Harden's feeling is particularly strong, so he doesn't like playing against Wang Feng very much.
Faced with Wang Feng's provocation, Harden directly chose to ignore it and called his teammates to pick and roll for cover.
As for the Rockets, only Paul and Gordon can provide pick-and-roll coverage for Harden.
People like Capela, Tucker and others set pick-and-roll screens for Harden. Wang Feng did not switch defenses at all. He directly bypassed the opponent and continued to chase Harden. With his speed and explosiveness, he had no time to catch up with Harden, who was not very fast.
Deng.
As for Paul and Gordon's pick-and-roll coverage, Wang Feng must prevent the opponent from running into the open space to shoot a three-pointer after the pick-and-roll, so he can only let his teammates cover Harden.
This time, it was point guard Chris Paul who set up the pick-and-roll for Harden.
After helping Harden fend off Wang Feng, Paul immediately ran in the opposite direction. Wang Feng had no choice but to follow immediately. In this way, the player defending Harden became Rondo.
Playing a small guard in a pick-and-roll mismatch has become Harden's most common move.
Although Rondo's defensive ability as a point guard is already very good, and he has been selected to the All-Defensive Team four times in his career, he still seems unable to face a defender like Harden who is taller and stronger than him.
Harden kept dribbling under his crotch to look for opportunities, swinging continuously to deceive Rondo's center of gravity, and then drove straight to the basket from the weak side.
Rondo's reaction was slow and Harden passed him by.
Harden, who was rushing straight to the basket, pulled up the lever for a layup with Lopez stepping forward to cover. The basketball hit the backboard and moved toward the basket with rotation and inertia.
However, at this moment, a big yellow-skinned hand suddenly shot out from behind and slammed the basketball onto the backboard!
Wang Feng has been waiting for this moment for a long time!
When he saw Harden break through to the basket, he decisively let go of Paul, who he was guarding, and chased Harden behind.
At this moment, the Hat Chasing Master has been activated.
Wang Feng's speed and bounce have been slightly increased by the effect of the Chasing Master Badge, making him two points faster than before.
Harden's attention was originally on Lopez, and he didn't even notice that Wang Feng was lurking behind him, waiting for an opportunity. After the basketball was released, it was already too late.
"Beautiful top shot! Wang Feng's block was very clean and beautiful. This action reminded me of LeBron chasing the shot. It's so similar!"
Wang Feng's shot-blocking ability value is only 46, which is not high, but he still has a certain shot-blocking ability with the badge bonus and certain conditions.
In fact, LeBron James, the iconic figure who is chasing the master's badge, has a shot-blocking ability value of only around 60, and his career average of blocks per game is only 0.8, which is not as good as Durant, but James' shot-blocking clips are much higher.
He is much more exciting than Durant, and he intuitively feels that he is better at blocking shots than Durant.
Wang Feng is now at the same stage, but his shot-blocking ability is worse than James's, both in terms of ability value and badge level.
However, it is still possible to sneak up on Harden with a premeditated cold arrow.
"Quick attack!"
After completing the top-board block, Wang Feng took the basketball in his hands as soon as he landed, threw it in the general direction of Butler, turned around and ran towards the frontcourt!
Wang Feng's dribbling ability is 90, and his speed in dribbling long distances is actually not very fast, and it is incomparable to his first step breakthrough with the blessing of the First Step Master Badge.
Therefore, in this opportunity of quick offense and defense transition, he prefers to pass the ball to other teammates, then sprint forward with all his strength, cut to the basket and receive passes from teammates to score.
After receiving the ball, Butler immediately understood the situation, took possession of the ball and rushed towards the frontcourt. Facing Gordon's defense, Butler faked twice and immediately threw the basketball directly towards the backboard.
Wang Feng jumped high from one side, caught the basketball in the air and slammed the basketball into the basket!
"boom--!"
Butler averaged 5.5 assists per game when he was with the Timberwolves last season. His passing and assisting ability is quite good. This kind of alley-oop pass under fast break is also easy to catch.
Rockets Harden continued to attack. This time he was smart. After separating Wang Feng in the pick-and-roll, he also paid special attention to Wang Feng's position before launching the attack.
This time there was no interference from anyone else, and Harden finally scored his first goal of the game, breaking through to the free throw line and hitting a one-step throw.
Harden started to score. The Rockets' pressure on the offensive end began to ease slightly, but they still couldn't deal with Wang Feng's problem. In the first quarter, Wang Feng was on full fire, making 8 of 12 shots and scoring 19 points in a single quarter.
On the other hand, for the Rockets, Harden only started attacking in the second half of the first quarter, scoring 7 points on 3 of 6 shooting.
In the first quarter, the Lakers led the Rockets by 8 points 33:25.
But Wang Feng was a little dissatisfied.
This guy Harden has been using pick-and-roll screens to stagger his matchups and pick on the weak.
In the first quarter of the game, he scored 7 points without taking many shots. In the subsequent quarters, he could score 30+ points just by casually scoring.
If this is the case, even if the Lakers win this game, Wang Feng's ultimate goal of suppressing Harden's scoring average will not be accomplished.
"We must find a way to kill that guy directly..."
Wang Feng thought for a moment, his eyes flickered, and he looked at Rondo beside him.
"After a while, if Harden continues to use pick-and-roll screens to misplace you in singles, I have a good idea to try..."
…
The rest time after the first quarter passed and the second quarter began. Players from both sides reappeared and the lineups were slightly adjusted.
The Lakers replaced Ingram and Lopez and replaced Kuzma and McGee. Wang Feng returned to the small forward position from power forward. The Lakers' ability to protect the frame has been enhanced.
The Rockets asked Gerald Green to replace Eric Gordon. Gordon and Butler suffered too much on the defensive end. The Rockets also wanted to enhance their defensive capabilities.
The Lakers had the ball. The ball was handed over to Butler. Butler held the ball and beat Gerald Green in isolation. He broke through and rushed to the basket for a layup, causing the opponent's defensive foul. He made 2 of 2 free throws. The difference between the two teams was close.
to 10 minutes.
On the Rockets' side, the basketball was handed to Harden, and then the Rockets players began to run without the ball. Soon, Paul ran in the direction of Wang Feng and Harden, blocking Wang Feng's side.
Another singles tactic after a pick-and-roll mismatch.
A cold light flashed in Wang Feng's eyes. When Paul ran in the opposite direction after the pick-and-roll, he just retreated for a moment, then stopped, gave up following Paul, and instead rushed towards Harden.
At the same time, Rondo came up from the front and surrounded Harden together with Wang Feng.
The sudden scene stunned Harden for a moment, and then a term came to his mind.