Chapter 900
Chapter 900
The Compaq Center was opened in 1975, and it has been 20 years. The facilities are so old that the names of the players need to be taped on the cabinets. The team office and locker room are extremely cramped, not to mention the away game of the stepmother. The locker room is over.
For Houston, although it is only May, it has already entered summer. The temperature above 5 degrees, coupled with the weak air conditioner in the locker room, caused every player of the Warriors to feel uncomfortable.
In addition, the audience had already entered the arena at this time, and at this time, the bursts of noise made them feel even more annoyed.
Fortunately, the Warriors players didn't have to wait too long. Soon, Nelson pushed open the locker room door and asked, "Are you all ready?"
"Ready!" Everyone said in unison.
"Fine! Go for it! Go kick their asses hard!" Nelson leaned against the door, making way for the players to go.
In this way, the players walked out of the door of the locker room with their heads held high and headed towards the court.
The Rockets' starting lineup tonight is their ultimate starting lineup for the season: Kenny Smith, Drexler, Chucky Brown, Barkley and Olajuwon.
Although this lineup was used as early as the beginning of the season, due to the continuous injuries of the Big Three, Olajuwon missed 10 games throughout the season, Drexler missed 30 games, and Barkley missed 30 games. As a result, the Rockets' starting lineup this season is quite unstable.
In this case, the Rockets can still achieve 58 wins. It can only be said that the strength of the Big Three is too powerful.
And tonight, it is rare that the Big Three are all healthy, so Rockets fans have no doubts about the victory of this game. Even in the eyes of the fans, this round of the series is a sure win. The only suspense is how many games the team will use. To end this round of the series.
To put it bluntly, they are already thinking about their opponents in the next round, such as how to beat the Bulls.
Don't think it's a bit of a failure to set the flag like this before the game, but Rockets fans really can't imagine the reason for their team to lose.
In their view, their team is definitely the strongest team this season. If it is not for injuries, maybe the record exceeds the Bulls' 72 wins, and it is not a problem.
Therefore, when the Big Three of the team are all healthy, they believe that this team is invincible and victory is within reach.
Soon, in the jump ball, Olajuwon overwhelmed Divac and gave the ball to Drexler, and the game officially began.
The Rockets are not in a hurry to break fast. Most of the lineup is old men over 30 years old. In addition, the Warriors retreat quickly. The Rockets don't think their fast break will take advantage of it.
In this way, Drexler unhurriedly handed the ball to Kenny Smith, and then he slowly came to the front court and fell into position.
Then, after Smith took the ball to the frontcourt, he opened his hand and asked Smith for the ball.
Smith was a little surprised by Drexler's request for the ball, after all, this is obviously different from the Rockets' usual offensive routines.
As a team with three big ball-holding cores, how to distribute the ball and attack has become a very big problem. After a season of training, the Rockets have summed up a set of order. Generally, after the opening, Olajuwon and Barkley will attack first. When the opponent's defense changes, the Rockets will transfer the ball to the outside and Drexler will start to attack.
Although this order is only a rough idea, it is not exactly the case, but like tonight, Drexler showed a strong desire to attack at the beginning of the game, which was indeed somewhat beyond Smith's expectations.
However, the surprise was only for a moment. Although he didn't understand, Smith handed the ball to Drexler immediately.
After receiving the ball, Drexler immediately launched an attack. It was not Finley who defended him, but Richmond.
Although Finley has gained five kilograms this season, compared to Drexler, his figure is still a little thinner. In addition, Drexler plays the position of shooting guard, so Richmond De did his part to choose to defend Drexler.
Affected by injuries this season, teammate running-in and other problems, Drexler's scoring average has dropped below 20 points per game, and the average scoring per game in the regular season is only 18 points.
But at the age of 34, he still has fuel in his fuel tank, especially since he was selected as one of the top 50 superstars announced at the All-Star Weekend this year, which has kept him in good shape until now.
It is worth mentioning that this year, in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the league, a selection of the 50 greatest historical superstars in history was launched. Among the active players, a total of 13 were selected for this list.
These include: Li Weisi, Jordan, Barkley, Olajuwon, Drexler, Ewing, Pippen, Mullin, Karl Malone, Stockton, Robert Parish, David Robinson and O'Neal.
Compared with the original time and space, Mullin's inclusion in this list is well deserved.
After all, as a well-known pitcher who has won 4 championships, even Pippen has made it. Why can't he make it as the second leader of the Warriors?
Of course, in this list, everyone else's selection is well deserved, and only O'Neill's selection has attracted huge controversy.
Although people do not object that O'Neal will definitely become a superstar in the future and be selected into the Hall of Fame, but at this time he has only played in the NBA for four years, and he has neither a championship nor an MVP honor. When the roster was announced on the Internet, when O'Neill was read, there were waves of boos from the scene.
Speaking of the game, the old and strong Drexler used his speed and strength to forcefully break through Richmond and head towards the inside of the Warriors.
However, Richmond was not completely thrown away. He kept following Derexler. Once Drexler made a shot, Richmond could still keep up.
In this case, Drexler chose to layup, using his ability to bounce and stay in the air, he took the first step and flew up, and it seemed that he was getting closer and closer to the basket.
But at this moment, a figure sprang out from the crowd, it was Rodman who had just been entangled with Barkley just now, he blocked Drexler directly like a wall, and pressed his big hand on the ball On the ground, I saw Rodman's unicorn arm forcefully, and the basketball suddenly escaped Drexler's control.
In this way, Rodman completed the block from the front at the beginning of the game and successfully prevented Drexler from attacking the basket.
For a while, the Rockets players also suddenly discovered that the Warriors' defense seemed to be different from the regular season.
(End of this chapter)