At this time, the foursome also focused on the discussion:

"Let's talk about what's wrong with the rocket now? Why lag behind? They look like they're fighting pretty well? ”

As soon as Kenny Smith asked the question, Barkley said:

"There's only one reason: they're running too slow."

"Yes."

When Barkley replied, the other two screamed together.

"Yes, the Rockets are running too slowly, you see that without the Pelicans, it only takes 8 seconds to score on average per round, which is really fast, even if you play positional offense, it only takes 12 seconds, 24 seconds is half more for them, and if the league limits no rounds to 15 seconds, they don't have much to do with it."

"But if you look at the Rockets, they play 20 seconds almost every round, which is terrible, the rhythm is completely different."

Reggie Miller's side originally supported the Pelicans, and at this time the Pelicans took the lead, and he immediately became happy.

"It's true that the Rockets are too slow, look at Asik's footsteps, he seems to be sick, and then look at Harden, I have to mention, there was no speed at all today, and Li Feng occupied a good position against him twice. The rocket now needs to pick up speed and also need a simple break. ”

Webb's side also supports the Pelicans, so he is also relatively excited.

In China, Director Zhang also said:

"Today's opening was really a surprise, the first big surprise was definitely McHale, he would never have imagined that in the playoffs, the Pelicans could play so fast, and the Pelicans' lineup was so decisive. Decisively, a flexible lineup of small people was adopted. ”

"Van Gundy's pre-game preparation is more thorough and bolder than the Rockets' side, and the Rockets' side is more hasty, on the one hand, because the Pelicans experienced more twists and turns in the regular season, so they have summed up more experience......

These reasons add up to the Pelicans' opening momentum, and it's time to get off the bench. McHale immediately replaced Mortiyunas with Josh Smith, reducing the burden on his team and making it faster.

At the same time, they come up and tell their players to increase the success rate of the offense, and at the same time give the Pelicans players enough intensity.

"To play the Pelicans like the Nets or the Spurs."

That's what McHale had to say about his players.

McHale also realized at this time that the most powerful thing about the Pelicans is that their style of play is different from any team. They are the type that has never appeared in the history of this alliance.

It's very fast, everyone can shoot, and at the same time it's very capable of attacking the basket, and the destructive power and accuracy are in a balance on them.

It can be said that the Pelicans used an epoch-making tactic. They used their speed and impact to break the shackles of the half.

At this time, the Pelicans gave the Rockets' McHale a new problem, and McHale could only use experience first and rely on his own players to solve the problem at this time.

After the pause, the Rockets finally stopped playing the low-post tactics, and came up to run freely first, and Josh Smith came up at this time to run without the ball and move towards the bottom corner. Then when Harden was in the left position to attract the opposing defense, he suddenly moved to the wing, and Josh Smith was more mobile than Kelly.

Kelly, on his side, couldn't keep up. At this time, Cory Brewer stuffed the basketball into Josh Smith's hands, and Josh Smith took the ball and dribbled into the restricted area and made a layup.

The Rockets came up with a mixed lineup, and it looked really much better. But that's when the Pelicans came again. The Pelicans are also particularly high in morale.

Unlike the Rockets, the Pelicans are well-rested, so once they come up today, they are playing very vigorously.

At this time, the Pelicans came, and Li Feng and Gasol took cover first. Then Li Feng suddenly passed the ball to Granger on one side.

Granger suffered by beating Ariza, who was not as strong as Ariza and not as fierce as Ariza. But Granger has always been afraid of anyone, even if he is put against Jordan, he can also play passionately.

Facing Ariza, he watched as Granger leaned forward, then dribbled with his left hand and suddenly stepped back.

Although Granger is not fierce, he is tall and fast, attacking with a shot, and Ariza did not pay much attention to the opponent, and was singled out by Granger.

"Huh!"

The Pelicans immediately gave the Rockets a three-pointer.

As soon as this three-pointer was shot, the Rockets felt that things were going to be bad, and Granger forced Ariza, what kind of situation was this.

It's completely a situation where the other party is crazy, you must know that the Pelican actually has a characteristic with the former warriors, that is, no one is afraid if they go crazy.

The Rockets saw that the other party was going crazy, and Harden couldn't sit still, and Harden was not a person who could sit still.

Harden so at this time he came up and immediately launched a personal attack, taking the ball on the wing and making a slight block in the face of Li Feng who pounced, Harden suddenly forced a step to drive up the speed and confrontation.

Then it was a turning over feint, swaying left and right, when Li Feng hesitated slightly, Harden turned around and jumped, the rhythm was perfect, the backward amplitude was large, and the arc of the shot was slightly high.

In this case, Harden scored two points again, and Harden's first two shots today were very beautiful, and the shots were there.

Harden's side scored points again, proving that the beard is still very toxic, and he is a very good scorer.

After Harden scored, the Rockets suddenly came up to defend a full-court press, and suddenly slowed down the Pelicans' speed.

However, at this time, Kelly suddenly passed a high-altitude ball to Li Feng on the bottom line, and the rocket did not let Li Feng receive the ball easily, so Kelly threw it high.

At this time, Li Feng flew over and grabbed the basketball in his hand, and Harden actually didn't stop Li Feng's high-altitude ball.

Li Feng grabbed the basketball and flew towards the Rockets' halfcourt, and McHale saw that this did not delay the Pelicans, and he was also in a hurry to shout on the sidelines.

In his shouting, Ariza came up and desperately went to steal the basketball, but just as Ariza was stealing the basketball, he saw Li Feng in the middle of the move, suddenly rushed forward, and at the same time shook Ariza with a crotch dribble.

After shaking off Ariza. Li Feng faced Harden who was catching up, continued to slam his crotch while walking, and then suddenly broke through to the left, suppressing Harden to turn to the right and take the basketball into his arms. Facing Josh Smith, who was chasing after him, he changed hands in the air and made a backhand layup.

"Bang."

Li Feng actually killed from the back to the front with a dragon and scored directly. Another easy layup to score, or a dragon.

The Rockets' defense is still in vain, so far. The Rockets didn't call a timeout, they didn't contain the Pelicans' offense, and they didn't turn the pace of the game around. The Pelicans are still playing fast.

And now Li Feng has also begun to have an excellent appearance, and the Rockets' defense has not reached the goal at all.

The Rockets suffered a loss on the defensive end, and Harden turned around to face Li Feng and immediately struck again. Harden showed another shooting technique this time, just now he used a turn and a back, a step-back step, and a catch-and-shoot this time.

In the process of rapid shooting, Li Feng did not defend Harden. But Harden has hit two people in a row, and he finally missed the third ball.

The Rockets today have a better shooting percentage from the whole team to the individual, but they are all better in a general sense.

This is clearly not the case on the Pelican side, which is on the verge of going crazy. Harden missed the shot this time. Gasol protected the basketball in the backcourt and immediately passed the ball to Granger.

Granger took the ball and ran quickly, passing the ball to Corey as Ariza chased after him. Corey turned back to Li Feng.

Li Feng took the ball and walked around Kelly, attracting the defense to turn back and pass to Kelly, who was half a step outside the three-point line. Take the ball and throw it with a three-pointer.

"Huh." Kelly's three-point shot also came, and the Pelicans were playing more and more ferociously, and wave after wave of three-pointers came up, and it was actually the lead at the beginning.

Although the Rockets were a super strong team at this time, they were caught off guard at the beginning, and they were still a little anxious.

Cory Brewer came up at this time and wanted to force a breakthrough to Corey, but once he made a relatively large move on his side, Cory immediately took advantage of the situation to make a foul.

The referee saw that Cory Brewer's action was too obvious, and even though it was at home, he could only blow his foul.

As a result, the basketball was immediately back in the hands of the Pelicans, and when the referee ruled so, the New Orleans Center must have booed the audience.

In the boo, the Pelicans kicked off quickly, the basketball came out quickly, Corey took the ball and ran quickly to the front at this time, and when Cory Brewer wanted to defend, Li Feng blocked it a little.

Li Feng blocked a little, and when he arrived at the Rockets' three-point line, Corey had another momentary opportunity.

At such a momentary opportunity, Corey also went crazy, threw a three-pointer, and hit the three-pointer.

"Huh!"

At this time, the Pelicans were consecutive three-pointers, and the momentum was even more played, and all 5 Pelicans on the court today scored, all of which had a table. The Pelicans are the whole team outbreak, and the Rockets can't seem to stop it.

Blocking one and the second, blocking the second and the third, this Corey actually had a convulsion today, McHale originally thought that Cory Brewer could fully suppress Corey, but he didn't expect Cory to be too powerful, and he actually deceived Cory Brewer easily, and turned around and put such a deadly cold arrow with a big heart.

The Rockets are really uncomfortable now, the game at this time is completely different from their style, and the Pelicans are completely in control of the rhythm.

In this way, although Harden then led the team to counterattack, Harden was scoring when the Pelicans were also scoring on the team.

Moreover, the Pelicans rely on fast break to score, which is much more efficient than the Rockets playing halftime, and for a while, the Rockets have no way to stabilize the situation.

At the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans actually led the Rockets by as many as 12 points from 39 to 27.

The Rockets' 27 points in the first quarter is not less, and they are averaging 108 points per game. But the Pelicans scored 37 points in the first quarter, and the obvious shooting convulsions were unbearable.

In the first quarter, the Pelicans shot as high as 60% from the field, and 90 percent of the team's offense was layups and three-pointers, and only two mid-range shots. Relying on layups, counterattacks, and three-point shots, the Pelicans beat the best team in the league to the ground.

The Rockets are the team that claims to win the championship this year, and today the Pelicans are completely powerless. It's not the regular season. It's a playoff game, and that kind of impact can't be compared to the average game.

In front of the people of the world, rockets are ruthless. This gap is very large, so the Rockets have a very poor mentality after falling behind.

At the end of the first quarter, Harden walked to the bench swearing, fearing that the team's young players would suffer.

At this time, the Rockets had a big psychological gap and couldn't accept it, and the love was very bad, and Barkley and Kenny Smith, who were on the sidelines, also felt a little unacceptable.

Because the defeat of the Rockets looks too light, at this time Barkley complains where:

"The Rockets' defense was so poor today, they gave the other side too many chances. It's a sin. The Rockets shouldn't have defended so badly. ”

Barkley is complaining about the defense, where Kenny Smith is complaining about the offense:

"The Pelicans are shooting a lot right now, but I'm sure they can't always be that high, and if they play well in the first quarter, they're going to shoot down in the end. The Rockets are not playing badly now, it's just that the Pelicans are too lucky now. ”

Where these two guys complained, Webber shook his head to the side and retorted to the two of them:

"Hey. Brother, there is nothing in this world that is completely unreasonable. ”

"The reason why the Rockets are so bad defensively is because they don't have a good mentality, because they don't prepare enough. Why do Pelicans have a high hit rate. Because the tactics are more right, the team has this kind of tactical idea, and it seems to be accidental, but there must be inevitable factors behind it. ”

Reggie Miller also said at this time:

"If the rocket can't control it, let yourself steady down. They're definitely still not good at defending today, not defending well, and the Pelicans will definitely go on offense. ”

"Now the rockets have to keep their eyes peeled."

Reggie Miller and Webb because of their different perspectives. They all look at it differently.

On the domestic side, Director Zhang also thinks that the rocket is not playing well:

"Today's game is a pivotal battle in the West. At the beginning of the game, the Pelicans accelerated the speed with a clear banner, and the Pelicans had a strong foundation for playing fast because of Li Feng's strong destructive power and passing ability in the offensive and defensive transitions, and with Gasol Kelly's long-range shooting ability to open up space and respond to the game. ”

"As for the Rockets, they are very afraid of the other side playing fast, their main lineup is very slow, so that once the Pelicans are fast, they will be very strong against the Rockets, but the Rockets' most powerful interior twin towers will not restrain the Pelicans. This is a huge contrast, the rocket's own offense is difficult to open, but at the same time it is difficult to defend the opponent's offense, this is difficult. ”

Director Zhang also has his own opinions on the situation of the two teams in the first quarter, and at the same time, Pelican fans and Rockets fans also launched a larger-scale scolding war on the Internet.

Both groups are huge, and once the debate starts, it is universal.

At this time, McHale calmed his players and reflected on the Pelicans' offense today.

The Pelicans' offense today is indeed a performance moment, fast, destructive, and the big man also has three-point shots.

However, in McHale's view, the Pelicans' fast ball today has a weakness, the Pelicans are too weak on the outside, and if you want to play a strong fast offense, you must rely on strong outside firepower.

This kind of firepower is not enough to rely on Li Feng alone, and the Pelicans' defensive ability in the fastball is also insufficient, and neither Corey nor Granger can make up for Li Feng's outside defense.

Now the Pelicans can play so well, because they have problems with their defense, and it is also because the Pelicans offense has played extraordinarily.

Now that the Pelicans have played out, they need to have a choice, whether to let Li Feng play or let the Pelicans play as a team.

If this problem is placed in the last quarter of the game, McHale decisively asked all 5 people in the court to defend Li Feng, but now it is only the second quarter, and he decisively chooses to strangle other points first and relax his defense against Li Feng a little.

It's tough for the team now, but he has a plan right away.

For the average head coach, it is simply inconceivable for them to give up their defense against Li Feng.

But for McHale, it was a matter of course, and he immediately gave instructions here, asking Ariza to defend Li Feng alone, and he could defend as long as he could, and no one else participated.

Back in the second quarter, both teams came off the bench. When both teams came off the bench, the Pelicans' weakness was revealed.

At this time, the Rockets' bench roster is full of excellent role players, Pliginho, Cory Brewer, Nick Johnson, Josh Smith, Morty Yunas.

The Rockets were in good shape off the bench, so the Pelicans were a little overwhelmed at the beginning of the second quarter, and the Rockets came up to score points in a row. chased the score to 43-36, and the Rockets caught up by 5 points in one go, shortening the difference by almost half.

The Rockets were chasing points by relying on the bench, and it was a little uncomfortable to watch Van Gundy at this time. His substitute is too weak, and at this time, he can only rely on Li Feng to score points.

Van Gundy was a little heartbroken about Li Feng, but at this time he could only call a timeout and replace Li Feng.

Li Feng himself doesn't think anything, because since the Knicks, he has played like this. It's actually the same now, and he's a little used to it.

Seeing the Pelicans substitution, Webb of the foursome said:

"The Pelicans are playing well now, but as a strong team. The lineup is still a little too thin, and the Pelicans need to be strengthened. ”

"yes, with the Pelicans' crippled roster right now, it's enough to play the regular season. But it's a bit of a struggle to cope with the playoffs. In this way, the score was brought closer by the rockets, and the Pelicans were not easy to play. ”

Reggie Miller, for his part, also had some complaints about the Pelicans' bench lineup.

Li Feng went to the court, and the Pelicans teed off on the sideline.

The Pelicans tee off first from the sideline. passed the basketball to Li Feng's hands, and Li Feng took the ball at the top of the arc very easily.

Looking back, the Rockets sent a Nick Johnson to defend themselves, and Nick Johnson is also the kind of player who doesn't care. He doesn't have offensive ability as a No. 3 position, and he doesn't have a strong rebounding and defense as a No. 4 position.

He came to defend Li Feng only with a size advantage, not any advantage, so Li Feng leaned forward with the ball, and then pulled it up outside the three-point line and threw a 3-pointer.

Li Feng felt that the opponent used Nick Johnson to defend himself, and it was a crime if he didn't attack, so he shot lightly.

Nick Johnson really has no way to defend Li Feng, Li Feng can jump, is fast, and explosive, he can almost only watch Li Feng shoot.

Li Feng shot a three-point shot, "Huh!" "It hit right at once. At this time, the Yu family immediately said in China:

"There is a problem with the Rocket's defense, it's not a way to let Li Feng go like this."

"yes, McHale estimates that there will be a substitution soon."

Director Zhang also felt that the Rockets' defense was a little lax

Li Feng's attack was successful, and the Rockets immediately pushed over, and once they advanced, although the rhythm was faster than the main lineup, it was still slow overall.

Pliginho came over and passed the ball to Nick Johnson, who picked up the ball on the right wing and waited for Josh Smith to run over and catch the ball.

But after Josh Smith ran over to catch the ball, he had no intention of attacking, but turned back to pass the ball to Cory Brewer, who staggered with Josh Smith and attracted everyone's attention with the ball.

At this point, Josh Smith took advantage of his nimble movement to make another good opening, and Cory Brewer made a rare pass to a good ball.

The basketball went straight into the hands of Josh Smith, who took the ball and hit a mid-range shot.

The Pelicans were Li Feng alone, and the Rockets started a team offense.

The Pelicans came over again, and Knight controlled the ball and ran towards the Rockets' half, but Priginho fought hard with him and stuck Knight, Knight couldn't get the ball, and Li Feng could only go over to answer.

At this time, Knight passed the basketball to Li Feng, and it was seen that although Nick Johnson was active defensively, his positivity was not effective. Nick Johnson's body is too ordinary, Li Feng took the ball here and shook it twice, and he gave Nick Johnson over at once.

Nick Johnson hurriedly pulled Wan Kai down with security rules, Li Feng scored two points and went to the free throw line, at this time the Rockets took this opportunity to also make a big change, replacing Ariza and Harden, replacing Nick Johnson and Corey Brewer.

Li Feng went to the free throw line and hit both free throws, at this time the Rockets chased over, Harden got the ball, and when Harden got the ball, the Rockets were almost three big men on the top of the arc to cover Harden. (To be continued......)