On May 21, the first Western Conference final was held in Houston. Fastest updates

The Toyota Center was full again, and the Rockets fans at the scene were very enthusiastic, wearing uniform cheering T-shirts and holding up the cheering signs in their hands.

Qiao Hai even saw a sign that was very suitable for him, with four people depicted on it.

On the top side is Qiao Hai, on the other side is Rick Carlisle, next to a line of small print: "Best Coach vs?" ”

A question mark, obviously, this fan is teasing Rick Carlisle, meaning, Joe Hay has the best coach, what do you have?

The two people drawn below are Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal, and there is also a line of small words next to it: "One center vs three centers!" ”

At the end of the line is a large line: "Tell me, who will win?!" ”

Rockets, of course!

……

Amid cheers and boos from the audience, both teams played, and after a short warm-up, the starters of both teams came on.

As soon as the starter debuted, there was an exclamation at the scene, and even the commentary seat was surprised.

"Oh no, what do I see? The rocket has changed formations! McBlin looked very surprised. They played most of the games with a starting lineup this season and almost never changed their starting lineup, but in this game, they actually changed their lineup! ”

That's right, Qiao Hai was surprised and made a change of formation.

"Gary Payton didn't start, and the point guard on the court was actually Dwayne Wade! Then the scoring guard Kyle Korver, a wing shooter, small forward Ron Artest has not changed, the power forward has also been replaced by Kevin Cato, and the center has not changed, Yao Ming. ”

"The Rockets directly changed two starters, the change is really too big!"

Qiao Hai's two-handed change was completely unexpected by the Lakers, and Rick Carlisle was also very surprised, but for the time being, he still didn't know what kind of changes Qiao Hai's two-handed change would bring, he could only wait and see!

"The Lakers' starting lineup is completely unchanged, with point guard Derrick Fisher, scoring guard Kobe Bryant, small forward Devin George, power forward Karl Malone, and center Shaquille O'Neal."

Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming stood on the center circle, ready to jump the ball, and the game was about to begin.

"In the opening jump ball, Yao Ming had a huge advantage, he successfully dialed back the basketball, Dwayne Wade got the ball, and the Rockets attacked first."

Dwyane Wade holds the ball and advances straight to the frontcourt.

Then, without stopping at all, he directly accelerated and galloped past Yao Ming who was in the side of the crossg!

The Lakers just retreated, and their defense was not very strong, and at this time the response was insufficient, and immediately there was a loophole, and Shaquille O'Neal kept going inside, and there was no defense at all!

Wade immediately seized the opportunity and rushed directly to the basket, and O'Neal reacted and turned around and reached out to interfere with Wade's layup.

But the referee "beeped" two or three whistles and blew a foul!

There was an uproar in the commentary seat: "At the beginning, Shaquille O'Neal contributed a foul, his defensive concentration was too poor, he didn't make up for it at all, but he stretched out his hand at the last moment......"

On the field, O'Neill raised his hands high, looked innocent, and complained to the referee with a wrinkled face.

The referee immediately gave a warning, and O'Neill obediently stood back.

Then, Wade stepped up to the free-throw line and started making free throws.

Two free throws, both of which Wade hit.

Open, Rockets 2:0.

The Lakers' offense, O'Neal immediately wanted to return the ball, he was in the low post, and then he opened his hand to ask for the ball.

But the Rockets' defensive position is very particular, Kevin Cato alone resists O'Neal, and Devin George's Keller Korver who guards the bottom corner is also eyeing O'Neal.

Even Yao Ming, who was opposite Karl Malone, had to look at O'Neill from time to time.

Obviously, the Rocket's care for O'Neill is multifaceted and multi-layered.

Derrick Fisher possessed the ball past half court, and Bryant stood on the right side of the arc and went straight to the ball.

Then, he completely ignored O'Neal's forced request and played alone.

However, in the face of Ron Artest's single defense, Kobe Bryant didn't get much space, he beckoned for a cover, mentioning that it was Karl Malone who was covering outside.

O'Neill seems to be holding on to the low post.

But Kobe Bryant didn't care at all, passed the cover of Karl Malone, directly hit the big with a small one, and then glanced at the other side, Ron Artest retracted inside, Karl Malone got a great opportunity, he was immediately a pass.

Assist Karl Malone and hit a mid-range shot.

In fact, this season, Kobe Bryant in the first half still loves passing the ball very much, and later Kobe Bryant also explained: "There are always people who say that I play alone, that I have fewer assists, and in the later games, I made changes, and the change is that I will brush up on assists to 5 in the first half, and then in the second half, I can not pass." ”

The current Kobe Bryant is this kind of thinking, Karl Malone has a good chance, and the pass is an assist, and he passes it immediately.

In the first offensive round of the opening game, the Lakers also scored, but O'Neal played a soy sauce, although there was no change on the surface, Qiao Hai knew that O'Neal was already holding his breath at this time and couldn't vent at all.

……

Rockets' offense, Wade continued to hold the ball.

In the face of Derrick Fisher's single defense, he made another strong breakthrough and used the cover to get to the basket again.

Devon George on the flank rushed over and Wade split the ball directly into the flank, but unfortunately, Camele Korver's three-pointer didn't go in.

The Lakers grabbed the rebound and went to the frontcourt.

Derek Fisher held the ball, he found Karl Malone, played a wave of cooperation, the old Malone, cut into the penalty area, found an opportunity, received a pass from Derek Fisher, and threw it successfully.

4:2, at the beginning, Karl Malone scored 4 points in a row.

The Rockets' offense is still Wade's ball-holding, and Rick Carlisle's brain is not slow to react, at this time, he has found that the Rockets have changed their main point of attack after changing the formation.

It seems that the main focus of the Rockets in this game is rookie Wade, not Yao Ming, who voted second in the MVP of the regular season this season.

But Wade's main attack, the effect is very good, this ball, he is a strong breakthrough, Derrick Fisher can't stop Wade at all.

Wade slashed straight in, again attracting a flanking attack.

Then the ball is divided into baskets, Kevin Cato catches the ball, and pulling it up is a heavy dunk! With a bang, 4:4, the score of the two teams was tied again.

Rick Carlisle frowned, and Derek Fisher seemed completely unable to guard Wade......

……

The Lakers' offense, Karl Malone scored another 2 points, this time it was Qiao Hai's turn to frown, he walked directly to the sidelines, and commanded Yao Ming, who served to the bottom line, for a while.

Let Yao Ming defend against O'Neal and Cato defend against Carl Malone.

After sitting back in his place, Qiao Hai also sighed: "I still underestimated Old Ma Long, this guy, if you don't focus on guarding against him, he will break out immediately." ”

scored 6 points in a row in the opening game, and Karl Malone really broke out.

But after the Rockets changed their defensive alignment, Karl Malone had fewer chances.

Because in the Lakers, the ball is concentrated in the hands of Kobe and O'Neal, and Karl Malone is almost a fixed-point shooter, and now that the Rockets are steadily arranging a player to follow him, he will naturally not get a chance.

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