Howard opened with a big hat and was almost stunned.

What did this kid just shout? He's also the champion? If it weren't for Bagnani shouting so loudly, Howard really couldn't remember that this person was the champion, and it seems that news related to Bagnani is rarely praised.

"Keep the momentum going!" Hayes gave Bagnani a thumbs up.

Bagnani nodded, reinventing himself in defense. The Magic pass the ball to Vince Carter. Azubuuk was close to Carter, making it impossible for him to turn with the ball calmly. With little time to attack, Carter dribbled the ball out of the three-point line, turned around and forced a shot.

Too reluctantly, with the wrong posture, Hayes would definitely be able to grab the rebound. Gerald Wallace thought to himself, he was addicted to the fast attack, and before Carter could hit the ground, he immediately let go of Turkoglou and ran towards the Magic half.

Hayes managed to get stuck in position and grab the rebound in the backcourt. By the time he landed, he found that Wallace was almost to the basket. At this time, Howard carried out the coach's arrangement, quickly returned to the defense, and left Hayes empty in front of him.

Running so fast? I can't live up to your trust! Hayes saw that Turkoglou was a meter away from Wallace and decided to take a gamble. He stood under the basket and threw the ball towards the Magic half court with all his strength with one hand.

"Gerald!" As soon as the ball was shot, Hayes shouted.

Wallace, who rushed to the basket, heard the sound, and turned his head to see the basketball flying like a cannonball, and he was about to hit the rebound. Wallace jumped up reflexively, received the basketball by the ghost, half-turned in the air and threw the ball with a low hand, and the basketball fell into the basket after hitting the board! 2 to 0.

"My God! Wallace and Hayes have a super long-distance air pick-up! It's a combination of the quartiles and the runners (rugby)! Magic live commentator Mike Brin exclaimed.

Another commentator, Mark Jackson, also exclaimed: "This is probably the farthest away air catch ever." There is a lot of luck in this ball, Wallace didn't look at the basket when he shot, it was so exciting! ”

Although it was the away team that scored, the fans also gave a round of applause.

When Wallace jumped, he thought to himself what a bad ball this kid passed, wasting the opportunity? When he got the basketball, he thought that I had to adjust my posture so as not to fall to my death, so he threw the ball out of the way. After landing on the ground, Wallace was happy as soon as he saw the ball in the basket! Hammer your chest and shout well!

In the opening two rounds, the Magic suffered consecutive blows.

Howard didn't have to run back either, and went straight into the Bobcats three-point line to prepare for the offense.

Hayes was also in no hurry to cling to Howard, and smiled not far away: "Have you figured out how to attack?" It is recommended not to go to both sides of the three-second zone, which I like the most. ”

Hayes' words Howard also agreed, so he didn't ask for it on the three-second line, but pulled up to the high post to cover his teammates.

Carter broke through with Howard's cover, Hayes had just switched positions, and Carter had already made a pull-up jumper. Carter jumped so high that Hayes could only look at his chin and didn't jump at all. The ball went in. 2 to 2.

At this time, Hayes suddenly understood one thing, no wonder Bowen would put his foot under Carter's feet. It's no fun to want to block, and players like Carter have too long to shoot in the air, giving people enough time to step up. Of course Hayes wouldn't do that kind of thing, it would be so dirty, and he wouldn't want to do that even if the defense was effective.

Lynx positions attacked. The previous Magic's defensive system has always been 122 defense. Howard is the most important man, and his tough rebounding and blocking ability allows the Magic to free up the interior and let him dominate the entire interior on his own.

None of the Magic's current starting lineup, except for Howard, is known for his defense. Nielsen has outstanding offensive ability and a muscular build, but is on the short side and not strong defensively. Carter's defense is only qualified, and he has not been known for his defense since his debut. Tony Barty had the anti-expectations for him and his draft pick in the first place. He's very slow, and he doesn't have a canby, and Chandler's big guys have a good bounce power, but they have better strength in the lower game, and they can resist positions under the basket, and their defensive ability is acceptable. Turkoglu has a soft style of play and a style of play that is not tough enough on the defensive end. Such a team currently limits opponents to the top 10 in the league in scoring stats because Howard has everything under the basket.

The Magic's defense is actually very simple, Nelson, Carter, and Turkoglou on the outside will try to expand their defensive areas outward, and all three of them have good movement ability, and once the opponent's outside players break through the restricted area, Howard will appear on the opponent's breakthrough route. Howard himself is also very fast, ready to cover areas where his teammates are out of position, and opponents are also afraid of Howard due to his blocking ability. As for Barty, he has been playing against the opponent's strong interior line under the basket, waiting for opportunities to help defend.

Today, the Magic's usual defense is not working. Bagnani ran back and exited the three-point line, and he just made the Magic players feel embarrassed by this move.

Stan Van Gundy also thought before the game that the Bobcats might play this move, but he was reluctant to let Howard and Barty go with him. Barty is too slow, and it's basically useless to go out. What if Howard goes to Bagnani and Hayes? Stan Van Gundy doesn't think Barty can guard Hayes.

So today's Magic formation is more like a 131 defense, with Tekoglu on the outside to defend against Bagnani, Howard to defend against Hayes, and Barty to be the last line of defense under the basket. But the Magic immediately realized that they had miscalculated.

Wallace also pulled up high to cover Bagnani and block Turkoglou. Hayes caught the ball and drew the attention of Howard's defense but didn't attack, but saw the opportunity and passed to Bagnani on the outside.

I just have to keep the rhythm and shoot, just like in training. Bagnani was in a relaxed state of mind today, and D'Antoni had previously introduced him to a set of psychic hypnosis. Let him talk to himself often in his heart to reduce stress.

Bagnani ignores the defender in front of him, Vince Carter. Carter is only 198cm tall, and even if he has good bounce power, it will be difficult to cover Bagnani. The ball is thrown lightly and hollow into the net! 5 to 2.

"Keep fighting." In the middle of the defense, Hayes and Bagnani clapped their hands and laughed.

The Magic passed several times without availability and handed it to Howard. Howard was still resisted by Hayes and couldn't get inside. This time Howard chose to turn around and throw to the baseline. It's not his style of offense, and with Hayes' interference, he misses the shot and Bagnani grabs the rebound. Although he is soft, after all, he is there, as long as he is under the basket, he can pick up a few rebounds without jumping in a game.

Several players of the Magic team returned to defense quickly, and the Bobcats launched a quick counterattack to fail. Hayes and Howard ran to the backcourt together, and Hayes was not much slower than Howard after losing weight.

Calderón held his pace and waited for the players to settle down. The Bobcats have a lot of players who can attack, and when he feels that the success rate of counter-attacking is not too high, he can slow down the tempo, which is his priority and one of the reasons why he is a starter. He is more solid than Felton.

"Come and surprise me." Nelson provoked in front of Calderón. Calderon didn't hear it and passed the ball to Hayes, who was following him.

Defending Hayes, Howard didn't dare to step back inside, but he was flawed on the outside.

Hayes took a step forward to the right with his right foot with the ball, probed his shoulder to the right, and shifted his center of gravity forward, Howard moved half a step to the left, Hayes immediately dribbled the ball under his right crotch and handed it to his left hand, and the forefoot of his left foot quickly kicked the ground, stepped out to the left front, and changed direction to break through the defense. Howard's body lost his center of gravity and could only turn and chase back. Hayes made a quick stop and jumped, but instead of shooting, he passed the ball to Azubuuk on the other side. Howard chased the hat and made a save.

Turkoglu marked Bagnani, Carter defended Wallace, Barty stepped back into the interior and Azubuuk's position was vacated. Azubuke has shot 41 percent from three-point range this season, and he's been sure of his open three-pointers, making slight adjustments. 7 to 2. By the time Carter let Wallace go to make up for it, it was too late. All he could do was scream, hoping to scare Azubuuk's hands into shaking, but Azubuk wasn't so timid.

"Pass me the ball!" Carter shouted.

When he was on the Nets, Carter was second to Kidd, and now when it comes to the Magic, Howard's offense is not reliable, and at this time, he needs to step up and lead the offense. Carter also has such confidence, after all, he was once hyped as Jordan's successor. If it weren't for a few injuries, he might have been more brave than he is now.

Azubuke and Carter. Carter received the ball at a 45-degree angle, Azubuuk was close to the defense, and there was no player who came out of the Rockets who couldn't do this, and everyone was an apprentice of Battier.

Carter also made a few back moves, but he couldn't knock Azubuuk, who was two centimeters shorter than him. Azubuke has been practicing alone with Hayes for a long time, and he also regards fitness as a hobby, and his muscles are extremely developed, even if he faces the ordinary No. 4 position after transposition, he dares to resist hard, but his height is at a disadvantage. Carter took a few shots, turned around and hit a jumper. 7 to 4. The ball went in, but it wasn't easy.

This guy didn't want anyone when he was drafted with Hayes? Carter also felt a little uncomfortable with Azubuuk.

Azubuke is not satisfied with his defense, he has been responsible for defending Maddy in the Rockets for a long time, and when he is in good shape and can defend, in his mind, Carter is not as good as Maddy, and he should limit it better.

The Magic wanted to defend the Bobcats, but they had to struggle. Calderon possessed the ball past half court and then handed it to Hayes from beyond the three-point line. Hayes hasn't scored a point so far, but as soon as he gets the ball, the Magic's supporters have a headache. He didn't score, but he held Howard back. The Magic's defense is porous.

Bagnani pulled out the perimeter and covered Hayes to block Howard. Hayes took the ball and burst to the right, but the speed was not fast, and Tekoglu blocked Hayes's breakthrough in time.

Tekoglu was glad he had prevented, but he didn't know that Hayes was smiling in his heart.

If I want to play on my own, I can just make a stop-and-go jumper, so I don't need to slow down. What Hayes wants is to draw in the Turkoglu defence. Howard didn't take Bagnani seriously at all, and after bypassing the cover, he also rushed to Hayes, forming a trap with Turkoglou.

At this point, Bagnani ran to the other side. No sooner had he stepped onto the three-point line than Hayes' land-and-ground pass was delivered. Bagnani received the ball very comfortably, and hit a high-post pull-up jump shot! 9 to 4.

In those few minutes, Bagnani's performance overwhelmed Howard!

(To be continued)