Originally, the Pelicans thought they could take out the Rockets in one go, and if they won the third game, the Pelicans even had a chance to sweep the Rockets.

But there is no if, now the rocket is very powerful, and the shape is developing in a direction favorable to the rocket.

Now the Pelicans are facing this situation, although Li Feng and Van Gundy are constantly cheering for the team on the side, but the media is always discouraged for the Pelicans.

The Pelicans lost a game, and the media said that the Pelicans were not good in all kinds and were too immature, and in the third game, the Pelicans did have immature places, but the media said that the Pelicans were useless.

The Houston media is also aggressively attacking the Pelicans as they are too young, and the future will belong to them, and now they still belong to the Rockets.

The Pelicans are on the cusp of this kind of storm, and Li Feng can only stand up and publicly support his teammates in the media, praising his teammates as young and handsome and manufacturable. In the team, Li Feng even said to his teammates that when the opportunity comes, we must seize it, because we don't know what will happen in the future, but now we have a ready-made opportunity, and if we lose this opportunity, we don't know what will happen in the future. Catching the present is only a qiē, so we must steal at least one win from the Rockets' home court.

Cheering on his teammates in the media and on the team finally stabilized the situation, while the Pelicans continued to play in Houston.

The status of the Rockets in Houston is extremely high, and Houston is also a city with a strong basketball atmosphere.

The city's beaches are full of streetball scenes, basketball is buzzing, and the Rockets are their favorite team. Now that the regular season is here, Houston's big-city enthusiasm is unmatched by New Orleans.

Because the victory in the last game is encouraged, in the luxury style of Houston. Naturally, there was a grand opening ceremony before the game.

After the grand opening, the Rockets' players were also extremely hot, and the Rockets demonstrated in front of the young Pelicans players to show their might.

After a series of grand opening ceremonies and player appearance ceremonies, the game officially began.

At this time, the TNT commentator for today's game, Skeles, said:

"Today the Rockets put pressure on the Pelicans before the game even started. It was certainly the idea of the refrigerator, and he had already thought about the pelican's mental instability in the last game. So today we are actively exerting pressure and positively making the Pelicans lose confidence. ”

Reggie Miller, who partnered with Skyles, also said:

"The Rockets are very good at presenting themselves as a big city team, and I know that. But teams in smaller cities are more likely to be united and more likely to focus on basketball. Small cities also have the advantages of small cities! ”

Reggie Miller himself comes from a small city, and naturally says good things about small cities. However, although small cities are not as attractive as big cities, they are not as attractive as big cities to attract stars. But small cities are really more united. Because it is easy to unify with fewer people. At the same time, playing in a small city, the concentration will also be high, and there is no other temptation.

The Pelicans did look a little thin in front of the grand ceremony of the rocket. However, Li Feng is quiet after experiencing a big battle.

When it was the Pelicans' turn to play, there wasn't much boos in the audience. Because although Houston fans are fanatical, and although the two teams had a grudge last season, the Pelicans are the kind of team that people can't hate too much.

They played beautifully, and they were a bunch of young people. It looks vibrant, and there are no disgusting vices. Even if you try to find a reason to hate pelicans, you can only say that they are too young.

There were no changes to the starting lineups of both teams today, with the Pelicans having point guard Stephen Curry, scoring guard Danny Granger, small forward Li Feng, power forward Al Jefferson, and center Pau Gasol.

The Rockets also started the regular game, with point guard Jason Terry, scoring guard James Harden, small forward Trevor Ariza, power forward Asik, and center Morty Yunas.

The lineups and playing styles of the two teams, as well as the staffing, are very familiar, and today's game mainly depends on how the Pelicans adjust.

In the last game, the refrigerator adjustment was very successful, both tactically and psychologically, and then the Rockets won the game, and now it is Van Gundy's turn to express Xiàn, and in the last game, the Pelicans lost mainly not in tactics, nor in personnel, but precisely in psychological adjustment.

The Pelicans have not fully adjusted psychologically today, especially the younger Corey and Knight, who have indeed suffered a big blow, and there are big ups and downs in the playoffs, which is not something that ordinary people can bear. And Corey and Knight are too young to take on more pressure.

In this case, the two teams kicked off, and the Rockets took the lead in basketball in the opening game, and their interior advantage was indeed very obvious.

The first strategy of the Rockets at this time is to play the inside line, at this time, it depends on the Pelicans in order to contain the inside line of the Rockets immediately adopted a more detailed targeted defense, the previous two games have actually been done in the general direction, at this time the two teams can make up for most of the details, and there are more in strategy, between the psychology, the use of deception, these extremely subtle things.

At this time, the Pelicans took a different approach to defending the Rockets' twin towers, focusing on the front for Morty Yunas and focusing on the delay for Asik.

The Pelicans' opening defense was still successful, the Rockets hit the first shot, it was very difficult to receive the ball inside, and finally Asik barely shot from long range and missed.

The Pelicans' tweaks at the beginning had some effect, because the Pelicans had some new changes, and the Rockets definitely needed to adapt.

The Pelicans defended it and immediately advanced towards the opponent's half of the court after a round, and the Pelicans' first key word on the offensive end today was acceleration.

The best way to fight against the Rockets' tall lineup is speed, and Corey took the ball and quickly attacked the Rockets' half court with Li Feng.

As soon as the two of them came up, they pulled the rhythm fast, and then the moment the rocket position fell, Li Feng immediately passed the basketball to Gasol, who ran quickly behind him.

Gasol took the ball and immediately used his skills to cut to the basket. Two points with a half-hook hand.

In the first round of the opening game, the Pelicans really adjusted, and it really worked. That's where playoff adjustments come in!

At this time, the domestic live broadcast room was inside. At this moment, Yang Yi also said:

"The Pelicans finally played faster today, and they should be faster, only then can they deal with the Rockets' tall roster."

The Rockets also knew what was going on at this time, but at this time it was reflected that the Rockets and the Pelicans were different.

The rocket has experienced a hundred battles, there are many veterans, and these people's self-regulation ability is very, very strong, which is indeed incomparable to the rocket.

Although the opening took a hit. The Rockets' twin towers were squeezed and difficult to catch the ball, and Harden also had the Pelicans' focus on taking care of them, but at this time Terry's veteran experience was reflected. He was very slippery on the pitch and ran towards Asik.

Asik passed the ball to Terry to make a screen, and Terry passed half of Asik's body, took the ball and shot a three-pointer.

Although Terry is not as sharp as Corey's three-pointers, Terry's three-pointers are more deadly.

Terry's current club was killed by the Mavericks in the playoffs!

"Huh!"

Terry is tethered by the Pelicans at the Rockets. When I can't fully adjust back for the time being. Suddenly a three-pointer came.

Terry's three-pointer wasn't just a cold shot, it helped the team get through a dangerous period of time.

When McHale was in a situation on the team, he immediately asked Josh Smith to warm up, and since the Pelicans were going to play fast, he should let Josh Smith deal with it.

Terry suddenly jumped out to disrupt the game, the Rockets gasped for breath, and the Pelicans still followed the rhythm of the previous round.

The Pelicans took the ball and quickly pushed up, and when they came up, it was Al Jefferson who was plugged in the back row. Al Jefferson takes the ball and attacks the basket directly.

At this point, Morty Yunas then chased down a foul and Al Jefferson went to the free throw line. The Rockets hurriedly replaced Morty Yunas with Josh Smith.

The Rockets' rapid substitutions, adding speed to the team, brought on Josh Smith. The Rockets played Josh Smith, and the Pelicans' defensive pressure can be said to have plummeted, because everyone on Earth knows that Josh Smith is extremely unstable on the offensive end.

So the Pelicans' defensive focus is on Harden and Asik. Faced with strong defensive pressure, Harden passed the basketball to Josh Smith when he wanted to make a transition.

Unexpectedly, Josh Smith came out to take the ball and dribbled under his crotch, and seeing that Al Jefferson did not follow, he nervously shot a three-pointer.

Who would have thought that Josh Smith would shoot a three-pointer, and even if he did, he would feel that he would not score, but the reality is so cruel.

Josh Smith's nervous three-pointer actually scored! As soon as the Rockets opened the game, they didn't need to adjust, and the role players suddenly became powerful, directly two three-pointers, and ate the advantage that the Pelicans had managed so hard.

6-4, the Pelicans were clearly more tactical reasonable, but they were ahead of the Rockets.

At this time, Skels could only say:

"The Rockets are indeed more comfortable on their home court, especially as role players, and they will definitely play better than on the road, and they can even play beyond the norm."

The Rockets opened with a small twitch for the two role players, which made the forest very difficult to deal with.

For Terry and Josh Smith, you deliberately set up the defense and maybe just like that, and if you don't defend, you might pull up.

So the pelicans don't have a good way at this time, so they can only pay a little attention.

Turning back to the Pelicans attacking on their own, the Pelicans are still playing at a fast pace, and the fast is a little simpler, because there are more complex movements, and the more actions must be slow.

Corey came up and made a simple block with Li Feng, and Corey broke through and turned around to pass the basketball to Li Feng.

Li Feng immediately misplaced to face Terry, and in the face of Terry, Li Feng naturally had to give full play to his height advantage and raised his hand comfortably to shoot a mid-range shot.

So far the Pelicans have had no problems offensively, no problems defensively, and the sudden fire from Terry and Josh Smith is also firepower beyond the calculation.

The Pelicans didn't have any problems starting the game, and the Rockets were in the Pelicans' half again, and Asik and Harden were indeed well limited.

At this time, Harden was still very unconvinced, and took the ball up and forced the defense to take a few steps to the vicinity of the restricted area, and the Pelicans players went up to wrap it, and Harden passed the basketball to Ariza.

Ariza faced Li Feng who rushed out at this time. A tentative step at his feet, he actually pulled up a three-point shot.

Li Feng wanted to defend at this time, and it was too late.

"Huh!"

Ariza also hit this three-pointer, the third game. The Rockets are back at home, and sure enough, it's different. As soon as the game started, the Rockets came with three three-pointers in a row. These three three-pointers were thrown out.

The Rocket fans at the Devil Toyota Center suddenly became excited, and the cheers of the entire stadium were one, so that the momentum of the Rockets rose all of a sudden.

Van Gundy was heartbroken by this unexpected situation, because from the previous situation, the Pelicans didn't make any mistakes, but now the Rockets have unexpectedly had a role player convulsion.

This is the most hated situation as a coach. It is also one of the most difficult links to control, and the opponent's role players are powerful.

9-6, the Rockets unreasonably led the Pelicans by 3 points.

The pelicans were also a little shaken and anxious at this time. It's impossible to fight the pelicans on the other side without pressure.

The Pelicans came back and they immediately hit an Al Jefferson low post offense. Because the Pelicans saw Al Jefferson's advantage over Josh Smith in the low post.

Although Josh Smith is highly mobile and can play three and four, he is neither a pure No. 3 position. It's not a pure four. It was very difficult for Al Jefferson to play Asik before, but now that he has changed to Josh Smith's defense, Al Jefferson has a certain advantage.

Al Jefferson took the ball up and sat Josh Smith two steps in a row, and then Al Jefferson took the ball and turned around to play a difficult basket offense.

But by this time Josh Smith had just hit a three-pointer, and his attention was already coming up, and when Josh Smith got into the groove, he was indeed a super nuisance, just as Al Jefferson was turning. Josh Smith made a strong break and pressed his hand on Al Jefferson's ball.

Al Jefferson was unable to attack. I can only pull back desperately. The two pulled together, and then rolled to the ground together, and the playoffs really didn't give up.

Seeing that the players of both teams were about to rush up, they all lay on the floor to grab the ball. The referee hurriedly came up and gave a scrum.

Josh Smith and Al Jefferson battled for the ball under the Rockets' basket, and the two men had their own strengths.

Once the ball was out, Josh Smith and Al Jefferson went to scramble for the ball together, and Josh Smith reacted a little faster.

Suddenly put the basketball in the hands of Harden behind him, Harden took the ball When the Pelicans' attention was focused on Harden, Harden took the ball and threw it forward, and Terry took the ball and rushed forward.

Corey defended in the past, and Terry didn't need any skills, just relied on his own rough flesh to push forward against Corey.

Corey couldn't stand it at a glance, so he could only use both hands and feet to focus on delays. Corey delayed Terry, and Li Feng hurried over to the bag.

Li Feng was very ferocious and timely, and at this time Terry could only pass the basketball to Ariza who followed up.

Ariza took the ball like a duck and broke through to the basket, Granger hurried over to block, and Li Feng also ran over to cover the bag.

Ariza didn't have too strong layup ability, but at this time, Ariza made a hook layup at the moment of turning.

The basketball actually bypassed Li Feng and Granger's bag and obediently got into the Pelicans' basket.

Ariza actually came to score a difficult goal, and the atmosphere at the home of the Rockets erupted like a volcano.

The center of gravity of the entire Toyota center of gravity is a cheer, the Rocket's home momentum is out, and the Rocket ushered in a high of its own as soon as it opened. Tide, headband brothers are all powerful today!

This is very difficult to deal with, because the Rockets are the role players who break out of the small universe first, so the Pelicans' defense has no choice.

While Van Gundy hesitated and the Pelicans players were overwhelmed on the court, the Rockets continued to take advantage of the victory.

At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets led the Pelicans by eight points, 30-22.

The Pelicans actually played not badly in the first quarter, all the goals that should have been scored were scored, and the tactics that should have been played were handled, but the Rockets' home court was too full of momentum and scored too many goals that should not be scored.

The Rockets played in an extraordinary state, and the Pelicans could only respond in an extraordinary state. But now the Pelicans' state can only be described as normal, and the Pelicans' rookie players have not fully recovered from the loss in the last game.

Coupled with Van Gundy's hesitation in tactical adjustments, the score was quietly opened.

At this time, Skeyles was saying:

'There were some surprises on the pitch today. The Rockets' role players are starting to wield. It's an unpredictable risk, and it's a test of a coach's response to deal with it. ”

Skels, who has also been a head coach himself, is naturally well aware of the difficulties, and Reggie Miller also said on the side:

"It's true, but at this point the Pelicans still have to hold on. As long as it is stabilized, there will be a chance in the future. ”

Reggie Miller is also a scheming guy, and the advice he gives is also very pertinent.

On the bench, Van Gundy finally couldn't hold back, and he began to set up new defensive tactics for the team on the sidelines.

Van Gundy couldn't bear it this time, and the Rockets' bench players became inert, and he began to deploy stricter man-to-man tactics.

Van Gundy was also helpless. He's afraid that if the Rockets' role players continue to play like this, they might definitely get out of control.

However, this arrangement of defense also destroys the defensive system that was previously arranged. The Pelicans are still taking risks, because then the defense against the Rockets' core players is much weaker.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Pelicans kicked off first, and Knight faced Priginho to get the ball at this time.

When Knight was looking for someone. He dribbled on his own and suddenly softened. That's it. Pligiño's men arrived.

Because the Rockets' players were in high spirits at this time, they were all in a very good state, and Priginho cut off Knight's basketball at once, turned around and went to the Pelicans' halfcourt.

Knight made a mistake here, and when he turned to chase after him, Priginho slowed down slightly when Knight was about to catch up.

Then stick to Knight and get up with a one-handed quick buckle, "Bang dang!" ”

At the beginning of the second quarter, Pliginho came up with a fast-break dunk, and the Pelicans' desire to regroup was interrupted before they could get up.

Van Gundy hurriedly jumped up at this point and let the team steady down. If the Rockets are allowed to fight like this again, the Pelicans will be scrapped again today.

The pelican side hits according to the steady dìng. Knight came over with the ball and immediately played a pick-and-roll with Kelly.

Knight followed the routine and passed the ball to Kelly behind after the break, and the moment Kelly got the ball, Josh Smith pounced quickly.

Kelly couldn't make a shot, so he could only dribble a step forward against Josh Smith's defense, and then made a pass to Roten on the wing, who took the ball in a sullen state in the last game, holding the ball and not attacking himself, and instead passed the ball to Granger in the back.

Granger looked at the ball and saw that there was not much time left, so he could only jump back against Nick Johnson's defense and make a mid-range shot.

Gran's shot was short, the bounce was still not strong enough, and the Pelicans didn't improve on the offensive end.

On the Rockets' side, Josh Smith won the rebound and drove the ball towards the Pelicans' half.

Josh Smith played at the No. 4 position, and he rushed over with the ball and easily caused the Rockets to misalign and the confusion of the retreat.

It was at this time that Josh Smith made a ground-hitting pass and the basketball went to Nick Johnson, who cut in from behind.

Nick Johnson's attacking power is not great, but he also showed his strength at this time, which is the ability to pass the ball.

Nick Johnson, who received the ball in the air, turned his hand and passed to Cory Brewer on the baseline, and Cory Brewer took the ball just in the empty space and threw him a three-pointer.

"Huh!"

Cory Brewer also hit a three-pointer, and the Rockets broke out desperately at the beginning of the second quarter.

At this time, the momentum of the rocket was almost like devouring the pelican alive, and Van Gundy saw that the situation was getting worse and worse.

He hurriedly called a timeout to replace Li Feng, and a head coach who was such a thief immediately replaced Harden, and at this time, the task given to Harden by the refrigerator was not to attack but to defend Li Feng.

At this time, the refrigerator also saw that since his team had entered the track and found the state, as long as he controlled Li Feng, the game would already be nine out of ten.

So at this point, you can free Harden from the offensive end and let Harden put in the defensive end.

The series of operations of the refrigerator is adapted to local conditions, which indeed reflects the status of the refrigerator.

Li Feng must have shouldered the heavy responsibility of offense after being replaced, but the first moment Li Feng got the ball, Harden immediately posted it.

A narcissist like Harden is originally very good at defending in terms of personality, and the average defensive master is the kind of person who is very paranoid, can compete with himself, and prefers to compete with others.

Once this kind of person comes up on defense, he will stare you to death, that is, he will fight desperately with you, from small movements to every step to find awkwardness with you, such a cautious person can become a master of defense. (To be continued......)