In the second quarter, the Lakers were crazy about scoring.

At the beginning, the two teams played back and forth, and when the Lakers chased 7 minutes and 57 seconds left in the second quarter, the score of the two teams was 27:32, and the Rockets led by 5 points.

Then, with a big wave of Rick Carlisle's hand, Shaquille O'Neal came out early.

Qiao Hai thought for a while, and at the same time changed back to Yao Ming.

For the substitution, Qiao Hai's idea was to use Yao Ming to contain O'Neill.

But after Yao Ming came out, he hit two consecutive mid-shot irons, and it still didn't look like he was there.

On the Lakers' side, O'Neal, who had just come on the court, also failed to show his might, and he also continued to hit iron.

Therefore, in terms of score, the two teams are still alternating to rise, and the Rockets have always maintained the lead.

Playing and fighting, the Lakers' foul count accumulated to 5 times, and Qiao Hai stretched out his hands and pushed forward.

On the court, the Rockets began their shark-slashing tactics, and O'Neal was fouled off the ball in a row and walked to the free throw line.

But the first time he was cut to a free throw, O'Neal walked to the free throw line and hit one of two free throws.

Then he was cut again, and he hit two free throws and one hit again.

Qiao Hai didn't believe in evil, continued to cut, and finally cut out two penalties!

O'Neal made 4 of 6 free throws, and the free throw shooting rate was actually very impressive, which also surprised Qiao Hai.

"It seems that next time you cut the shark, you have to turn over the yellow calendar, and today's yellow calendar is obviously wrong!"

The Rockets stopped cutting the sharks, and during this time, the Lakers' pursuit of points made rapid progress.

With 4:40 left in the second quarter, Hollis Grant received an assist from Devin George and scored two points on a layup, the score was 36:36, and the two teams were officially tied.

In the next game, the two teams are still going back and forth, and the score is going up alternately.

The game ended at halftime, and the Rockets led by one point at 46:45.

……

"At halftime, 46:45, the Rockets took a one-point lead away!" On the commentary bench, McBrin announced the results of the half.

Mav Albert then summed up the first half of the game from his commentator's point of view: "In the first half, in terms of scores, the two teams played to a draw. ”

"But judging from the scene, the Rockets suppressed the Lakers to a certain extent."

"If you look at the data, the data of the Lakers' giants are not obvious, and they may not have fully developed, so the result of this game is still a mystery."

“……”

……

In the Grizzlies' locker room, Qiao Hai continued to look at the statistics table for the first half that Tang Yi had counted.

In the first half, Bryant only took 2 shots, 1 of 2 shots and 5 free throws, and Karl Malone was in a bad state, only getting 2 points and 2 rebounds on 1-of-7 shooting.

After looking at it for a while, Qiao Hai quickly walked to the center of the locker room, then picked up a tactical board and knocked it.

Seeing that all the players were looking at him, Qiao Hai began his midfield adjustments.

"In the second half, we need to make some adjustments, but before that, we can predict the possible adjustments of the Lakers......"

Trailing by 1 point at halftime, combined with statistics, Qiao Hai easily guessed the most likely adjustment for the Lakers in the second half, which was nothing more than increasing Kobe's singles and helping Karl Malone regain his touch.

In a scorching game, the role of the superstar is very huge, the game has reached this stage, and then it is obviously the time for the superstar to exert his power.

Rick Carlisle would obviously not be wrong if he adjusted it this way.

Therefore, Qiao Hai concluded that in the third quarter, as long as the Rockets withstood the counterattack from the OK combination and Karl Malone, the game would soon be decided!

"Kobe Bryant only took 2 shots in the first half, and in the second half, the Lakers will definitely increase the number of his singles, so, Ron, your task in the second half is to lock up Kobe Bryant, and if necessary, you can call in teammates to pinch shots."

The Lakers' Big Three, the main thing the Rockets need to defend is Kobe, O'Neal's performance in the first half was good enough, but he could only explode with Yao Ming, who had a poor hand in this game and shot 4 out of 12.

Because O'Neill is having a hard time getting the ball.

The contradiction within the Lakers team is still obvious, Kobe Bryant can not pass the ball to O'Neal without passing the ball, so that O'Neal, who had a good shooting percentage in the first half, basically did not receive the ball much.

If the Rockets can put Kobe Bryant into an infinite singles state in the second half, then the Rockets really only need to prevent Kobe Bryant to win the game.

"For Shaquille O'Neal's defense, we will let Yao one-on-one, and if we can't prevent him, we will cut him."

Qiao Hai didn't believe that O'Neal could still maintain the free throw feeling in the first half in the second half, so the shark slashing tactic was still in reserve.

Finally, the defense against Karl Malone: "Chris, your task is to solve Karl Malone, you did a great job of defending in the first half, don't fight him in close quarters, just guard his shots." ”

In the first half, Chris Anderson made full use of his flexibility, avoiding physical confrontation with Karl Malone and only guarding against Malone's shot, which worked wonders.

After all, Karl Malone is still old, and in such a game, as long as the rocket increases its intensity a little, Karl Malone will not be able to play.

If the Lakers want to take the lead in the second half, they will have to rely on O'Neal and Kobe.

……

Fifteen minutes later, the Staples Center was back in flames.

"Welcome to NBA Christmas 2003! Now we are in the Staples Center! After a 15-minute half-time break, the second half of the game is about to begin! ”

"The Rockets and Lakers, who played 46:45 at halftime, will start a fierce battle for victory in the second half, and who wins and who loses, the second half will be known!"

After a frantic cheer, the line-ups of both teams for the second half came on.

On the Rockets' side, Gary Payton and Dwyane Wade partner in the backcourt, small forward Ron Artest, and inside are Chris Anderson and Yao Ming.

On the Lakers' side, O'Neal sits in the restricted area, power forward Karl Malone, and the outside is Rick Fox, Kobe Bryant and Derrick Fisher.

Qiao Hai stared at Rick Fox at the Lakers' small forward position, and Rick Fox's appearance reflected the Lakers' possible play style in the second half to a certain extent.

"Rick Fox is on the floor, his strength is passing, isn't the Lakers going to play star ball in the second half? Are they going to play the ball? ”

Elvin Gentry is puzzled, in fact, the biggest difference between Rick Fox's appearance and Devin George is that Devin George has a good impact defense and a three-point shot in the bottom corner.

And Rick Fox's role is to play the game, and he is the axis of the triangle offense.

Qiao Hai shook his head: "No, Rick starts, but it makes me sure that the Lakers are going to fight the giant planet!" ”

Rick Fox is the focal point in the triangle offense, so when he plays, the Lakers are clearly going to focus on the triangle offense.

They have to firmly attack through the triangle to create one-on-one singles opportunities for Kobe Bryant and O'Neal, and even Karl Malone!