Chapter 366: Don't Fall Behind
In anyone's opinion, the overall strength of the Heat, which has brought together the three giants of James, Wade and Bosh, is more than a notch higher than that of the Trail Blazers, and it is still the home court of the Heat, and most people think that the Heat should defeat their opponents with a devastating momentum and get off to a good start in the Finals. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info
But the performance of the Trail Blazers slapped these guys who touted the Heat in the face, and although it looked a little suppressed on the court, their scores still bit the Heat and did not give the opponent a chance to open up the difference. The Trail Blazers trailed by only 2 points in the first quarter at 34-36, which was perfectly acceptable for them, and with the Heat's tough outside defense, the Trail Blazers players scored 34 points, and McMillan couldn't have been more satisfied.
Although Ye Feng's full defense still allowed James to get 12 points and 3 rebounds, he himself also sent 8 points and 4 assists, under his guidance, Aldridge scored 10 points, Matthews 6 points, the three of them together made the team not too far behind, in addition to Matthews, Ye Feng and Aldridge did not suffer much against the two superstars, Aldridge even occupied a certain advantage, which is undoubtedly good news for the Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers' performance caused a chorus of boos in the American Airlines arena, and the home fans have always been the better the away team, the louder the boos will be, unless the away team plays a big score that makes people feel humiliated or even desperate, maybe they will stop their verbal attacks and harassment.
But for the Trail Blazers, boos are not a big deal, just take them as a compliment to yourself, anyway, as long as you perform better, the boos will be louder, and being booed by the opposing fans is also a way to prove yourself, otherwise you are too weak for others to boo you.
McMillan is very happy, Spoelstra is very unhappy, although this is his third season in charge of the Heat, he is also the first time to coach three superstars, in his opinion, as long as the run-in is in place, this Heat team is simply a sure thing. But now facing a Trail Blazers who are third in the West and can't take advantage of the opening game, which is unacceptable for him, but he still believes in his stars, so he didn't lay out too many tactics, just told James and the three of them to step up their offense after coming on the court in the second quarter and try to stretch the margin to double digits at halftime.
However, before the main lineup reappears, the substitutes need to go up to the top, and now we can see the gap between the two sides' substitutes. The Trail Blazers' benches were full of energy, and Batum took on the burden of scoring, while the Heat's benches looked a little embarrassed. They are old and young, either experienced but lacking in energy, or full of fighting spirit but their movements are so rough that they want to cry, and they are completely incomparable to the substitutes of the Trailblazers.
This is also a downside to gathering multiple star players, and unless the owner is so generous that it doesn't matter how much luxury tax he pays, the team's bench will struggle to assemble. With the exception of rookies and undrafted players, they can only attract veterans who hope to win a championship at the end of their careers and retire without worry, but it's debatable how much skill these veterans have, but at least they can be a locker room leader.
Two minutes into the second quarter, Spoelstra had to switch to the main lineup early, because the Trail Blazers' bench players had already overtaken the score, and there was a growing trend, and he had to let the main players come to the rescue. Seeing that the opponent changed the main force, McMillan waved his hand, and also put the main lineup that had rested enough on the field, and the two sides were entangled again, fighting endlessly for the victory of this game.
After James incarnated as an offensive playmaker, the shot was handed over to Wade, and the "Flash" seemed to return to the time when he led the Heat to win the championship in the 2005-06 season, Matthewston felt a lot of pressure, you must know that Wade is the actual scoring champion of the Heat playoff team, although he only averages 23.7 points per game, but if it suddenly explodes, the power should not be underestimated, after all, he is a superstar who led the team to win the championship and won the FMVP in the third season of his career.
Matthews' defense, which looked pretty good in the first quarter, was as fragile as a piece of paper in front of Wade, who was in a rampage, without dazzling crotch dribbles or exaggerated enough to shake off the opponent's drastic change of direction, Wade overtook with a few dribbles and forced it past Matthews' right side. At the moment when he was passed by Wade, Matthews suddenly remembered that the man in front of him was called "The Flash" because of his sharp breakthrough......
For the rest of the second quarter, Matthews was overhauled by Wade, and more importantly, the Trail Blazers were almost unavailable at the No. 2 spot. Wade not only "humiliated" Matthews on the offensive end in a row, but also gave him a big hat on the defensive end, completely suppressing the opponent. Matthews is also honestly no longer asking for the ball from his teammates, because Wade has been staring at him all the time, and if the ball comes through, it will be cut off nine times out of ten.
However, there was no Matthews, as well as Ye Feng and Aldridge, and the two of them were crazy about scoring inside and out, which maintained the advantage that the substitutes had managed to play. Although the Heat showed strong firepower, Ye Fenghe's three-point shot and Aldridge's mid-range shooting also maintained a high shooting percentage, and they did not fall behind at all. However, Ye Feng is more difficult in comparison, and whoever plays against the league's number one star must be careful to walk on thin ice.
In the face of the power-type James, Ye Feng also has his own ideas, anyway, just don't contact you, dodge and play, catch the ball and shoot after running without the ball, even if James wants to rely on physical confrontation to affect the shooting rate. After all, Ye Feng has polished his shooting skills with his future father-in-law, and forcing shooting under physical confrontation is one of the key items, although James's strength is too strong, it is not completely impossible to deal with.
Ye Feng's hand really made James a little confused, although he lacked speed and strength, but he couldn't stand Ye Feng's slippery like a loach, and accidentally appeared in the empty position, and then raised his hand to hit a three-point shot. Driven by Ye Feng's full force, the Trail Blazers still maintained that slight lead at halftime and entered the halftime break 68-66.