One Guard

Chapter 748: Pretending to be dead

The fierce competition made every fan blush and have thick necks. This kind of tense atmosphere watching the game on the spot cannot be matched by any high-definition TV screen.

Of course, equally fierce competition is the most important condition for such an atmosphere to be formed. Eight minutes into the first quarter, the Mavericks only led by one point. The two sides were going back and forth, and the fight was lively. The many days of waiting have not been in vain, and this Western Conference semifinals has not disappointed the fans' excitement.

Although the game was good to watch, the fans would rather the Mavericks widened the point difference early and let the game enter garbage time early, rather than watch the two teams alternately take the lead in fear.

The timeout finally ended, and there were only four minutes left in this quarter. Everyone thought that the first quarter would pass peacefully. However, Carlisle's change of formation is somewhat intriguing.

"Andre Iguodala came on as a substitute. I thought he didn't play today because of injury. In other words, was Coach Carlisle intentional about letting Andre come on the bench?" Kenny Smith was thinking about Carlisle's intention for this change. He knew that Carlisle never made meaningless changes.

Let Iguodala play sixth man? This makes absolutely no sense. Iguodala averaged 26 minutes per game this season, scoring 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. As a central axis player like him, it stands to reason that he is more suitable to connect the team in the starting lineup rather than serving as the team's sixth man. If Carlisle needs a sixth man, Wade, who has more powerful scoring ability, is obviously more suitable.

But now Kenny Smith doesn't have to think about it. The timeout is over and the game starts again. All questions will be answered during the game.

The Mavericks changed their lineup, and McHale also replaced Terry and Howard with Brewer and Capela.

Yiyang and Harden, the core defenders of both teams, are still present. It can be seen that neither Carlisle nor McHale planned to let the first quarter end so simply.

After the first offense after the timeout, since Terry came off the court, Harden has become a complete No. 1 position. He dribbled the ball alone across half court, but instead of trying to organize, he waved for a screen.

Never-ending screens, this is how the Rockets score points.

Clint Capella, this name and this person are very unfamiliar to Yiyang. After all, as a first-year rookie, Capela spent most of this season hanging out in the Development League. During the regular season, he only played 12 games for the Rockets and averaged less than 10 minutes per game.

If Motiejunas and others were not injured, the Rockets would have no one available inside, and McHale would not have thought of calling Capela back temporarily. After all, we can't let a player of the level of "European Warcraft" Joey Dorsey guard the Rockets' basket in the playoffs.

Yiyang doesn't know how strong Capela is. But he was certain that this guy's physical fitness was no joke. When Yiyang tried to get around Capela's pick-and-roll, he found that it was more difficult than getting around Howard's pick-and-roll!

When Yiyang finally got around the pick-and-roll, Harden had already accelerated towards the inside. But in the end, Harden did not choose to attack the inside guarded by Gobert, but stopped in the mid-range position and shot a jumper.

God knows why Harden chose to use the mid-range shot to resolve the battle. The mid-range shot is the offensive method that the Rockets have played the least this season. Perhaps, it is Gobert's intimidation that has caused Harden to suffer a lot?

In short, due to Yiyang's interference, Harden's pull-up jumper failed to hit. This is what McHale dislikes most about Harden. This bearded man will make some incredible decisions from time to time, both on the offensive and defensive ends.

The basketball hits Yiyang, and the Mavericks fight back! Everyone on the Rockets, including the big man Capela, ran towards their own half with all their strength. But Yiyang pushed forward unhurriedly, patiently waiting for his teammates to get into position. Afterwards, Yiyang exchanged hands outside the three-point line while leaning towards Harden.

Just when Yiyang walked to Harden,

He suddenly accelerated to the left. Harden's defense was very active, but his prediction was a step too slow and Yiyang passed half of his body. Being half a body means that Yiyang can complete the breakthrough with his own speed and body.

Yiyang went straight to the inside, and Harden interfered from the side. Capela was so nervous that his arms were shaking a little. At the same time, Brewer also shrank back, and the three men were double-teamed!

Yiyang looked at Brewer who was rushing towards him, and Brewer stared at Yiyang with his big eyes. It's not that he has no backup, Brewer is already ready to steal. As long as Yiyang passes the ball, Brewer can jump up and intercept the ball at any time!

But Yiyang's passing route is not so easy to predict. Brewer thought that Yiyang would take the high road, but Yiyang chose to go down the road! During the march, Yiyang knocked the ball hard on the ground.

The basketball passed through Brewer's legs and bounced steadily into Iguodala's hands. Iguodala made a move, and Carlisle let him sit on the bench in the hope that he could score on the court.

"A clean goal, Iguodala's positioning and Yi's passing were perfectly combined. As of now, Iguodala's body is fine."

Less than 20 seconds later, the Mavericks made a comeback. This time, Iguodala was directly switched to Yiyang's pick-and-roll. Since coming on the court, Iguodala's performance has been very positive. Just when everyone thought Yiyang and Iguodala were about to connect again. Yiyang, who was leaning on Capela, threw the ball in the completely opposite direction to Iguodala!

It wasn't until the basketball was caught by a pair of big hands that the Rockets players discovered that Vince Carter had caught the basketball in the left corner, which he hates and loves the most, and was unmarked!

"How did you miss it!?" McHale was furious on the sidelines.

Last summer, Carter beat the San Antonio Spurs in this position and helped the Mavericks take a step further. This year, although it's not a buzzer beater, Carter's shot is still deadly.

With their second consecutive three-pointer, the Mavericks' two veterans allowed the Rockets to go from being behind by one point to seven points behind in an instant.

Yiyang looked at the big screen and saw that there was about one and a half rounds left before the tenth minute of the second quarter. It is not impossible to use this time to widen the point difference to double digits!

This time, the Rockets still played a pick-and-roll offense. But Harden did not choose to take the shot himself, but distributed the ball.

When Harden broke through, he saw Iguodala move slightly inside, so he wanted to pass the ball to Brewer. After receiving the basketball, Brewer was about to break through, but Iguodala stretched out his arm and stabbed the basketball away cleanly.

Iguodala had quick eyes and quick hands and picked up the basketball before Brewer. Yiyang hurriedly ran forward. At the same time, Harden quickly stuck to Yiyang to prevent him from accelerating. Unexpectedly, the legs of the two defenders were accidentally tangled together, and the two forces pulled together at the same time, making Yiyang and Harden both fall to the ground.

In an instant, the Mavericks lost their sharpest bayonet, and Iguodala also lost his passing target. In this case, Iguodala decided to turn himself into the bayonet who took the lead!

The strong forward began to accelerate and dribble, and everyone exclaimed, it turned out that Iguodala could run so fast! ?

After driving straight into the opponent's penalty area, Iguodala leaned on the thin Brewer and forced a layup. In the end, nothing happened to Iguodala, but Brewer was pushed out of the bottom line. Even so, the referee still saw Brewer's just foul action. Two points are valid, plus a penalty!

"After a steal, he made a layup and got a chance to hit a three-pointer! Those viewers who just turned on the TV, don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about Yi, but I am talking about Andre Iguodala!" Kenny Smith looked at the court in disbelief. Does this guy really look like a veteran?

Just as Yiyang struggled up from the ground, he saw Iguodala had already scored. Taking advantage of this dead ball opportunity, Carlisle replaced Yiyang with Mark, and the Rockets also replaced Harden.

On the court, Iguodala made a free throw and successfully scored a three-pointer!

Seeing Iguodala's positive performance, people can't help but want to ask: Is this really the guy who averages just over 9 points per game?

"Ten points, boss." After Yiyang came off the stage, he pointed at the big screen. At this time, there were only five seconds left before the two-minute deadline given by Carlisle.

Carlisle smiled triumphantly, but McHale was confused. What's going on? Why did the Rockets fall behind by ten points in just a few rounds! ?

In fact, in addition to Yiyang, Iguodala is the key to the Mavericks' ability to successfully widen the point difference.

The three-point layup just now is not an exception. In the last two minutes of the first quarter, Iguodala fully demonstrated his debut qualities.

He doesn't take up the right to take action, defends desperately, and makes a wedding dress for his teammates, but he also takes the lead when it comes to bayonets. All the qualities a coach likes, you can see in Iguodala.

Compared with the Rockets' substitutes who rely on convulsions to score, Iguodala is more like an excellent sixth man! With Iguodala on defense, Brewer couldn't do it even if he wanted to.

After all, Iguodala was left by Carlisle to deal with James!

Just like the Spurs' Popovich will always bring Ginobili to the table in desperate situations, the Mavericks will also show their final trump card at critical moments, and Iguodala is the Mavericks' last trump card.

Although in the last minute of the fourth quarter, McHale had no choice but to replace Harden again. But this still couldn't stop Iguodala from killing everyone. He scored 5 points, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in a single quarter. In just four minutes, Iguodala handed over an astonishing score.

"Incredible performance. Compared with the regular season, Andre Iguodala is completely different!" When the electronic buzzer sounded that represented the end of the first quarter, Kenny Smith also burst out. call out. The 11-point difference is pressing heavily on the Rockets. You know, 4 minutes ago, they were only 1 point behind!

Iguodala didn't burst out suddenly, nor was he a completely different person. This guy just doesn't want to "play dead" anymore. A powerful opponent has appeared, and it's time to take action.

Throughout the break, McHale was frantically arranging tactics to limit Iguodala's performance. He thought everyone was like him and would keep players in good condition on the court. But Carlisle had nothing in common with him.

But when the second quarter started and the Mavericks players came back on the court, McHale was dumbfounded again.

Iguodala was sitting on the bench in his training clothes, expressionless, like a veteran who couldn't get a minute of playing time and the game had nothing to do with him.

Without Iguodala, all the arrangements McHale had just made were of no use. Yiyang, who had gotten enough rest, moved his arms.

Now, it's his turn to kill everyone. ()

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