Roy played, and in fact Roy had to play.

According to the weight of today's live game in the United States, if Roy can't play, then what awaits the Knicks is definitely a ticket.

Players are also fined for resting?

That's right, that's where the NBA is overbearing, as a super business league, all his functions are in the service of money. Therefore, in recent years, the "rotation rest teams" represented by the Spurs, Warriors, and Cavaliers have caused a headache for the league.

The original "player rotation strategy" was initiated by Popovich and his San Antonio Spurs, and shrewd old men often let players miss out on inconsequential games in order to get enough rest for their main players to ensure better performance in the playoffs.

Popovich's move was uncontrollable, at the beginning he was still a player-by-player rotation, in the harmless game rotation, at most once or twice a month, but after benefiting from the rotation policy to win the championship, the old man was completely addicted to rotation.

The most famous example of Popovich's rotation is in the 2012-2013 season, when the Spurs played the Heat away, which was a much-anticipated matchup, the GDP battle of the Big Three, the preview of the Finals that season, and the live broadcast of the United States, the importance of the league can be imagined. But it was such a major game, and Popovich waved the flag without birding, allowing the four starting generals of Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Green to return to San Antonio early. As soon as the incident came out, it sparked quite a heated debate at the time, and the money of fans across the United States was lost because of Popovich's decision to take a turn off (the main games of the NBA are broadcast live for a fee), and then NBA commissioner David Stern had to personally apologize to the fans and issue a huge $250,000 fine to the Spurs.

But that's not all, as the Spurs got off to a bad start and won the championship as a result, other championship contenders followed suit, and the trend of rotational breaks intensified. According to statistics, the number of players who rotate each season in the NBA has risen from 8 in 2012-13 to 42 in 2013-14, 79 in 2014-15 and 145 in 2015-16, and this upward trend has continued this season. In particular, big teams such as the Warriors, Cavaliers, and Spurs almost disregard the interests of fans and the league, arranging rotations at will, completely ignoring the existence of the league. For this reason, Adam Xiao Hua has long wanted to take care of these lawless guys, and before the relevant regulations are introduced, the weapon that Xiao Hua can use now is a fine, a severe fine.

So if Hornacek hides his main force for no reason in this national live game, the fine will definitely not be escapable, so Roy's appearance is inevitable.

It's just that after Roy came on the court, he didn't seem to be excited, his first attack chose to pass, then the second time he passed the ball, and the third time he still passed the ball......

Roy's conservative style of play immediately sparked speculation.

"I guess today Honacek wants to learn from Old Man Popovich's rotation rest routine, so that Roy can rest as much as possible, but he can't blatantly let Roy rest directly, so he made this decision to let him play health basketball?"

Brin was the first to ask, and his opinion represented what most people think.

"I think Hornacek may have put him on the bench out of concern to protect Roy. He didn't let Roy play until he replaced Harden on the Rockets' side, so it could be to protect Roy. What do you think Hornacek's motivation for employing this person is? Is it to conserve Roy's stamina, or does he not want Roy to repeat the encounter of the first round (referring to being touched by Harden)? ”

"Jeff (Van Gundy), from my point of view, I'm not happy with Hornacek's arrangement at all, maybe Hornacek is now proud of his rotation tactics of avoiding reality, but for me, dodging the opponent's edge is definitely a very shameful thing, I don't know how Roy would accept this arrangement."

Hearing Van Gundy's question, Fraser was the first to jump out, he is the kind of player with a straight temper, and he is the most disgusted by the rotation tactics.

"Walter has some truth in what he said, but it's not all, as we all know, Roy is suffering from the 'rookie wall' right now, and judging from his performances in the first two games, it may not be a good idea to be a starter Harden, and I remember the first time they met, Roy's playing time was shattered by Harden, which is actually not very good for young players."

"Yes, I agree with Coach Jeff [Van Gundy] that with Roy's current state, it's obviously not appropriate for him to take on the responsibility of organizing offense and defending Harden at the same time, and it may be a smarter strategy to let him lead the bench players in the rotation, provided that Roy and Hornacek can withstand the pressure from the Houston fans, of course."

The pressure on Houston fans in Yao Ming's mouth is not trivial.

After Roy came on the court, the boos of the audience did not stop for a second, and in the eyes of Houston fans, Roy did not start for only one reason: he was afraid of Harden, and he did not dare to accept Harden's challenge, so he would rather play as a bench player.

But what is the truth?

Two hours ago, when the Knicks were busted to the Toyota Center arena to warm up, Roy suddenly pulled Hornacekra aside.

Roy told Hornacek his thoughts, in the case of Roy's poor physical strength, he is ready to gamble, he is ready to save all his physical strength in the second half to bet on the winner, which means that Roy has to take the initiative to apply to play as a substitute.

"Roy, I don't agree with your idea, and aren't you afraid of the media and fans questioning you? And the taunts of Harden and the old guys on the Rockets. ”

"No, Jeff [Hornacek], I'm not worried about that at all, as long as I can lead the team to win the game, then everything will be solved, and I like those guys to scold me head-on, it will give me the strength to fight."

Roy, are you a little too big this time? Hornacek couldn't help but sweat for Roy when he heard the endless boos from the Houston fans in the stadium, and he also knew how much he had made concessions when he agreed to Roy's decision.

But Roy on the court seemed to be completely unmoved, his movements were quite smooth, and his mind was unusually clear, and the Rockets still held a double-digit lead of 35:25 when Harden went off the court, but after Roy came on the court, the situation slowly began to reverse.

If you want to talk about the Rockets' bench lineup today, it is really shabby, after the injuries of Beverley and Capela, they can rotate fewer players all of a sudden.

The bench players currently playing against Roy on the court are Ennis, Gordon, McDaniels, Decker and Nene , and the strength of this lineup is indeed not as good as the Knicks' current Roy, Brown, Crowder, Farid and Hernangomez.

But even so, Roy didn't think about his own offense, his task on the court was just to lead the team to chase points, and in the face of the Rockets' bench remnants, Roy preferred to play his organizational talents, anyway, the Rockets' defense was not good, and the defense of this group of substitutes was even worse, almost a dozen wear.

Led by Roy, the Knicks trailed by just five points at 31:36 at the end of the first quarter.

After the start of the second quarter, the Knicks' offense was still very strong, under the pressure of the whole court, Roy did not panic at all, his breathing was even, his steps were light, but he still chose not to attack by himself, Roy's passing created a lot of opportunities, and with 8 minutes left in the second quarter, Roy's assists had risen to 6, and his score was only 2 points.

What kind of medicine is being sold in Roy's gourd? Roy, who likes to carry a thousand pounds of weight on himself and carry the team forward, is really a bit abnormal today, his desire to perform is not strong at all, and the scoring weapons are all hidden in the box.

Is Roy waiting for something?

Is it time to score? Is it a chance to win? Or a replay with Harden?

Apparently no one could guess what Roy was thinking right now, they just saw Roy leading the team to a quick chase of points.

With seven minutes left in the second quarter, the Knicks finally put the score in the lead, at which point the Rockets called a timeout and re-deployed Harden, and then, a strange scene happened.

Just when Hornacek saw Harden standing on the sidelines waiting for a substitution, he also asked the referee for a substitution, and he wanted to replace Roy with Contney Lee.

This substitution was once again met with frantic taunts from the Houston fans in the stadium.

"Roy, you're a softass, are you worthy of my fare? I'm here to see you getting knocked down by Harden. ”

"Roy, you just don't play in the second half, just buy a ticket back to New York, you are not welcome in Houston."

"Roy, are you afraid of being humiliated by our MVP, so you took the initiative to throw in the towel? You're just too weak. ”

The taunts were accompanied by substitutions from the Rockets and Knicks.

In the interval between the players getting on and off the court, Harden finally found an opportunity to talk to Roy directly, and he made a "salt on the wound" gesture with bad intentions, yes, it was the celebration when Harden beat Roy to six fouls in the first round.

This very provocative move immediately drew a round of applause from the fans, and Harden was very proud.

"Rookie, weren't you arrogant before the game? I'm still waiting for you to clean me up, are you avoiding me? I'm telling you, I'm not going to rest for the second half, I'm going to see how long you can hide. ”

"Well, good, bearded, since you chose the right time, I'll beat you in the second half."

In just a few seconds and two sentences of dialogue, Harden and Roy sparked fierce sparks.

This scene can't escape the eyes of the cameraman.

"Did you see that? Just now Harden was taking the initiative to provoke Roy, it seems that Harden cares about today's game very much, but he rarely takes the initiative to provoke opponents, it can be understood that Harden is really a little impatient to wait. ”

"It's really strange to say, Hornacek's way of using people today is very strange, Roy's way of playing is also very strange, I don't know why Hornacek replaced Roy, Roy only played for 8 minutes, even if he is not physical, he will not be out of the game, right? I don't believe it was Roy's idea, and he shouldn't be afraid of Harden's challenge. ”

Brin and Van Gundy took turns analyzing, and Yao Ming suddenly realized something.

"Hornacek's employment may not be so bad, if we follow our Chinese idiom, this may be called 'Tian Ji Horse Racing'."

"Tian Ji horse racing?" When they heard Yao Ming say such an awkward Chinese idiom, the three commentators and guests were stunned, and they threw their questioning eyes at Yao Ming at the same time.

"That's right, you know that there was a man named Tian Ji in ancient China...... Forget it, to put it simply, Roy is now laying out, and he sacrificed the advantage of the first half to save his strength, in order to suppress Harden with his physical advantage in the second half, or at least not lose to Harden in physical strength. Roy wants to do his best to beat Harden and win the game, and that's the only possibility I can think of. ”

All in one battle?

Yao Ming's words seem to wake everyone up, Hornacek's employment and Roy's style of play seem to be implementing this strategy, but can Roy really do it? On the home court of the Rockets, with a big score down, can Roy really beat Harden and the Rockets?

After the first half, the Knicks were already trailing by a full 15 points at 55-70, is Roy ready to direct a big comeback?