The Hawks are a complete clone of the Rockets' style of play last season, and Van Gundy knows that tactic all too well. But knowing it doesn't mean it's going to be guarded.

Hayes failed to defend Yao Ming in front of him, and the Hawks players all pulled to the perimeter, leaving room for Yao Ming inside. Because both Josh Smith and Marvin Williams have mid-range shooting ability. Biedrins could only follow out to defend, and the Bobcats' inside line was emptied. Joe Johnson hoisted the ball high to Yao Ming, Yao Ming relied on his height advantage to score directly in the frame, and Hayes had no way at all.

The Bobcat again resorted to a trap tactic. Hayes topped in the back, and the weak-side player went up to steal. Yao Ming gave the ball to Josh Smith or Joe Johnson on the perimeter, and both were difficult to defend. And Starkey also used Smith's blocking and dismantling to rush inside from time to time. Starkey's perimeter projection is not strong, but the breakthrough is quite sharp, and the technical characteristics are a bit like Felton of the Bobcats, only higher than Felton.

At the end of the first quarter, the Hawks led by 11 points at 36-25 at home. Hayes scored 10 points in the first quarter and was sealed at other positions. This is the first time this season that the Bobcats have played so passively.

Eagles Rodney Starkey is a two-way guard with a height of 196cm, Johnson is a top swingman who can play the No. 1 to No. 3 positions, and Marvin Johnson and Josh Smith are versatile, and the positions of the two can also be reversed. This makes them more flexible when defending. When the lynx fell into the positional battle, Yao Ming sat on the inside line, and the other four people fully brought out the characteristics of the 122 joint defense.

If the Bobcat fights a quick counterattack, it doesn't matter if Yao Ming is slow to defend, the other four are very fast and can return to the defense in time. In the starting lineup, there is only one Biedrins who has an absolute speed advantage over the opposing player.

"I really look like I saw the Rockets last season. I didn't expect the eagles to be so powerful. D'Antoni looked at Van Gundy and sighed: "This is your usual formation, is there any way to crack it?" ”

"If it's so easy to crack, the knight won't be swept by rockets! Yao Ming was cultivated by me, and it's not easy to find a big guy who can defend him alone. Van Gundy smiled bitterly: "The Eagles big forward has the ability to shoot, pull out the defense, Yao Ming can break the front." If he is trapped, he will pass the ball. I think the best way is to defend 32, let Marcin (Gortat) go first in the second quarter, his height and weight are good, he can withstand Yao Ming's interference in shooting, Raymond (Felton) assists in defense, put Starkey, that rookie's outside shooting is not good, can only break through, the wheel change position is faster, and the inside line can be made up. It would have been better if they had replaced Yao Ming, and our bench lineup should have an advantage against the Hawks. ”

"It's a pity that we lack an offensive point right now, otherwise the Eagles wouldn't have tried to stop us. It's too hard to rely on Chuck to play alone on the inside, Chuck, you can take a break. D'Antoni said.

Hayes can arch inside against a skinny opponent on the inside, but it will be much more difficult to score when he encounters a player who can resist him with strength. It's easy for the Hawks to trap him, and at the end of the day, it's the lack of support for him on the inside Bydrins' offense.

Biedrins sat on the bench and listened to the conversation between the two coaches next to him. I began to feel restless. The coach always said that my offensive ability is weak, is it possible that Bagnani is here, and he wants that soft guy to start instead of me?

Biedrins is good at defending and fighting for rebounds, and he can't practice his scoring ability. None of the free throws were up to a 6 percent shooting percentage. The arrival of Bagnani put a lot of pressure on him. Bagnani hasn't reported it yet, and he's already hated by Bidrins.

He doesn't want to be a substitute himself. At the end of the season, he has only one year left on his contract option. The annual salary of 3.61 million does not match his level. Biedrins has long had a plan, ready to jump out of contract after the season, and now the league is short of big men, as long as he is given more than 30 minutes of playing time, Biedlins is confident that he will play a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, and he is aiming for a maximum salary. If he can't start, how can he renew his contract with a high salary? For a high salary, he has to work hard this season!

Gortat has a much better mentality than Biedrins, and he has signed a long-term contract, which is not big, but it has guaranteed his development in the NBA.

As soon as I heard that the coach was going to arrange for him to play, not the veteran Kurt Thomas. Gortat immediately smiled. He's always wanted to play against the masters. He was the league's No. 1 center last season, and as long as he can be guarded, Gortat thinks it's an honor.

"Massin, what are you laughing at?" With the score trailing by 11 points, Hayes was in a bad mood and asked.

"I want to see if I can stop Yao Ming." Gortat said excitedly: "I have long wanted to fight him. And Howard, I want to prove myself! ”

"If you want to defend him one-on-one, don't blame me for pouring cold water on you, you're still a lot worse. I look forward to you being able to practice your mid-range shooting and become like Yao Ming in offense. Go for it! Hayes laughed.

"I will." Gortat said seriously.

Hayes admired Gortat. Because he knows that Gortat is a ruthless character who does not admit defeat. When the Magic played Dwight Howard off the bench, he could be dissatisfied with his playing time and ask for a trade, and confident people tend to improve quickly. Hayes didn't know if he would be able to keep Gortat in the future, but the man would be useful to the Bobcats.

At the start of the second quarter, Gortat did not face Yao Ming as he wished, and his opponent was Pachuria.

In addition to backup center Pachuria, the Hawks also brought on backup point guard and veteran Anthony Johnson. Power forward Sheldon Williams. Hayes is out of the game, and the Hawks also need to keep Josh Smith fit. The Eagles needed a steady offensive point, so Joe Johnson was still on the court without rest.

Bobcats rotate in five. Gortat, Landry, Barnes, Weaver, Felton.

Joe Johnson was in charge of defending Weaver, the Bobcats' substitute, who stared at him viciously.

Why does this guy look like he's going to fight me? This was Johnson's first impression of Weaver.

"You can't stop me!" Weaver said coldly.

Joe Johnson was stunned. He knew Weaver was a scoring bench, but he didn't expect that confidence. Challenge him as an All-Star player on the court.

"Wait until you score. Rookie. Joe Johnson laughed.

As soon as the words fell, Weaver suddenly accelerated, ran towards Landry, who was pulled to a high position, and found a block. Felton's ball arrived in time. Weaver took the ball and took a step, and Sheldon Williams made up for it.

Sheldon Williams is nicknamed "The Landlord" because the three-second zone is full of his turf, and opponents must pay rent before they enter the door. Physically unusually strong, with an arm span of over 7-foot-2, he is also very fast, running 11.53 seconds back and forth in the box, and can easily keep up with the outside players.

Weaver leaps high and pulls up for a jumper. Sheldon Williams blocks. He found that he couldn't cover his opponent, and Weaver's jump height was not something that ordinary people could achieve! This ball reminds him of Maddie!

Shots hit! 36 to 27.

"Beautiful!" Hayes shouted at Weaver from the sidelines.

Weaver threw a single punch to the sidelines, returned to the defense, and said to Joe Johnson: "I scored!" ”

Hayes often gave Weaver a thought lesson, and he clearly understood one word, and that was "positioning"! Weaver has now given himself a clear position to be the best sixth man for the Bobcats. His mission is very clear, to play is to score, to grab points with all his might!

Weaver's breakaway skills are similar to those of the past, but after he practiced shooting after a vacation in Hayes, he was much more powerful on offense.

The development template he chose was none other than Maddie. Maybe he can't compare his footwork to Maddie, but he can at least practice one trick, which is a pull-up jump shot after blocking a pick-and-roll. With this move, Weaver got rid of Moon, who played a similar role to him last season, and became the sixth man of the Bobcats.

Being provoked like this by a rookie will make the average NBA star go berserk. But Joe Johnson won't, he's such a person, his expression is still very calm. He received the ball from beyond the three-point line, waited for Sheldon Williams to cover, and then easily went around the three-point line and shook off Landry's jumper. 38 to 27.

Joe Johnson didn't speak to Weaver in the defense, which was more of a contempt, a disdain.

The purpose of provocation is to make the opponent angry, not to compete with the opponent. If the other party is not in a hurry, then continue to play at their level. Hit him a few more times until he was in a hurry. Weaver knows this, and he's at peace.

Weaver borrowed Landry's cover again and ran the same way, and this time the Hawks had experience, and Sheldon Williams followed straight after him, ready to jam Weaver outside the three-point line. Landry suddenly ran back, away from Weaver, and blocked Anthony Johnson at a 45-degree angle on the three-point line.

Felton waited for the opportunity to slip to the bottom line and rushed to the basket, bypassing Pachulia and passing the ball to Gortat, who slammed a powerful dunk with both hands! 38 to 29.

The ball was so fierce that the basketball hoop was pulled and shook violently! Pachulia didn't dare to jump up the block. He knew the Bobcats had Biedrins and Okafor on the inside. Okafor is a very strong player, and he is ashamed of himself, but it is puzzling that the Bobcats actually traded him away and replaced him with a softer style of play. Now he understands why the Bobcats dared to trade Okafor, they still have such a violent interior hidden on the bench.

The Hawks attacked, Joe Johnson was caught by Weaver and Landry, and he gave the ball to Sheldon Williams, who ran back into the interior line, and Williams was happy that he got the opportunity to show, turning into the box to dunk. Gortat rushed up from the flank and pressed Sheldon Williams down with both hands.

The ball was fouled, but it was very tough, and Van Gundy stood up to cheer him on.

Sheldon Williams hit one of two free throws and Gortat grabbed the rebound. 40 to 29.

The Bobcats launched a counterattack, and Weaver's fast break was handed to Barnes on the other side, who was very resolute in his open shot. Three-point hit! 40 to 32.

Hawks Anthony Johnson dribbled the ball to the full court, and when he handed it to Joe Johnson, he made another mistake and was successfully tackled by Barnes. The Eagles' offense now revolves around Joe Johnson, and the intent is too obvious. The Eagles defended well in a timely manner, and Barnes steadied the rhythm and passed to Felton.

This time Gortat went to the high post to block and dismantle, Weaver received the ball and rushed into the interior from the left side, and Pachulia knew that Gortat did not have the ability to shoot from the middle, so he remained on the inside. Marvin Williams assists Weaver from the weak side. Weaver gives the ball back to Gortat.

The opponent does not understand Gortat. Weaver knows the "bald" style in training, and it is very dangerous to empty him in that position!

Gortat took the ball down the middle and rushed inside, Pachulia has never been a tough defensive inside, and the offense can still provide some firepower. Facing the menacing Gortat, he was scared and jumped a little shorter. Gortat strode up and scored with a one-handed smash through Pachuria! Gortat's head almost flattened the basket!40-34.

This bald man is so fierce? Hawks head coach Mike Woodson was surprised that Gortat's explosiveness and speed were all above Pachuria, and he was only the third center of the Bobcats before?!

Before the game, Mike Woodson knew that the Bobcats had a strong bench and that there were a few bench bandits, Barnes, Weaver, Felton and others who had played before. Now it looks like even this player who has just been recalled from the Development League is very strong, and there is no weak hand on the Bobcat bench, and it is simply a bench gang!

(To be continued)