In the field of basketball, the NBA is well-deserved to be the first in the world. Not only the quality of the players, but also the level of the game is higher than any other league, and the training equipment, the team operation system, and the off-field activities are also state-of-the-art.

With the acceleration of the internationalization of the NBA, basketball has become one of the most developed sports in the United States overseas market. Among them, the Chinese market has become the NBA's largest overseas market. In this country of 1.3 billion people, basketball has gradually become a favorite sport for middle and high school students, college students, and young people, and Yao Ming, Zheng Ke and Yi Jianlian have gradually become household names in this land.

In today's Western showdown, the Chinese derby between Yao Ming and Zheng Ke, as the stars of their respective teams, is a sports event that has attracted the attention of the Chinese people. The two performed miracles at the Olympics and returned to the NBA after the Olympics to soar and become among the top players in the league at the same position. Among all the sports and entertainment stars in China, Zheng Ke and Yao Ming are the most internationally known.

Tickets for the Rocket Toyota Center have long been sold out, and the scalper's business has naturally become extremely prosperous at such a point in time. On the other side of the ocean, in China, countless students skip classes, white-collar workers skip classes, and wait in front of the TV early, waiting for the imperial court station to broadcast on time. Zheng Ke's classmates from childhood to adulthood, some relatives and friends also waited in front of the TV, boasting about how he and Zheng Ke were back then, while watching the TV intently.

It didn't take long for Yu Jia and Zhang Weiping, the familiar hosts in the studio of Imperial Court Television, to appear in front of hundreds of millions of viewers, and the two chatted for a while. The camera cuts to the scene in Houston.

The picture of Zheng Ke wearing a training uniform to warm up and shoot first appeared in the broadcast camera, and suddenly, Zheng Ke's fans in front of the TV burst into cheers.

Fans are sometimes simple. They get excited just by seeing their favorite player.

"That's my high school classmate!" Liang Shixiang obviously enjoyed his roommate's envious gaze, and rearranged the matter of Chen Zhi's mess with Zheng Ke in high school, which still caused his roommates to exclaim and make him proud.

The Rockets have won the championship twice in history, and Yao Ming, as a member of the Rockets' glorious center inheritance, can also win a championship for the Rockets, then his historical status will definitely advance a lot. Even being inducted into the Hall of Fame for this is something to be said about.

In the face of the Timberwolves, the Rockets actually have a natural advantage.

"The Timberwolves are too weak on the inside." Fagan wrote in his column: "Yao Ming, as the league's top interior lineman, is actually higher than Pau Gasol's offensive ability. Lefu may be able to limit Pau Gasol's offense to some extent. But in the face of Yao Ming, Kevin Love and Chris Anderson, who are only 2.08 meters tall, cannot be restrained. The good news is that Yao Ming's frontcourt rebounding has never been his forte, and the Minnesotans with Kevin Love can still do a good job of guaranteeing their backcourt rebounds. ”

And that's not all. The rocket's outer line is also far more powerful than expected. Own Brooks. Maddy, Battier's outside line is actually both offensive and defensive, and when Maddy transforms and Xiaobu is liberated from the team, the Rockets' lineup is becoming more and more perfect. Even on the bench, there are Artest, Landry, Hayes and other fierce men.

The only advantage on the Timberwolves' books. It's Billups, if the height difference is too big. Billups is likely to be the most difficult factor for the Rockets to grasp on the outside.

After the warm-up session, the lights in the Toyota Center arena dimmed and the players from both teams began to prepare for their appearance ceremony.

When Zheng Ke was introduced as the last player of the Timberwolves, there was a cloud-piercing boo in the Toyota Center.

Zheng Ke's face remained unchanged, and he calmly beckoned around.

As the most terrifying player for the Timberwolves, he's now playing a big devil in the playoffs. Not just Houston, but when he played in Portland and Los Angeles, he was treated like that. There is no way, fans are worried that Zheng Ke will overturn the home team, and he can't be booed if he is not booed.

The referee walked into the field after the two teams of players finished the ceremony, with a basketball in one hand and a whistle on his chest, and his face was grim.

Zheng Ke and Rockets starters Maddie, Brooks and others hugged, boxed, and showed their good demeanor.

The referee counted the time, and under the signal of the technical desk staff, blew the whistle on time, and at the same time threw the Spalding basketball into the air!

"Drink!"

Anderson let out a loud shout and leaped into the air as if he had a spring on his foot. He raised his long arms, looked at the bearing, and was the first to point the basketball.

Billups was quick to take over the basketball, and the Timberwolves began to prepare for the first wave of offense.

Only when he stands on the court will he feel Yao Ming's deterrent, he is like a giant spirit god standing on the inside of the rocket team, and Anderson and Lefu are 20 centimeters taller than him, standing next to him, you can clearly see that the two of them are one section shorter.

Lefu went to the right 45-degree area and used his wide body to make a no-ball cover for Zheng Ke, who cut inside, and successfully blocked Battier.

Zheng Ke slapped the ball with a long hand, passed through the defense line in one step, and made a two-step pull-up jump shot outside the penalty area.

Hit! 2 to 0.

For Zheng Ke, such a score is as simple as eating and drinking, and the shooting rate of unguarded pull-up jump shots can reach 80% or even higher.

Brooks took Scola's serve and advanced to the frontcourt.

When he coached the Rockets last year, Adelman used a multi-point flowering strategy. At that time, the Rockets, under the guidance of Adelman, often had multiple double-doubles, everyone shared the ball, enjoyed basketball, and even had a 22-game winning streak that shocked the world. And this year's Rockets, compared with last year, there is a significant difference, in Yao Ming's low-post efficiency and more terrifying season, the Rockets mostly adopt a tactical style similar to magic, supplemented by Scolatze's response and then the front line interspersed with a little Prince tactical spirit such as the bottom line. What can be seen is that Adelman is a side-to-the-individual in his tactical style.

Facing the Timberwolves, whose outside strength is significantly stronger than that of the inside. Adelman undoubtedly opted to let Yao Ming play in the low post.

To pack or not to pack?

This is a problem, which used to plague the team that defended Zheng Ke, but now the Timberwolves are in such an embarrassment.

Yao Ming will not wait for the Timberwolves to think.

He picked up the ball and felt the position. It's about 30 degrees to the right of the hoop, about nine feet from the basket.

"Bang!"

Yao Ming sits and hits Anderson, causing Anderson to fly back a step back, followed by a second hit.

"Bang!"

At the end of this backrest, Yao Ming put away the basketball, grabbed the ball with his right hand without waiting for Anderson to react, and then hooked it into the air.

It is a small hook that has been famous for a long time. It's just a bit far away.

"Huh!"

Yao Ming felt good, and the first attack was successful, and this hook on the outside edge of the big penalty area was successful.

2 to 2.

The Timberwolves serve the ball quickly. Billups touched the ball with a long pass and found Zheng Ke, who was waiting in the front court, Zheng Ke looked at the Rockets' retreat and didn't find any chance. He slowed down his attack.

He passes the ball back to Billups. Then ran to the bottom corner where he was supposed to go.

After a few passes, Billups distributed the ball to Afflalo on the perimeter, who tried a three-point jumper but missed.

The Timberwolves quickly stepped back.

is still handed over to Yao Ming to play singles, and the tactical idea of the rocket is very simple, that is, to pull away the singles and chisel the inside line. It's the offense that everyone expected, but for the Timberwolves. It's a little hard to defend.

Yao Ming singled with his back this time, shook to the left and then turned right to make a jumper.

The action is not fast. But the shot was so fast that by the time Anderson jumped, the basketball had flown far away and was headlong into the basket.

4 to 2.

This is a bad sign, and Whitman feels that there is some trouble. Yao Ming's offensive touch seemed to be good in the opening game, and he succeeded in both singles against Anderson.

Zheng Ke, who was on the court, turned his head and asked Whitman with his eyes. Whitman thought for a moment and made a gesture for the bag.

This is arranged by the Timberwolves before the game, first try to defend Yao Ming alone, if Yao Ming has a bad hand, there is no need to wrap it, if Yao Ming has a good hand, then it may be necessary to act at the opportunity.

In the next round, Billups made his first three-pointer from the outside.

Yao Ming singled with his back, and Zheng Ke immediately moved in small steps and quietly cut to Yao Ming's back.

"Be careful!"

Outside Bartier reminded Yao Ming loudly that he was the first to notice Zheng Ke running to trap Yao Ming, after all, Zheng Ke ran away from his eyes and quietly slipped to the bottom line.

Battier's reminder was a little over, as the player with the most steals per game at the NBA small forward position, Zheng Ke was extremely fast and sliced Yao Ming's dribble hard.

Like a bolt of lightning, Zheng Ke instantly rushed outside the three-point line after holding the ball, forcing the Rockets to retreat.

"Retreat!" Adelman yelled.

Zheng Ke's counter-attacking with the ball is a powerful weapon for him, and his strength, speed and ball-handling skills ensure that he is a deterrent in quick counter-attacks, like a slender Timberwolves, imposing.

Zheng Ke advanced all the way to the three-point line, and Brooks and Maddy, the two players who retreated at the first time, subconsciously contracted the defense, implicitly containing Zheng Ke.

"This way!"

Billups raised his hands 45 degrees from beyond the three-point line, and he was empty.

Zheng Ke suddenly turned his head and glanced at Billups, as if he meant to pass the ball. Brooks froze, moving a little slower.

"Chance!"

Zheng Ke's eyes lit up, he picked up the basketball with his head stuffy, and then accelerated in vain.

They all thought that Zheng Ke was going to pass the ball, but his sudden acceleration had an unexpected effect, and that step out instantly passed through the defense of Brooks and Maddy, and suddenly attacked the hinterland of the Rockets. Maddie didn't even have time to reach out and pull the jersey before Zheng disappeared.

"Drink!"

Zheng Ke rounded his arm, put the ball behind his head, and then crossed an arc and dunked the ball in with his tomahawk!

"Bang" (To be continued......