive losses at the end of the season." ”

……

At the game between the Rockets and the Lakers, Brad Stevens whispered to Qiao Hai about the latest news: "The Timberwolves are going to win, and in the last 4 minutes, they lead by 10 points. ”

Qiao Hai nodded, but there was no movement in his hands.

"Whether the Timberwolves win or not has nothing to do with us, we have to win this game no matter what, so we don't change the bench."

The Rockets did not change the bench, but the Lakers successively put on a semi-main and semi-bench lineup.

Apparently, Rick Carlisle got the news and he started releasing water.

Because of the Lakers' release, the Rockets quickly expanded their lead.

At halftime, they took a seven-point lead.

Yao Ming scored 12 points in this quarter and was the hero of the Rockets' rapid expansion of the point difference.

In the second half, the Lakers continued to be half main and half substitute, but Qiao Hai replaced it with a full main force.

The whole main force rushed a wave, and the Rockets quickly expanded the difference to more than 20 points, and then, the Rockets went to the bench, and the Lakers also went to the pure bench.

"Rick Carlisle, this guy, it's quite obvious to release the water." Qiao Hai complained, and then waved his hand and went on the pure substitute.

Stanleford smiled: "He didn't dare to let it go so obviously, if it wasn't so obvious, the headlines of the major media in Los Angeles tomorrow would definitely be critical of him." ”

Qiao Hai also smiled, for the coaches of the two teams, the Lakers and the Grizzlies, losing to Qiao Hai is unacceptable.

No way, the young Qiao Hai is like a monument, if the new coach can't do better than Qiao Hai, they can only try their best to beat Qiao Hai in every duel.

In fact, whether it is Phil Jackson or Rick Carlisle, or Lionel Hollins and Hubby Brown, no one can do better than Qiao Hai, so they can only do their best to beat Qiao Hai.

In previous seasons, the Lakers' coaches were unsuccessful.

This season, the Lakers and Grizzlies each made one success, but obviously, this is because the Rockets' lineup is one notch weaker than the Lakers and Grizzlies, and the Lakers and Grizzlies will not win without the difference in the lineup.

In fact, even if there is a gap in the lineup, Qiao Hai has the ability to lead the Rockets to win the Lakers and Grizzlies, it is just a matter of probability.

……

For the rest of the third quarter, as well as the fourth quarter, the Rockets and Lakers finished with a pure bench lineup.

The Rockets won the game very easily, and the final score was 106-90, and the Rockets won by 16 points.

"At the end of the game, the Rockets won the last game of the regular season, and they managed to get their 50th win of the season!"

"With his 50th win of the season, Qiao Hai has led this Rockets to a huge improvement, and the Rockets have won a full 22 more games than last season!"

"Qiao Hai's credit accounts for most of it, followed by Yao Ming, in this game, his performance was average, only 19 points, and 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks."

"This season, he averaged 18.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.4 steals and 1.9 blocks per game.

……

At the end of the regular season, the Rockets also quickly devoted themselves to preparing for the playoffs, and the first round of the playoffs has been decided.

The Rockets, who won 50 games in the regular season, will face the Grizzlies, who are second in the West and 59-23 in the regular season.

The Spurs will face the Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, the Kings will face the Lakers, and the Mavericks will face the Timberwolves.

The four-group matchup, the Spurs-Trail Blazers matchup, can be a matchup between Duncan and Rasheed Wallace, but there is really no suspense in this set of matchups.

The matchup between the Kings and the Lakers could be considered a repeat of last year's playoffs, and the Kings will use this opportunity to complete their revenge on the Lakers.

The Mavericks' matchup against the Timberwolves will be a matchup between Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett.

In the end, the showdown between the Rockets and the Grizzlies is naturally the showdown between Qiao Hai and his old club.

……

In the East, the Pistons faced the New York Knicks in the first round, the Nets faced the Bucks in the first round, the Pacers faced the Celtics, and the 76ers faced the Hornets.

Overall, the East is a notch weaker than the West, and except for the Pistons and Nets, no team in the East can pose a threat to several strong teams in the West.