Isaiah. Thomas and Chandler. Parsons' competitor is Leonard, while Thomas Jr.'s competitor is just Aaron. Brooks only.

Thomas Jr. and Brooks have somewhat similar playing styles, both are short and agile small point guards, and they are better at scoring than passing, and they are both black holes on the defensive end.

With similar characteristics, Thomas Jr., with his faster, more flexible and youthful and impactful style of play than Brooks, began to gradually encroach on the playing time that belonged to Brooks.

In fact, Brooks is not very old, currently only 27 years old, but his speed and explosiveness affected by injuries are not as good as the peak season of 09-10, which is why Brooks was replaced by Lowry in the original history and gradually became a marginal figure in the team.

Throughout the regular season, Thomas Jr. and Brooks almost shared the playing time at the point guard position, both playing about 22 minutes, one averaging 6.7 points and the other 7.2 points per game.

As for Jimmy. Butler, among the four rookies, remains the worst performer.

There is no way to do it, compared to the point guard and small forward positions, the Rockets still have some talent at the point guard position.

Courtney. Lee and Korver have almost divided the vast majority of their playing time at the shooting guard position, leaving Butler with few opportunities per se.

Wang Chao does not have many requirements for the Rockets' scoring guard position, which is actually similar to the small forward position, one is defense, and the other is three-point.

Courtney. Lee has top-notch perimeter defense and a consistent three-point shooting rate in the early 40 percent, while Korver's defensive ability is slightly lacking, but his 44 percent three-point shooting rate can make up for the shortcomings on the defensive end.

Compared with these two, although Butler's defense is very active, he is still inferior due to his experience and ability to grow up, and in terms of three-point shooting, even Butler, who is worth playing in the future, is not good at three-point shooting, with a career three-point shooting rate of 33%, compared with Leonard, who is also not good at three-point shooting, but his career shooting rate can reach 38%, the gap is obvious.

This is also why Wang Chao wanted to get Clay very much. Thompson's cause.

As the best 3-and-D player template, Thompson has excellent defensive ability, but also the best three-point shooting ability, is the best off-ball player, and the best puzzle piece to win the championship.

It's a pity that it's useless, it can only mean that there is no fate.

But in a sense, if Curry and Thompson can't meet and form a team, it's actually quite boring.

Take a look at the current lineup of the Rockets, Wang Chao, Leonard, Butler......

Don't look at Butler now in the team to play no ball, in addition to Wang Chao in daily training, the most desperate is him, although limited by the talent progress speed is not as fast as Leonard, but this persistent training attitude is destined to Butler will inevitably rise as in the original history.

Even if Da Yao gets old in the next few years and no longer has giant-level strength, and the era of internal and external dual-core has passed, Leonard and Butler, who have grown up, are enough to form a super triumvirate combination with Wang Chao and sweep the entire league without any problems.

In this case, if Wang Chao snatches Thompson away again, and there is no opponent like the Warriors in the future, then there is no suspense in the championship every year, which is really a bit boring.

——

On April 29, the first round of the playoffs began.

The Rockets' opponent in the first round is the Dallas Mavericks, who are ranked eighth in the West.

Last year's overall runner-up, the Mavericks, who lost to the Magic in the finals, are now completely out of combat.

Maybe it's because he didn't win the championship and lost the spirit of several veterans, or maybe it's because of Tyson, the core of the interior defense. Chandler's departure led to the collapse of the Mavericks' defensive system.

The drop in the regular season win rate from 70 percent last season to 51.5 percent this season speaks volumes.

In the first round, when they met the Rockets, who had the best record in the regular season, the Mavericks had no way to fight back and were swept out of the game with a crisp 4:0.

In four games, Nowitzki, the core leader of the Mavericks, can also contribute 26.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and maintain a stable scoring ability as always, but this is obviously not enough to lead the team to victory.

The Rockets, on their side, have been fishing for the entire regular season...... No, Da Yao, who was recuperating his energy, finally showed his fangs in the playoffs.

Facing Mavericks center Brandon. Haywood, Da Yao hit hard, averaging 10 of 16 shots per game and 4 of 5 free throws in four games, scoring 24 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.

Wang Chao's data in the first round of the series was 34 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.1 assists, although the average points per game have decreased, but this is because of the increase in the number of times Da Yao attacks with the ball.

The Rockets swept the Mavericks 4-0 in the first round, which itself was expected.

The Mavericks were too weak in combat to have any effect on the rocket.

But the first round is over, and the opponent of the Rockets in the second round of the divisional semifinals is not so easy to deal with.

They will face the Los Angeles Lakers, who eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

Even though they were defeated by the Mavericks last season and missed the Finals, the Lakers are the team that has reached the Finals three times in the past four years and won a championship, and currently has almost all the championship squads except for Odom, and the most important thing is that Kobe's existence is destined for the Lakers to be a strong opponent that no team can underestimate in the playoffs.

——

Before the start of the second round of the playoffs, the league announced the results of the All-Season Team as usual.

With exaggerated personal data, Wang Chao was selected as the best team without any suspense.

He was joined by Paul, Kobe, James and Howard.

Durant, who averaged 31+8+3 per game, was squeezed into the second team, although this result made me feel very unhappy, but there was no way.

Also a forward player, Durant's rivals are Wang Chao and James.

Wang Chao doesn't have to think about it, his personal data and team record have comprehensively suppressed Durant, and he has no chance.

Although James' average points per game are lower than Durant's, his average of 27+8+7 per game is not inferior to Durant in a comprehensive comparison, and James was also selected as the best defensive team, which can be described as an offensive and defensive one, which is obviously ahead of Durant in this regard.

As a result, Durant could only work with his teammates Westbrook, Tony. Parker, Kevin. Love and Andrew. Bynum was in the best second team.

The five players in the best three teams are Rondo, Wade, Anthony, Griffin and Da Yao.

Although Da Yao only played 47 games in the entire regular season, and his attendance rate was the least among all players in the best team, he could contribute 17+8 data in an average of 28 minutes per game, and his efficiency value was outstanding in the league.

And the Rockets' record in the league is also worthy of a best three.

It's just a bit ironic to look at it, the Rockets, who have the first record in the regular season, have three teams one by one, while the Lakers, who are only ranked fourth in the West, have Kobe Bryant for a while and Bynum for the second team.

Both sides are in the core configuration of the inside and outside, and they are about to face each other on the stage of the divisional semi-finals, so it is clear which is stronger and which is weak.

Before the start of the game between the two teams, many fans of Da Yao had already shouted slogans.

"Da Yao, educate Bynum well! Such a rookie dares to rank higher than you, is he worthy? ”

"Rush rush! Flip Kobe, flip the Lakers, Rocket champion! ”

"The Lakers? Are they opponents? Kobe Bryant's score is not as good as Wang Chao's, Bynum's inside line is not as strong as Da Yao, why should they win? ”

But there are some different voices in this.

"The Lakers don't just have Kobe and Bynum, they also have Gasol, they must not be underestimated."

"Kobe Bryant in the regular season is just playing, and people really have to get serious in the playoffs, Wang Chao is different, he has been working hard for the team's record in the regular season, and when the defensive intensity rises in the playoffs, it's really hard to say, the Lakers are not vegetarian after all, they still have top outside defensive players like Artest on the front line."

ESPN's pre-game series win rate of the two teams was 6:4, and the Rockets were slightly ahead, but they could give the Lakers a 4% win rate, which obviously recognized the Lakers' fighting power in the playoffs.

On May 15, the first match of the divisional semifinals began.

The Rockets host the Los Angeles Lakers.

——

"That's basically how it was arranged."

In the locker room, Wang Chao held the tactical board and said to the players around him: "The Lakers are a typical positional team. Jackson left the team last season and was replaced by Mike. Brown coached, but the team's core strategy was still a triangle strategy, which needed to revolve around two interior players and Kobe Bryant. ”

Wang Chao said, looking at Leonard.

"Kowai, in the game, the task of defending Kobe Bryant is handed over to you, you don't need to think about anything offensive in the whole game, the only task is to stare at Kobe, don't let him catch the ball easily, even if the opponent receives the ball, he can't make him shoot comfortably."

Leonard nodded and said in a deep voice, "Okay, leave it to me." ”

Leonard now has the feeling of death in the future, and although he was not selected to the All-Defensive Team this season, his real defensive ability can fully reach the level of the All-Defensive Team.

Even Kobe Bryant will have a headache when he encounters this monster who is 2.01 meters tall and has an arm span of 2.21 meters.

"Brother Yao, if you are on the inside, I'm afraid you need to bother a little more, the Lakers will definitely use the Twin Towers to frequently attack the inside......"

McHale was on the side, watching Wang Chao explain the tasks to the team members one by one, without feeling any sense of disobedience, and even nodded in agreement from time to time.

"Yes, the king thinks the same as I do."

McHale was not at all dissatisfied with Wang Chao's overstepping behavior.

What is there for him to be dissatisfied with? His coaching ability has a few pounds and taels, and McHale still knows it in his heart.

At the moment, most of the Rockets' tactics and main playing styles are based on Wang Chao's suggestions.

At first, McHale would also question that Wang Chao's small-ball tactical play of often sending four outside players and one inside player was unreasonable, and that Da Yao's strategy of taking consecutive away games was a big fuss.

But with the Rockets' regular season record and Wang Chao's exaggerated personal performance, McHale decisively lay down, his job on weekdays is to supervise and arrange player training, saying that he is the head coach but in fact the difference from the assistant coach is not very big.

And now, as a tool man, McHale, who knelt and licked Wang's super thighs, has become the main candidate for the best coach in the 11-12 season, and there is a high probability that he will be elected, who would have thought about this?

"So, what's wrong with lying flat?"

At this moment, McHale has already enjoyed Taryn a few years in advance. Lou's joy.

In fact, Wang Chao is not particularly proficient in this area, Wang Chao is just a senior fan before the crossing, at most he discusses and discusses with "cordial" netizens on the Internet on weekdays, talking on paper, and there is a high probability that it will evolve into greeting each other with netizens in the future.

But after all, it's been seven years since I traveled to this era, and even if I haven't eaten pork, I've seen a lot of pigs run away.

Moreover, as a traverser, Wang Chao has the advantage of foresight, and has an understanding of the technical characteristics and weaknesses of each team and most players in the next ten years.

Just like the weakness of this Lakers team, Wang Chao is clear.

The pace of attack is slow, and the defensive ability of the defender line is seriously lacking, especially in the face of the fast small defender with the ball and almost no resistance.

Don't look at Kobe Bryant, who was still selected for the best defensive second team this season, and is still the league's top outside defender, but this is actually just the inertial thinking of the selection media about Kobe.

Kobe, who is 34 years old, has begun to gradually decline in form and energy with age, and has gradually begun to be unable to take care of both offensive and defensive ends at the same time.

If it weren't for the butterfly effect, the Lakers would have faced the Denver track and field team in the first round of the playoffs, and then fought hard for seven games against the opponent before barely making the cut. Lawson's breakthrough with the ball was helpless.

Lawson, who averaged only 16.4 points and 6.6 assists per game during the regular season, averaged 19 points and 6 assists per game after facing the Lakers in the playoffs, and even his shooting percentage was higher than in the regular season.

It is also thanks to the gap in the overall strength of the Nuggets and the Lakers, as well as Kobe's average of 29+5+5 per game, that helped the Lakers get through the danger with difficulty.

But after entering the second round, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Lakers are no opponent at all.

Because the Thunder not only have the scoring champion Durant, but also the point guard Russell who is faster and more impactful than Lawson. Westbrook.

Wang Chao still remembers the series between the Lakers and the Thunder, when he was still a fan of the Lakers, and in the fourth game of the series, the Lakers, who had fallen behind 1:2, established an 11-point advantage after the third quarter of the game.

But in the fourth quarter of the game, Westbrook continued to break through with the ball and then hit a pull-up jump shot at the free throw line, the Lakers' interior twin towers had nothing to do about it, and Kobe Bryant was unconvinced and went against Westbrook, but the result was that Westbrook scored 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the fourth quarter, and Kobe Bryant scored 7 points on 2-of-10 shooting.

The Thunder won the game at 32:20 in the fourth quarter, reversing an 11-point deficit, and the 3:1 score made Lakers fans completely desperate.

Coincidentally, when it comes to small guards who are full of flexibility and mobility, Team Rocket really has them, and there are two.

Brooks and Thomas Jr., although they are completely incomparable to Westbrook in terms of comprehensive ability, they are really not much inferior to each other in terms of speed.

(End of chapter)