On November 17, the Bobcats faced the Magic at home.

In this game, the coaching staff decided to rest Gasol, Weaver, and Rondo. George Hill made it to the rotation for the first time.

Not only has the Magic's roster not been strengthened this season, but it has also tended to weaken, which is mainly reflected in the interior players. In addition to Howard, the Magic interior line still relies on Tony Barty and Foyle, two veterans, to support it. With the exception of Howard, their interior players are very slow and only one Bryan Cook can score. If Howard and Tony Barty are off the court, the Magic won't even have a qualified bench inside. In the draft, the Magic did not select interior players for development, and DeAndre Jordan and others were given away for nothing, which also caused Howard and Carter to be a little dissatisfied with the Magic management's summer decisions.

In Hayes' previous life, the Magic reached its peak in 2009, reaching the finals and losing 4-1 to the Lakers. The current magic cannot be compared with the magic that entered the finals, and it is a fool's dream to reach the finals. In addition to the arrival of Courtney Lee, who strengthened the Magic's No. 2 spot, three key role players who should have been in the Magic's power have all been spent in his home. Coincidentally, all three were robbed by the Bobcats and are now traded, with Gortat in the Nuggets, Barnes traded to the Grizzlies, and Petrus signed with the Raptors.

Because of the obvious flaws in the Magic's player configuration, the Bobcats have adjusted the lineup according to the surname.

Last season, the Bobcats beat the Magic by 25 points away with a withdrawing interior play, and this time, their goal was very clear, attacking from the outside. So the Bobcats brought all of the team's shooters, and George Hill entered the rotation for the first time because of the good open threes.

Gasol was only ravaged against Howard because of his slow speed, and it was difficult for him to get a chance to play. Rondo rested because his three-point shot wasn't accurate enough. And between Weaver and Moreau, D'Antoni decided to bring the latter, and although Weaver has improved significantly in his three-point shooting after hard work, Morrow is more accurate.

Not only do they want to win magic, they have to win beautifully!

When the Magic players came to Charlotte, they were all nervous. Instead of raising their attention, last season's playoff win over the Bobcats to reach the Eastern Conference Finals was a poster example of a win, something the Magic didn't expect.

Almost all fans have always believed that if it weren't for Gerard Wallace's injury, if it weren't for Magic's malicious foul tactics against Hayes, the team that would have advanced would have been Bobcats.

The hapless Magic team was disgusted by the fans, but it was good for the fans to have opinions, and the referees were also "clear" about their defense, but it cost the Magic team's life. In the Eastern Conference finals against the Hawks, the referees were a little more strict with the Magic's blowing penalties, and Howard was plagued by fouls in three games.

There was also a meeting between the two teams in the preseason, with the Bobcats on the bench, but the Magic still lost, and they couldn't let go of their hands amid the boos of the fans. Bobcat fans have made the Magic their worst enemy. If you were to do a survey and ask Bobcats fans which team they would most like to see the Bobcats slaughter, it would have to be magic.

Before the game started, the Magic players could already feel the strong murderous aura of the home fans in the locker room. It's not about playing, it's about going to the battlefield, and the best way to win the game is to make a wooden kung fu panda first, and the players hide in it to score the field...... (Trojan Panda?) "Sidhu (Tekoglu), you're now Charlotte's enemy. In pre-season, as soon as you catch the ball, the whole stadium shuoes, and I suspect the fans want to kill you. Vince Carter changed his clothes and sat down in his chair with a smile.

"You're still in the mood to make fun of me. That's the way it is in the playoffs, I can't stop Hayes, what's wrong with that? Tekoglu said, rolling his eyes.

"They've got a stronger squad this season and even if Hayes doesn't play, we don't have a clear chance of winning. Everyone has to give it their all in this game. In this game, the Bobcats will definitely do their best to beat us. Dwight Howard said solemnly.

Howard is the second living treasure in the league after O'Neal, the big shark, and he has always been a hippie smiley, but today he can't laugh. He competed in the Dream 8 at the Olympics and knows Hayes well. If he was allowed to defend against Hayes alone, he wouldn't be able to prevent it at all. Hayes' technique is not much worse than that of a defender. If you don't let him defend, let Tekoglu play, it's not much better. It would not be possible to interrupt Hayes's hand with a thug foul, and if Turkoglu dared to do so, it would certainly not be as simple as an ordinary foul.

The Magic have played 9 games, with a 6-3 record that is not bad, and they just beat the Wizards yesterday, although it didn't take much effort, but this game is back-to-back against the Bobcats, and they are also at a physical disadvantage. In addition to physical strength, more important is momentum. None of them, including Howard, thought the Magic could walk away with a win on the Bobcats' home court. After all, Hayes made too much of an impression on them in the playoffs.

Hayes has scored less this season, but that's even more terrifying. Because it means that Hayes has great teammates. Hayes alone is enough of a headache.

The starters are not dominated by the Magic.

This season, Nelson reached his peak, averaging 15.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Billups' stats dropped across the board, with 10.6 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. But in reality, Nielsen doesn't have much advantage over Billups, just a little bit better with the numbers.

Shooting guard Carter vs Durant. Carter averaged 20.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, and Durant's 18.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists were not much inferior. And Durant has a height advantage against Carter, and Carter can't defend Durant's jumper. Durant's jumper power is the same bug as Nowitzki's.

Small forward Turkoglou has slumped this season, with 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5 assists, while shooting 42% from the field last season. Gerard Wallace's stats have also dropped dramatically, but he's a super defensive player, and both Anthony and James have dropped against Wallace, let alone Turkoglou.

There's no comparison with Hayes at the power forward position. Center Howard plays against Camby, arguably the position where the Magic have the most obvious advantage.

Excluding the main lineup, compared to the bench, the Magic is too far behind. Last season's bench was no better than the Bobcats, who have been upgraded from the bench gangsters to the bench Superman this season. As soon as the main players are played, the score is likely to be pulled apart.

The players are clearly not in good spirits, and manager Stan Van Gundy still needs to motivate the players. "The Bobcats haven't faced too many strong teams this season, and although they have won eight in a row, they may not necessarily beat us. Don't forget, we eliminated the Bobcats in the playoffs last season and we had a psychological advantage! As long as everybody plays at a high level, we can still beat the Bobcats this season. ”

Magic's psychological dominance over the Lynx is really not convincing. However, Carter, Howard and others immediately took the lead in responding, saying that they would fight the Bobcats to the end.

Then Stan Van Gundy arranged the tactics.

"The defensive formation is 122 joint defense, if Camby pulls to the high post, leave him alone, the inside wraps Hayes, if Hayes pulls the ball to the high post, Sido (Tekoglu) must follow him closely and don't let him shoot easily. On the outside, we don't take a bag clip from Hayes, and it's easy to have empty seats. Offensively......" Van Gundy paused and asked, "Dwight, are you confident of singleing Hayes?" I think they're going to let Hayes defend you. ”

"Yes. I often have a lot of time with him in Dream 8. "Howard has been practicing mid-range shots and hooks during the holidays, and against Hayes, he's now confident he can score the ball and keep his shooting percentage high. Although his mid-range shot can also be thrown, the hit rate is not guaranteed, and it does not work when it fails.

"Okay, so the offense is focused on Dwight, and if they use Camby to defend, I'm sure you can find a way with your speed advantage. Perimeter players watch their movements, and if Dwight doesn't have a good chance, the perimeter will fire. Toni (Barty) pulls up high to cover the perimeter players. If you have a chance after the break, try to make Hayes foul as much as possible! If we can beat him, we'll be much better. ”

Stan Van Gundy finished talking about tactics, and he felt that the magic could still fight with the Bobcats. He's afraid that the Bobcats will have a surprise move in the lineup. The Nuggets had died at the hands of Anthony Morrow off the bench, which made him feel very uneasy.

Stan Van Gundy guessed right, the Bobcats were indeed going to make a surprise move.

D'Antoni said: "On defense, Chuck is the main defender of Howard, grabbing rebounds and launching a fast break. If you can't break fast, Chuck will attack in the low post, and the others will run to get ready to catch the ball and shoot a three-pointer. The defender was marked, and when the Magic broke through with the cover in the high post, Andris (Bagnani) followed. ”

In order to shoot more three-point shots, D'Antoni asked Bagnani to play as the starting center, Bagnani suffered an injury last season, and broke through to play less often, but the outside shooting feel is still great. The Bobcats were given the task of grabbing the rebound to Hayes. As long as Hayes puts his mind on grabbing rebounds, he's a rebounding king-caliber player. Even Howard is difficult to please in front of him.

Because this is a revenge battle, and the Bobcats' record leads the league, this game is also broadcast live in the United States, with Barkley and Kenny Smith commentating. Barkley was generous before the game. "The suspense in this game is not who wins, it's how many points the Bobcats can win, and I'm sure Chuck is ready."

The starters of both sides took to the field. Kenny Smith said: "It looks like the Bobcats are going to attack the perimeter in this game, they have made changes to their lineup, Rondo, who is not good at shooting, is not in the rotation, I didn't hear about his injury before the game, his defensive ability was still impressive in the playoffs last season, and now the Bobcats are abandoning him and letting George Hill, who has never played before, definitely have their intentions." ”

"Hopefully Hill will surprise the fans a little bit as well, playing Nuggets Anthony Morrow on his first appearance. Moreau will definitely play in this game. Barkley put down the information in his hand, took a bite of the burger, and said, "The Bobcat starting lineup has been adjusted. Point guard Billups, shooting guard Durant, small forward Mike Miller, power forward Bagnani, Chuck is back at center today. Hehe. ”

Looking at the starting line-up, both Barkley and Smith laughed. This is an all-pitcher lineup, and no one can relax their defense, and the Magic are more than lucky......

(To be continued)