In the first round of the playoffs, the Rockets will face the Jazz, and the Rockets must deal with the threat created by veteran Carlos Boozer.

The Jazz's record and strength are one notch lower than the top seven in the West, so public opinion believes that the Rockets have met a big package in the first round, and the Rockets vs. Jazz should be the least suspenseful group of matchups in the first round of the West.

The Rockets benefited, but it was also the result of the Rockets' efforts in a regular season season, and they deserved it.

The Timberwolves, who are second in the West, will face the Grizzlies, who are seventh, and the Timberwolves trio will face Tracy McGrady, who has returned from injury.

The third-place Lakers will face the sixth-place Mavericks, and the Lakers' Big Three will face the Mavericks Troika.

The fourth-placed spur will face the fifth-placed king, and it will be a spear and shield duel.

……

In the East, the Pistons faced the Celtics in the first round, and the Nets faced the Knicks.

The Pacers vs. the Bucks, and the Hornets vs. the Raptors.

……

Although the Jazz's strength is weaker by one notch, the Rockets are still very cautious.

Before the game, the Rockets studied the footage of several representative games of the Jazz this season in great detail.

The strengths and weaknesses of this Jazz team are very obvious, and their core lineup is inward, with one of the two cores being Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilyenko.

One is in the fourth position, and the other is in the third position.

In other words, the main offensive points of this Jazz team are on the front line, so the Rockets front line, one Chris Anderson, one Ron Artest, is just the right position.

The Jazz team is also very good on the wing, Matt Harplin has a chance to compete for the title of Sixth Man of the Year this season, and Joe's disciple Ragabel is one of the best outside 3-and-D players in the league today.

But the Jazz's point guard and center are their weaknesses, and Mo Williams has good stats, but the overall situation is too poor, and there is no organizational ability, which makes the Jazz's tactics very single, either outside blocking and pick-and-roll offense, or all kinds of singles.

After sending away Greg Ostertag, the Jazz can only use Jeron Collins as the starting center, and the center position is a big hidden danger for the Jazz, and they have no one to defend the current Yao Ming.

Therefore, Qiao Hai's tactical strategy is to use Gary Payton to target Mo Williams, forcing the Jazz to play a single pick-and-roll offense, or a single tactic.

The Rockets can then use their excellent individual defensive ability to defend opponents one-on-one with one-on-one singles, or simply block and pick and roll.

……

On April 18, the first game of the playoffs began.

The Toyota Center in Houston was a full-time game in the first game of the playoffs, with all the fans wearing uniform T-shirts and making a lot of noise.

"We've won 65 regular season games and we've beaten almost every opponent! We are number one in the league! ”

In the locker room, listening to the loud noise in the arena, Qiao Hai hoarsely encouraged the team's morale: "So, in the playoffs, we have to keep winning, we can't be said by the opponent to be a regular season team, we have to prove ourselves in the playoffs!" ”

"In this game, we have to win, not only to win, but we have to win the next big win, to win this game completely!"

……

In the opening game of the playoffs, there was also an appearance ceremony at the Toyota Center, but after the warm-up.

The substitutes stood in a line, and then the live DJ called out their names one by one, raising their hands one by one.

The starters sat on the bench, and one by one the starters stood up after the substitution ceremony.

"Next up is our starting power forward, Chris Anderson!"

Chris Anderson waved his hands and stood up from the bench to the back of the crowd after high-fiveing a group of substitutes.

Then, Ron Artest, Dwyane Wade, and Gary Payton all stood up from the bench and received cheers from the fans.

Finally, Yao Ming: "Finally, let's welcome our starting center, Yao Ming, with the warmest cheers!" ”

Qiao Hai also stood on the sidelines, and then the camera focused on him.

The live DJ also shouted: "Of course, don't forget our head coach, Mr. Qiao Hai!" ”

Qiao Hai waved his hand to the sidelines, and then received more violent cheers and screams than Yao Ming.

……

"Beep!"

With a whistle, referee Kenmore threw the ball over the arena, and Yao Ming and Jeron Collins jumped up at the same time.

The two are both floor streamers, but Yao Ming has an obvious height advantage, he directly took advantage of his height to flick the basketball, Gary Payton took over the basketball, and the Rockets started to attack first.

The Jazz stepped back quickly, and this season, the Jazz have been able to come out like a dark horse, partly because of Carlos Boozer's excellent performance, and partly because of their excellent defense, methodical and meticulous.

Gary Payton held the ball in the high position, Yao Ming pulled directly to the high position, a side block, Gary Payton directly hit it, and then made a quick stop jump shot.

Bang, didn't go in.

Andrei Kirilenko grabbed the rebound, then handed the ball to Mo Williams, who advanced to the front court with the ball and pressed the rhythm for a while.

Then, he accelerated, which was also a block in the front court, and Xiao Mo killed it.

The Rockets directly switched defenses, and Xiao Mo rushed two steps, but was blocked by Chris Anderson, who stopped the ball with his back, looked around for a teammate, and then gave the ball to Carlos Boozer.

Boozer went big, and in the face of Gary Payton's defense, he pushed inside, turned and stepped back, and shot a mid-range jumper.

Swish!

With a crisp sound, the Jazz scored first.

The Rocket's offense, Yao Ming took the ball in a high position, and singled Carlos Boozer, who changed the defense, he turned around and shook it, and then buried his head and rushed inside.

Finally, I threw my hand, and with a bang, I still didn't go in.

Jeron Collins grabbed the rebound, the Jazz played a wave of counterattacks, taking advantage of the fact that the Rockets' defense was not fully in place, and after the Jazz's quick blocking and pick-and-roll cooperation in the frontcourt, Mo Williams entered the restricted area and scored 2 points on a layup.

At the beginning, the Jazz played the Rockets 4:0, and Qiao Hai was already standing on the sidelines, crossing his waist, supervising the Rockets' attack.

The ball was given to Yao Ming again, and it was still Yao Ming's mid-range single, and the other players quickly ran into position, and then pulled the strong side.

Yao Ming one-on-one Boozer, he glanced at the basket, turned sideways, and continued to shake Boozer with his footsteps.

Then, he suddenly turned to the right and took a step back.

Bang, the ball goes in!

Full applause, the rocket finally scored!

……

Jazz's offense, Mo Williams put the ball inside, Carlos Boozer singled in the low post, and beat Chris Anderson.

He turned and squeezed hard under the basket, then raised his hand to force it.

After the basketball is played, it gets into the net frame.

The ball went in, the Jazz opened 6:2 Rocket, the opening, the Rocket was actually a disadvantage, which many people didn't expect, however, Qiao Hai on the sidelines was very calm, and after Yao Ming scored the first goal, he sat back.