On November 24, the Orlando Magic hosted the visiting Charlotte Bobcats.

This season, the Eastern Bobcats, Magic, and Hawks have risen strongly. The Bobcats have a 10-1 record, and the Magic also have an 8-3 record. So this game has attracted a lot of attention.

Before the game, reporters interviewed the main players of both teams. The confrontation between Hayes and Howard was a highlight of the game.

The reporter asked Hayes: "Who do you think will win the game?" ”

"Maybe it won't be that easy, but the Bobcats will win the game," Hayes said. Last season the Magic only finished eighth in the East, and now that Carter is here and Turkoglou is a good player, I think the Magic will be the first opponent of the Bobcats in the playoffs in the future, but it will be us who will win. ”

The reporter asked: "People are talking about who is the No. 1 center in the league today, Howard and Yao Ming, what do you think of this issue?" ”

"The two have their own strengths, they're not the same type," Hayes said. Yao is a pure center forward and is much better offensively than Dwight, especially when it comes to attracting packs. But when it comes to defense, Yao's athleticism can't be compared to Dwight's. Otherwise, how could he be called a monster? It's too violent. He's improving every season, he's averaging 14 rebounds per game this season, and I've always admired his physicality, and if he plays in the dunk contest again this year, I'm bullish on him to win the championship. ”

The reporter smiled: "You haven't said which of the two is stronger." ”

"Let's put it this way, if you play other teams, Dwight is slightly better, but if he and Yao are one-on-one, it's Yao Qiang. Not long ago, everyone saw the results of the Magic beating the Eagles. Ha ha. Hayes laughed. Not long ago, the Hawks defeated the Magic, and Yao Ming blew up Howard one-on-one.

Hayes's evaluation is more pertinent, Yao Ming is the top five interior line in the league, but the first center must be Howard, Yao Ming's weakness of slow movement is too obvious and easy to be exploited by opponents. When encountering a tall inside line that is fast and can pull to the outside to shoot, Yao Ming is easy to be blown up. Yao Ming can't pull out the outside defense, and he also needs his teammates at the No. 4 position to properly "protect" him, otherwise the opponent's guard will easily cause him to foul after blocking and rushing into the inside. Howard is no slower than a guard, so naturally this problem will not arise. Howard's defense is much stronger than Yao's.

When the reporter interviewed Howard, he deliberately asked similar questions.

"Who do you think will win this game?"

"Of course the magic won. Even if Chuck plays center to defend me, I'll blow up the Bobcats' inside! Howard grinned: "Their inside lines are too soft, if it's faster, we're not afraid." ”

The reporter asked: "Hayes and James are recognized as two of the most well-rounded players in the league, how do you evaluate them both?" Who do you think is more powerful? ”

"LeBron is very physical, but I think Chuck is better. His stats are close to a triple-double per game, and it's crazy for a guy who can't jump to get that kind of stat. Legend has it that Kevin Garnett can play 5 positions, and I haven't seen him play. But Chuck can really play five positions, and against the Hawks he played point guard for a while, and everybody saw that. When defending, he can still defend against Shaquille (O'Neal), which I think is amazing! He's more like a monster! Howard laughed.

The reporter asked: "Hayes also thinks highly of you, he thinks you are the strongest center in the league. Is the personal relationship between the two of you good? ”

"Hmm. We are good friends and we have to talk a few words every time we meet. It's a pity that he didn't come to Magic, which is a pity. Speaking of Hayes' move to the Bobcats, Howard shook his head.

Jeff Van Gundy also wondered why Hayes didn't choose to join the Magic. The Magic's coach is his older brother Stan Van Gundy, and it is impossible to disadvantage Hayes, Hayes will be the main offense, Howard will be the main defense, and there will be no conflict. It's just that Hayes wants to be the absolute core, Yao Mingcheng is valuable, and Warcraft is more expensive, if it is the core, both can be thrown away...... The Bobcats' 10-1 record has nothing to do with the favorable schedule in the opening stages. They played nine home games and two away games. After playing the Magic, the Bobcats are going to fly back to Charlotte back-to-back against the Celtics. These two games are not so easy.

This season, the Magic lineup has been adjusted, and in order to welcome Carter, Milicic was released, and the Magic's interior strength has declined.

Centres: Dwight Howard, Adonal Foyle.

Power forwards: James Augustin, Tony Barty, Beau Otero, Pat Garriti.

Small forwards: Turkoglou, Trevor Ariza.

Defenders: Vince Carter, Jamal Nelson, Keown Doolin, Redick, Bogans, Arroyo.

D'Antoni set up a strategy against the Magic's usual starting lineup. "When attacking, if you fall into position, everyone else pulls out and runs, and Chuck is alone on the inside, trying to make Howard foul. Howard is strong, but the Magic rely heavily on him, and once he fouls, the Magic is over. Defenders are marked, Chuck is in charge of Howard, Andrea (Bagnani) is in charge of Barty, Gerrard (Wallace) is in charge of Tekoglou, Corunna (Azubuuk) is in charge of Carter, and Jose (Calderon) is in charge of Nelson. Howard doesn't have many offensive means, as long as he is pushed outside the three-second zone, he can limit his offense, Chuck you mainly defend his baseline turn, if he goes to the middle, Andrea assists in defense! ”

Biedrins opened his mouth, but after all, he couldn't hold back and didn't speak, he felt very uncomfortable. He thinks this game should be a matchup between him and Howard the Monster, Bagnani's first three games are terrible, with a total of 18 points, but the coach still put Bagnani in the starting lineup in a key game like playing Magic...... It's so unfair. Biedrins thought to himself. But he didn't dare say it. In the Lynx he was just a newcomer, with no status or even friends. If, like Okafor, he expresses dissatisfaction with the coach's line-up, he will only suffer from it. In the intra-team competition, Gortat has also performed well recently, and if he is not satisfied, he may be beaten into the "cold palace".

Bagnani was so happy that he vowed in his heart that he would take the opportunity to show himself today.

After entering the court, Hayes stood next to Bagnani and performed the ninjutsu "Koufu" created by the famous ninja "Naruto" again before the match began. patted Bagnani on the back and whispered: "If you have a chance, you must shoot boldly, and you must protect the backcourt rebounds desperately." At your height, 6 rebounds per game isn't too much to ask, right? You have to dare to stand up to people. I've already put down the hardest one, and if you can't do a small role like Tony Barty, it's too watery! ”

"I'll blow him up." Bagnani said.

"Yes. You still have to think in your heart, you will never let Howard shoot a single ball, his offensive range can only be under the basket, and he is not allowed to shoot free throws, and if he passes me, you must make up for it. Don't let him shoot easily, if he can't cover it, he will foul fiercely, and don't let him dunk to play the momentum. You're also the champion, you shouldn't be worse than him! Hayes laughed.

"I see." Bagnani mustered up his strength.

After giving Bagnani a thought lesson, Hayes went to say hello to Howard again. "Dwight, I'm going to defend you today, don't think about scoring so easily!"

"Just what I wanted. Be careful not to foul too many and go down early. Howard laughed.

Hayes smiled slightly, it seems that the Magic's tactics are also to make me foul.

Magic starting lineup: Nelson, Carter, Turkoglou, Barty, Howard.

Bobcats starters: Calderon, Azubuke, Gerard Wallace, Hayes, Bagnani.

Howard jumped the ball to win, Magic Nelson controlled the ball across half court, and Calderon defended closely.

Calderon is said to be the most improved defender this season, but Nelson doesn't take Calderon seriously. Fastest progress? It's just shit luck to get into a run-and-shoot team and benefit from tactics, right? How strong can a guy who can only shoot at fixed points on offense be? And the defense is also terrible...... Thinking of this, Nelson really wanted to break through Calderon's offense by himself, but the coach clearly arranged to play to Howard inside, so he had to reluctantly bring the ball to the left side of the three-point line and hoist it high.

Did the Bobcats really make Hayes defend Howard? As long as Hayes can be knocked down, the game will be won. Big fat Stan Van Gundy immediately smiled. He was afraid that the Bobcats would not use Hayes to defend the interior and instead let other players use foul tactics on Howard. This time I arranged the tactics and made the right bet.

But can Howard get Hayes fouled so easily?

Howard has the ball with his back and leans against Hayes.

"Come on." Hayes shouted.

After practicing with Odom and Barkley in Los Angeles, Hayes has improved a little bit on the defensive interior offense from last season. As long as he sticks to Howard and doesn't let him into the inside, how much of a storm can he make?

Even before that year's draft, Howard's roughness in offensive skills had attracted widespread attention, and many people even thought that Okafor should be selected as the "top pick". This is Howard's fourth season, averaging a team-high 20.8 points per game, but his offensive skills have yet to improve substantially. But of all the players in the league who averaged 20+ points per game, he took the fewest shots, with just 12 per game. This certainly shows the efficiency of Howard's offense, but it also means that he really has no other offensive means other than dunks and strong shots under the basket.

Howard dribbled his back and spun towards the baseline. Hayes took a step sideways and got stuck.

He reacted so quickly? Howard failed to break through, took the ball with both hands, and passed out the perimeter.

It's not that Hayes reacts quickly, but he fights the Magic several times, and Howard always uses these few tricks. As soon as Howard moved his shoulder, Hayes knew what he wanted to do. How could it be easy for him to pass?

Turkoglu didn't dribble the ball on the outside and immediately gave the ball back to Howard. Hayes was still clinging to Howard's defense.

"You can't get by." Hayes laughed.

Howard was a little anxious, the coach said that he should force Hayes to make fouls, he had to go to the inside to make opponents fouls, Hayes's strength was too strong, he couldn't squeeze in, fight speed, Hayes was not slower than him. How is this case good. As Howard thought about what to do, another two seconds passed. The 24-second offensive time is almost up. Howard dribbled and forced a turn to the middle, took the ball with one hand, and threw it in the frame.

"If he passes me, you must make up for it. Don't let him take it lightly. Bagnani meditated on what Hayes had just said, keeping an eye on Howard's movements. As soon as Howard turned around in the middle, he immediately let go of Tony Barty.

"I'm the champion too!" Bagnani screamed and jumped up from the side. The right hand slapped Howard's shot hard, and he used too much force to cover the ball directly out of the sideline.

Everyone present was stunned. Bobcat's soft eggs on the first round of the big hat monster Howard!

(To be continued)