NABC Chapter 54 Battle Against Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady
Chapter 54 Battle Against Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady
"Hello viewers, welcome to CCTV's live broadcast of the NBA regular season game between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors."
The Warriors, who defeated the SuperSonics, returned to the Bay Area overnight, where they will face the Rockets in a back-to-back game at home.
This highly anticipated Chinese "derby" is a match that the league takes very seriously, as it is broadcast live not only across the United States but also in East Asia.
Yao Ming called Wang Kai before heading to the Bay Area, hoping to meet up with him. Unfortunately, the Rockets were scheduled to play the SuperSonics on the road the following day.
Although the presence of Wang Kai gave Yao Ming a much-needed respite in the summer, the Rockets' record at the start of the season was still unsatisfactory.
Last season, McGrady and Yao Ming joined the Rockets and formed the "MM" duo, leading the Rockets to a record of 51 wins and 31 losses, ranking fifth in the Western Conference.
However, they encountered "off-court factors" in the first round of the playoffs, and were overturned by the Mavericks after leading by two games, and were eliminated in the first round.
However, after the start of this season, McGrady was plagued by back injuries, and the Rockets' outdated tactical system and weak bench caused them a lot of trouble.
Before the game against the Warriors, the Rockets had a record of 7 wins and 12 losses, placing them at the bottom of the Western Conference.
At this time, the Rockets' general manager was still Dawson, who had served the Rockets for 25 years. However, at the request of owner Alexander, Dawson's trades were always small-scale. Even the trade to acquire McGrady was completed with the owner's approval, as Alexander did not want to pay Francis and Mobley higher salaries.
However, before this game, although the Warriors had a better record, the media believed that the Rockets would win because Yao Ming was unstoppable in the paint.
Yao Ming has now become one of the league's top centers, and his dominance in the paint is key to the Rockets' survival.
Before the start of this season, Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy hoped that Yao Ming could gain weight to strengthen the team's interior defense. However, after careful consideration and with Wang Kai's persuasion, Yao Ming did not completely follow the head coach's advice. Without much pressure from the national team, Yao Ming finally had the power to make his own decisions, and he also hoped that his career could last longer.
Before the game started, Wang Kai and Yao Ming greeted each other with a warm hug, and all the media turned their cameras toward the two of them.
"You better watch out, kid. Don't just go into the paint. I'm not going easy on you."
"Brother Yao, watch out, don't let me knock you over. Haha."
Yao Ming was faked out by Stephon Marbury during his rookie season, and the video circulated widely.
The game officially began, and the Warriors did not use a small lineup at the start. Instead, they started Murphy at center, as the Warriors needed Murphy's shooting range to effectively pull Yao Ming to the perimeter.
Although the Warriors rely heavily on three-pointers, if they can't attack the Rockets' paint and force them to collapse their defense, their three-point shooting will be ineffective.
Yao Ming won the jump ball without a doubt. The Rockets slowly advanced to the frontcourt, and Murphy tried his best to block Yao Ming's position in the low post, but the effect was mediocre.
David Wesley passed the ball to Yao Ming, and Wang Kai abandoned his defensive duties against Huo Ershu to double-team Yao Ming.
However, Yao Ming simply turned around and knocked Murphy away. Wang Kai's double-team was a step too slow and he was helpless against Yao Ming's attack.
Yao Ming's shot was very steady and accurate, and the basketball obediently went into the net, giving the Rockets an early lead.
The Warriors use quick baseline free throws to launch fast breaks, and against the current Rockets, almost every team in the league will use quick baseline inbounds.
Yao Ming tried desperately to get back on defense, but Wang Kai was faster. Before the Rockets could even get into position, Wang Kai had already broken into the paint and attacked the basket.
The Rockets specifically started Leon Bowen to defend Wang Kai today, but Wang Kai easily shook off Bowen's defense with a simple change of pace.
Not all Bowens can keep up with Wang Kai's movements.
The Rockets' positioning under the basket was never established, and when McGrady came over to help defend, he saw that Wang Kai had already taken off and simply gave up on defending.
Wang Kai scored two points with a powerful two-handed dunk.
The Rockets continued to advance slowly to the frontcourt, with Yao Ming establishing position inside while the rest of the team spread out and positioned themselves for the attack.
After receiving the ball in the low post, Yao Ming faced a double team from Wang Kai. This time, Yao Ming chose to turn and shoot backwards, and the basketball went into the basket again.
Yao Ming started the game on a very strong track, which set the tone for the match.
Murphy and Wang Kai watched Yao Ming shoot a fadeaway jumper, exchanging helpless smiles. There was simply no way to defend against that.
The Warriors continued their fast break, and this time Baron Davis dribbled past David Wesley's defense and passed the ball to Jason on the perimeter.
Jason Richardson had a shot opportunity, but he hesitated for a moment and chose to drive to the basket instead.
Jason's choice was somewhat rash; perhaps it was a recurring memory of his dunking championship days, and he wanted to challenge Yao Ming head-on.
The outcome was obvious: Yao's hot pot was both delicious and visually appealing.
The ball that Yao Ming blocked was picked up by McGrady, who wanted to launch a fast break, but the throbbing pain in his back muscles forced him to abandon the idea.
McGrady's playing style was indeed flashy, and his fastest first step lived up to his reputation. However, this style of play was also very physically demanding, especially his pull-up jump shot, which required core strength. McGrady was not a particularly hardworking or resilient player.
The Rockets continued to slowly advance to the frontcourt. Facing Wang Kai's defense, McGrady briefly probed before choosing to pull up for a shot.
Wang Kai watched as McGrady, whose body remained straight in the air, made a graceful shot, but the basketball bounced off the rim.
"His shooting is prettier than yours!"
"Bouchett, what good is being pretty if you can't make the shot?"
"It seems like others haven't done as much blacksmithing as you."
"That's because he didn't shoot enough. My career field goal percentage is 44.7%, his is 43.5%, and I've taken almost 10,000 more shots than him."
Wang Kai continued to try to poke at Lao Ke's lungs, but this time Lao Ke was prepared; he had checked a lot of statistics after retiring.
Yao Ming outjumped Murphy to grab the offensive rebound, but his next shot was blocked by a foul from Murphy, who couldn't let Yao Ming keep shooting like that.
After making both free throws, the Rockets took a 6-2 lead.
The Warriors then scored on their next possession, with Wang Kai once again breaking through Bowen's defense and assisting Murphy for a three-pointer.
This time, Yao Ming did not follow Murphy's retreat to the outside; instead, he chose to defend the inside. However, Wang Kai had excellent vision and easily secured the assist.
The Rockets continued to attack the paint, and Yao Ming's strength was enough to overwhelm the Warriors' weak interior defense. The Rockets would not let such an opportunity slip by.