69novels Chapter 55 Battle Against Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady
Chapter 55 Battle Against Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady
"Welcome to the NBA, rookie."
In this game, the Warriors assigned Wang Kai to guard McGrady. In terms of height and weight, Wang Kai was not at a significant disadvantage. However, in terms of game experience, Wang Kai was definitely at a disadvantage. But the current McGrady is not the same McGrady who was a scoring champion. And to be honest, McGrady during his scoring champion era was somewhat suspected of padding his stats. The Magic finished eighth in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, but were swept by the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. McGrady even left behind the embarrassing scene of "I'm already preparing for the next round of the game".
In this game against the Warriors, McGrady had a rough start, missing his first two shots. However, on his third attempt, McGrady received a brilliant pass from Yao Ming and drove to the basket for a powerful dunk. Wang Kai, who chose to double-team Yao Ming, was out of position, and Jason Richardson was a step too late to help.
Since the start of this season, McGrady has rarely dunked like this. This time, he made a rare dunk, so he felt compelled to give Wang Kai a welcome speech.
Wang Kai wasn't angry. Kobe and McGrady had a good relationship, and Kobe said that McGrady was a person who, although a little temperamental, wasn't actually tough or mean. Wang Kai knew that McGrady was just joking when he said that.
However, in the next offensive play, after Wang Kai brought the ball to the frontcourt, he used a screen to get rid of Leon Bowen's defense and then came in front of McGrady.
Facing McGrady's defense, Wang Kai dribbled between his legs repeatedly, then suddenly made a crossover and broke through to the left.
McGrady was a defensive stalwart for the Raptors in his early years, having defended against many superstars, so he quickly blocked Wang Kai's driving lanes.
However, Wang Kai's movements were even faster. He caught a crossover with his left hand and then pulled the ball back with his right hand to turn around.
McGrady's defense was very tight, leaving Wang Kai little room to maneuver.
However, what surprised the fans was that Wang Kai, halfway through his right-handed turn, suddenly threw the ball between his legs, then stepped back to the three-point line and shot the ball.
Wang Kai's movements were extremely fluid and subtle. Moreover, almost no one had done this set of moves before, except for Hardaway, a legend of the Orlando Magic.
"Thank you for your welcome, Tracy."
Wang Kai responded to McGrady's joke, while also making a small jab at McGrady's name.
The game continued, and the Rockets took an early lead thanks to Yao Ming's absolute dominance in the paint. The Warriors, on the other hand, were slow to get into the game and their shooting was inconsistent. However, as the game progressed, the Rockets' disadvantages gradually became apparent.
Of the Rockets' starting five, only four players, including the increasingly slow Howard, have the ability to create their own offense. The remaining player, Leon Bowen, has almost no ability to create his own offense and even has difficulty scoring at the rim. It's hard to understand why Van Gundy would start such a role player.
Leon Bowen was left wide open by the Warriors on offense, and the Warriors constantly double-teamed Yao Ming, taking turns to wear him down.
Even if Yao Ming is great, he's still just one person. After Murphy fouled out twice and was substituted, the Warriors immediately switched to a smaller lineup and started to speed up the game.
Yao Ming managed to score two points in the paint, but before he could get back to half-court, the Warriors' offense had already reached the frontcourt.
Wang Kai's counter-attacks are more effective than Byron's, after all, his three-point shooting is more consistent and accurate than Byron's.
After a series of shuttle runs, less than seven minutes into the game, Yao Ming was already starting to run out of breath.
The Warriors' tactics are very clear: they will run fast breaks whenever possible, and once the game becomes a half-court affair, they will use screens to pull Yao Ming out and take turns attacking him in mismatches.
In the current Warriors' small-ball lineup, apart from Dunleavy who doesn't have great ball-handling skills, the others all have good ball-handling abilities, including Jason Richardson. Although he looks like a muscle man who can only dunk, Jason's ball-handling skills have always been good, and his three-point shooting is also quite good.
Therefore, the Warriors can take turns exploiting mismatches against Yao Ming.
With just over eight minutes left in the first quarter, Van Gundy had to substitute Yao Ming because Yao Ming was starting to struggle. His shooting percentage was dropping, and he had picked up two fouls. After all, it was the Warriors' home court today.
After Yao Ming left the court, the Rockets' offense completely went cold, making it difficult for McGrady, who was suffering from a back injury, to compete against the Warriors.
Three minutes later, the first quarter ended, and the Rockets, who had been leading the Warriors by nearly 6 points, were now trailing by 3 points at the end of the first quarter.
The Warriors had already found their three-point shooting rhythm in the final three minutes of the first quarter.
After the start of the second quarter, the Rockets' bench players were unable to withstand the Warriors' offense.
The Rockets had Derek Anderson and Mutombo on the bench, but neither of them could keep up with the Warriors' speed.
The Warriors' bench, led by Monta Ellis and Fisher, played brilliantly today. Monta Ellis, in particular, used his speed and explosiveness like a sharp knife, repeatedly piercing through the Rockets' defense.
Less than three minutes into the second quarter, Van Gundy had to bring Yao Ming back onto the court because they were already down by eight points to the Warriors.
After Yao Ming came on, he scored six points in a row to help the Rockets stabilize the situation. However, with Wang Kai returning to the court and Fisher hitting two three-pointers in a row, the situation returned to a similar state as it was in the last three minutes of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Wang Kai scored on McGrady in consecutive one-on-one situations, and also used fast break opportunities to help Jason Richardson score from beyond the three-point line.
However, the Rockets were not without any fighting spirit. David Wesley, nicknamed "Mickey Mouse," a veteran born in 70, hit two three-pointers near the end of the second quarter, helping the Rockets narrow the gap to 7 points.
After halftime, Wang Kai immediately drove into the paint and, facing Yao Ming's block, smoothly made a layup, drawing a foul from Yao Ming in the process.
After making the free throw, Wang Kai had a total of 18 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds.
With Yao Ming on the court, Wang Kai had fewer rebounds today.
McGrady also used his breakthroughs to score two goals against Wang Kai in the third quarter.
It has to be said that McGrady's pull-up jump shot was indeed quite amazing after he became a legend. The miracle of 13 points in 35 seconds was only a year ago, and that soaring shot in the air still remains in the minds of fans.
However, the Rockets had lost control of the game's pace. Van Gundy's old-fashioned tactics were even criticized by Jason Richardson as outdated. Moreover, with Kobe's reminders, Wang Kai's control of the game's pace was even more astonishing.
At the end of the third quarter, the Warriors were leading the Rockets by as many as 16 points.
As the game entered the fourth quarter, with Yao Ming nearing exhaustion and Tracy McGrady's back injury worsening, the Rockets gave up after putting up a fight for five minutes.