Wang Feng was not focused solely on Harden and didn't care about the game at all.
Without Harden's firepower assistance, how can the Rockets defeat him with only the offensive firepower of a group of role players?
Although Harden's performance in the playoffs will always be very disappointing, everyone must admit that Harden in the regular season is the team's most critical core scoring force.
His position in the Rockets is irreplaceable. Paul cannot, Gordon cannot, and others cannot.
What's more, even if Wang Feng and Rondo double-team Harden, the Lakers have not completely lost their defensive ability on the field.
Jimmy Butler himself is a striker with strong support and defense capabilities. He is very good at intercepting and stealing passing routes from the side.
And at this time, the Lakers have replaced McGee, and his ability to protect the frame has been improved to a higher level. It is not that easy to score at the basket.
As for the Rockets' outside scoring ability... to be honest, Wang Feng really didn't notice it.
Last season, at their peak, the Rockets averaged 42 three-pointers per game, hitting 15.3 goals per game, with a field goal percentage of about 36%.
Ranking in the middle of the league.
For comparison, the Warriors last season averaged 28.9 three-pointers per game, made 11.3 goals, and hit 39%.
This season, the Rockets had a bad start, and D'Antoni's solution was to make the players shoot three-pointers even more crazily.
With the massive accumulation of shots, the Rockets' average number of three-point shots per game increased to 45, and their shooting percentage dropped to 35.4%.
Among the starters, Harden shot 36.8% from three-point range, Eric Gordon 36%, Chris Paul 35.8%, PJ Tucker 37.7%, and Gerald Green 35.4%.
"Haha, a bunch of smelly fish and rotten shrimps."
Wang Feng is not looking down on these people in the Rockets, but compared with his three-pointers, including Harden, who averaged 13.2 shots per game, they are all substandard.
In terms of the number of three-point attempts per game, Wang Feng is no less than Harden. The average number of three-pointers per game is close to 12. However, in terms of shooting percentage, the two sides are not at the same level at all.
Wang Feng's three-point shooting percentage exceeds 45%, and he can hit at least 5 three-pointers in every game. Looking at the entire league, only Ku Ritian, who was at his peak during the 16-17 season, can compare with him.
The three-point shooting ability value has reached 96, and Wang Feng is blessed with badges such as corner three-point shooter, hot zone hunter, long-range turret, and marksman. The lethality of three-point shooting is so great!
Therefore, the Rockets after removing Harden, or Gerald Green and PJ Tucker, who will be selectively left open on the wings, are completely unable to compete with Wang Feng in terms of scoring ability, even if they are completely open.
Wang Feng often had to shoot against the defensive players, and the shooting percentages of both sides remained even at most.
The Lakers' double-digit lead was never regained even a little bit.
Soon, Harden couldn't stand it anymore.
Why don't you play ball with me?
Harden, who could only pass the ball to his teammates for several rounds in a row, was a little anxious.
At 3 minutes and 27 seconds into the second quarter, Harden, who received the pass, finally did not raise his hand to call for a pick-and-roll screen. He held the ball and stared at Wang Feng with his eyes wide open.
"Don't you want to have a 1v1 with me? Okay, let's give it a try!"
Being targeted in this way, even the clay figure is still angry, let alone the top star in the Zongheng Alliance for many years.
Harden avoided Wang Feng because he didn't want his scoring efficiency to drop too much. He didn't really feel that he wouldn't get a single point under Wang Feng's defense.
In fact, Wang Feng cannot completely prevent the league's top scorer like Harden.
The effect of the defensive shock badge is to reduce the opponent's shooting percentage, not to make the opponent's shooting percentage become zero. At Harden's level, even if he makes random shots, he can still score a few goals, but the probability is a bit...
Harden's eyes were fixed on Wang Feng as he continued dribbling under his hips.
Suddenly, Harden's shoulders shook from side to side continuously, and then he quickly broke through with the ball to the right. Wang Feng immediately moved his steps to keep up.
But at the same time, Wang Feng had already guessed what Harden wanted to do.
Sure enough, Harden's breakthrough suddenly stopped, and then he quickly withdrew to the three-point line in two consecutive steps and shot directly.
The iconic step-back three-pointer has quite a bit of debris at his feet.
Relying on this move to step back, the distance between Harden and Wang Feng was slightly opened, but Wang Feng relied on his advantages in speed and jumping to successfully raise his hand to interfere with Harden's line of sight before Harden made a move.
The defensive shock badge is activated, and the purple Hall of Fame level defensive shock reduces the player's shooting percentage quite significantly. Harden's three-point shooting percentage is not very high, but due to the defensive shock badge, the shot will not hit the frame.
Rebounded by McGee.
In the next few rounds, Harden held the ball and beat Wang Feng in isolation many times, using various techniques, but obviously with little effect.
Originally, Harden didn't take many shots in the first quarter and his touch was average. Now he has to attack under Wang Feng's defense. It's really difficult for him.
About 7 minutes into the game, Harden was substituted. At this time, his data in the second quarter was 1 of 5 shots. Counting free throws, he scored 3 points. In addition, he scored 7 points in the first quarter, just in double figures.
Wang Feng also left the game. In the first half of the second quarter, he still led the team's offense, scoring 11 points on sudden shots. In addition to the 19 points in the first quarter, he already scored 29 points in the half.
The Lakers replaced Wang Feng and Rondo, replaced Rose and Ingram, and Butler began to take over the rest of the second quarter.
The Rockets began to lose their support.
After all, Paul is getting old, and his scoring ability has deteriorated greatly. This season, he averaged only about 15 points per game. He mostly uses his experience and passing organization to connect the team on the court, but the whole team's touch is not good.
In this case, passing the ball is of little use.
In the last 4 minutes of the second quarter, the Lakers launched a 12:4 attack wave, completely defeating the Rockets' defense and widening the point difference to more than 25 points in one fell swoop.
At halftime, the Lakers scored 73 points, while the Rockets only had 48 points.
There is also a significant gap in scoring between the two teams' leading stars. Wang Feng scored 29 points at halftime, while Harden only had 10 points.
The game seems to have lost suspense early.
"It can be clearly seen that the Lakers are a better team than the Rockets. Their lineup structure is reasonable. Wang Feng, Butler, and Rondo are all players selected for the best defensive team. The defensive end is very tough, and the offensive end is very strong.
With Wang Feng, a sharp knife that can pierce any defense, there are not many teams in the league that can handle them."