Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

"The Rockets played so well in the second quarter, but they still couldn't gain the upper hand."

"Yeah, it's a pity. The Rockets have already used all their three-point shooting firepower, but they still can't gain the upper hand and are still behind in the score. Although the difference in points is not big, but behind is behind."

"It's mainly because Zhuang Yu shot three-pointers so well. He made five three-pointers and made five of seven shots. This is a terrifying hit rate, higher than the Rockets."

"Zhuang Yu has always been very good at three-point shooting. In the previous series against the Warriors, he shot 13 out of 10 three-pointers. However, 7 out of 5 in a single quarter is still a bit incredible. How can he be so accurate?"

During the half-time break, fans in the stands were discussing the first half of the game.

The Rockets actually performed very well in the first half.

Especially in the second quarter, they played the offense they should have.

In the past, when the Rockets launched such an offense, they would definitely be able to take the lead, but today they did not.

The main reason was that Zhuang Yu almost single-handedly shot three-pointers with the entire Rockets team, offsetting the Rockets' three-point rain.

In fact, judging from the number of three-pointers made in this quarter alone, Zhuang Yu did not make as many as the entire Rockets team.

In this quarter, the Rockets team made 6 three-pointers, while Zhuang Yu only made 5. Apart from Zhuang Yu, no other players on the Lakers made any three-pointers.

However, Zhuang Yu's efficiency was too high, making 7 of 5 shots.

The Rockets made 10 of 6 shots.

In fact, 10 of 6 three-pointers is pretty good.

Unfortunately, they met Zhuang Yu, a man with three-point shooting ability who could make a breakthrough and was comparable to Curry.

......

Soon, the second half begins.

After entering the second half, both sides sent out their starting lineups. The Rockets still had Paul, Harden, Ariza, Tucker and Capela.

The Lakers team includes Holiday, Zhuang Yu, Korver, Kyle Anderson and Lopez.

They are all lineups of one big and four small players, and the competition is still about offense.

However, after entering the second half, the Lakers' defensive intensity was clearly raised to a higher level, especially their defense against the Rockets' three-pointers from the outside.

At this time, the Lakers' defense line expanded greatly, almost rushing to the three-point line, with the purpose of defending the Rockets' three-pointers.

It is better to let the Rockets get some two points than to let them shoot three-pointers at will.

"boom!"

With a dull thud, Tucker's three-pointer missed, and Lopez grabbed the rebound and passed it to Holiday.

The Lakers quickly launched a counterattack, but the Rockets retreated quickly and in a blink of an eye they had retreated back to their own half and set up a defense line.

Seeing this situation, Holiday slowed down, made a gesture to his teammates, and then passed the ball to Zhuang Yu.

When they saw Zhuang Yu holding the ball, the Rockets players couldn't help but tremble in their hearts.

Zhuang Yu had already scored 27 points in the first half. This scoring ability is really terrifying.

"Go up and help defend."

"Go a little bit, don't let him shoot a three-pointer..."

The home fans shouted.

In the second quarter, Zhuang Yu's 2-of-7 three-point shooting performance really left a deep impression on them. When the fans saw Zhuang Yu taking the ball outside the three-point line, they felt their scalps tingling, fearing that Zhuang Yu would make another three-pointer. If he made another three-pointer like he did in the second quarter, the morale of the Rockets would collapse.

The Rockets players are also worried.

So Ariza rushed directly in front of Zhuang Yu and started close defense, while Tucker next to him also stared at Zhuang Yu, moved sideways a step, and was ready to come up and help Ariza defend at any time.

After taking a quick look at the situation on the court, Zhuang Yu half turned around, pressed his back against Ariza, held the ball firmly with both hands, leaned his body back slightly, and then suddenly swung his shoulders to the left.

Ariza's heart skipped a beat, thinking that Zhuang Yu was going to break through to the left, and subconsciously wanted to move to his right. However, just as his body weight was leaning to the right, Zhuang Yu suddenly turned around and hit the ball, but he did not break through to the left, but to the right.

With a sudden acceleration of Zhuang Yu, he left Ariza behind. Tucker rushed forward and Capela also took a step forward, bent down, and prepared to provide backup defense.

Seeing Tucker rushing towards him, Zhuang Yu slowed down slightly, then stopped and started quickly to pass Tucker.

Capela was a little hesitant. He didn't dare to move forward because if he took another step forward he would miss the basket. He could only stand there and wait for Zhuang Yu to come up by himself.

However, Zhuang Yu did not choose to make a layup. Instead, he paused and then threw the basketball with one hand. The basketball drew a high arc and fell into the net almost vertically.

The shot went in!

"Alas, I still couldn't defend it."

"This guy has so many ways to score, it's hard to defend against him."

"Yeah...unless they're double-teamed."

The home fans sighed and felt very depressed. Why couldn't they defend against Zhuang Yu?

How many points did Zhuang Yu get?

At this time, the big screen above the court showed Zhuang Yu's personal data so far in this game: 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

"Wow..."

For a moment, the whole audience was in an uproar.

You’re already 29, almost 30!

The second half had just begun and Zhuang Yu's personal score was already close to 30 points.

If he continues playing like this, won't he score 40+ or ​​even more today?

The fans couldn't remain calm and shouted towards the court: "Defend better, defend Zhuang Yu, don't let him score again."

"We must defend it..."

At the same time, Coach D'Antoni on the sidelines also frowned tightly, as Zhuang Yu had indeed scored too many points.

Especially section 2.

"coach."

The assistant coach came to Coach D'Antoni and said with a worried look on his face: "We can't let Zhuang Yu score like this anymore. If he really gets 40+, this game..."

He didn't finish the rest of the words, but they were self-evident.

If Zhuang Yu really gets 40+, then it will be difficult for the Rockets to win this game, not only in terms of points, but also because if Zhuang Yu continues to score like this, the Rockets' already low morale will probably get even lower.

Coach D'Antoni took a deep breath and gestured to the court: "Double-team!"

There is no better way.

The Rockets' defense on the previous ball was actually good enough, but Zhuang Yu got past Ariza, got past Tucker who was helping defend, and scored the ball against Capela.

What else can we do? We can only double-team him!

......

In the next round, when the Lakers were attacking, Zhuang Yu ran back to get the ball, and as soon as he got the ball, the Rockets started to double-team him.

Zhuang Yu raised his eyebrows slightly, not feeling surprised, nor panicking at all. He passed the ball to Kyle Anderson immediately before the opponent's double-team was formed, and then pointed towards the basket.

Kyle Anderson understood what he meant and went straight to the basket after getting the ball. Capela subconsciously went up to defend, while Kyle Anderson threw the ball into the basket.

With a "clang", Lopez jumped up and made an alley-oop slam dunk.

"Sure enough, double-teaming will lead to missing people."

"We can't help it. We have to double-team him even if he misses someone. We can't let Zhuang Yu score like that again. He's almost got 30 points."

"Yes, it is better to let other Lakers players score than Zhuang Yu. I don't believe other Lakers players can have the same scoring ability as Zhuang Yu."

Some fans were shaking their heads, while some were shouting at the court, cheering for the Rockets with a look of gnashing teeth, convinced that the scoring ability of the other Lakers players was ultimately limited.

However, they soon became depressed.

When the Rockets double-teamed Zhuang Yu, Zhuang Yu switched to passing mode, frequently taking advantage of the defensive gaps created by the opponent's double-team to pass the ball to his teammates.

At this time, the most important thing is to transfer the ball reasonably.

Because double-teaming only takes a split second, as soon as Zhuang Yu passes the ball, the Rockets' double-team will be removed and a positional defense will be re-formed.

What the Lakers have to do is to take advantage of the time when the Rockets double-team Zhuang Yu to move the ball properly, give it to the player in the best position, and complete the offense.

This is actually not difficult for the Lakers.

First of all, Zhuang Yu himself has excellent passing ability.

He can grasp the timing of passing the ball very well, and pass the ball to the player who is left open at the right time when the opponent's double-team is about to form.

Secondly, the Lakers have more than just Zhuang Yu who can pass the ball, there are also Kyle Anderson and Holiday.

For example, if Zhuang Yu passes the ball to Korver, Kerr's first choice is to shoot a three-pointer.

If the opponent switches defense quickly and there is no chance to shoot a three-pointer, he can only slow down and pass the ball. However, with Korver's passing ability, it is difficult to get the ball to the best position in time, so the chance to score will be lost.

However, if the ball is given to Holiday or Kyle Anderson, they can handle the ball well, either attacking themselves or passing the ball to teammates in better positions, because they all have good passing skills.

Needless to say, Holiday is a point guard himself. Last season, he averaged 7.3 assists per game for the Pelicans.

Kyle Anderson's organizational ability is also excellent. He originally played as a guard and has good ball-handling skills, excellent height and wingspan, a wide field of vision, and a high basketball IQ. He is fully capable of passing the ball to his teammates.

Even Lopez has good passing skills.

He did not show this when he was on the Nets. Later, when he joined the Lakers and Kobe was still on the team, Coach Scott deliberately developed Lopez's high-post coordination ability and often asked him to go to the high post to coordinate pick-and-rolls.

Therefore, the Rockets' double-teaming of Zhuang Yu did not have a good effect. Zhuang Yu did not score much, but other players of the Lakers kept scoring.

For a while, the Lakers scored in multiple areas and still had the upper hand.

In addition, the Lakers' defense was better than in the first half, especially against the Rockets' three-pointers.

As Coach Scott expected, the Rockets were unable to shoot three-pointers in the third quarter like they did in the second quarter.

As one side gained strength while the other lost strength, the gap between the two sides began to widen...