Champion, please stay!

Chapter 133, Section 131: Off-Peak Travel
When it was the Rockets' turn to attack, Alston continued to drive and pass the ball, which passed through Yao Ming's hands and came back to Artest's hands.

Artest drove to the basket, and the Knicks players once again blocked the middle. This time, Artest was prepared and passed the ball to the left.

Yao Ming took three steps from the free-throw line to the three-second sideline on the left side of the basket, caught the ball, raised it, flicked his wrist, and scored with a hook shot!

The first wave of defense was relatively organized, but the second wave of rotations was chaotic. In just a few possessions, the Rockets players figured out exactly how effective the Knicks' seemingly decent defense really was.

But the Knicks players who conceded the goal didn't care. Yi Shui and Cheeks on the sidelines also felt they had done 'good enough,' at least unlike before, when a speedy guard or a strong forward could just drive in and score.

Curry received the serve and continued to speed up the pace, forcing the opponent to accelerate their defensive positioning.

Curry continued to use pick-and-rolls to break through, and Scola, who was switching to defend Curry, noticed this. Yi Shui circled around the high post and, despite Artest's physical battle, cut towards the left side of the basket.

Scola pressed forward relentlessly against Curry, cutting off Curry's passing lane to the left.

The Rockets' high post has shown a weakness! Curry makes a behind-the-back pass, and Big Q goes around the top of the key.

As instructed, Swift, unable to penetrate, would screen for the moving pitchers on the outside, blocking McGrady who was chasing him.

Big Q received the ball, faced Alston who had switched onto him, and hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc!

With the score at 10-5, the Rockets called a timeout!
The defense at the power forward position suffocated Adelman!

Artest and Yao Ming defended very hard, and Alston switched and helped out very quickly.

Even McGrady has become more aggressive on defense lately, chasing down pitchers with great effort, wanting to prove himself again in all aspects in his own way.

But the power forward position is a real liability.

From a defensive perspective, he felt Scola hadn't done anything wrong, but the Argentine national team's star center was clearly not good enough.

They are slow and have poor physiques. When they push forward, they can't even delay the basic passing, leaving the entire high position open.

Landry, who is on the bench, has the same problem: he is not physically imposing enough.

But these two power forwards, each earning $300 million a year, are already Adelman's best inside players besides Yao Ming.

With players like McGrady (2000 million annual salary), Yao Ming (1500 million annual salary), Artest (700 million+ annual salary), and Battier (600 million+ annual salary), their team's total salary is only slightly over 100 million above the luxury tax threshold. Adelman always has to admit he's impressed with the management when he thinks about this.

The most outrageous thing is that I talked to him about trading Alston away, saying that I wanted to promote Brooks and thought that Brooks had the talent to become the starting point guard.

Adelman found this reasoning ridiculous. Brooks' defense was better than even his own at 60 years old. Even if he could score, he would only be worth around $200 million at most. He couldn't think of any playoff-caliber team's management that would want Brooks as their starting point guard.

They just can't bear to pay that extra 100 million+ in luxury tax! Alston's salary this season is 455 million, and the management thinks it's too expensive!

...

Pause back.

D'Antoni didn't make any substitutions. He had only played for less than 3 minutes and scored a lot of points. This was mainly due to Yi Shuiqiang's strong three-pointer and the threat from the forwards leading to another three-pointer from Da Q on the perimeter.

Adelman substituted Scola with Battier, leaving the power forward position unfilled, which meant Artest would have to suffer.

The opposing team had three big men, and even the most physically imposing of them, David Lee, wasn't as big as Artest, and his arm circumference was much smaller.

The Rockets are on offense, and this time Alston passes the ball to McGrady.

The ball still needs to be given. The streetball king can break through anyone. He even drove past Wade completely in the Heat a while ago, but he can't keep driving through.

After McGrady received the ball, the fans in the arena chanted "T-Mac" again, but after a few rounds, he calmed down. He received the ball, lowered his center of gravity, and used his head and shoulders to push aside Big Q. Just as Big Q was pressing up and preparing, he took a long stride to break through!
McGrady is still McGrady. His first step was much slower than before he took the painkiller. Big Q tried his best to turn around and chase, barely keeping up. But his second and third steps got faster and faster. Big Q had just taken his second step and hadn't even landed yet when McGrady, who started from the right side of the top arc, was already almost at the elbow area!
The Knicks' frontcourt is very fast, and their first wave of double-team defense was quite effective.

But McGrady's passing vision and ability are much better than Artest's, and he can pass the ball in time when he is double-teamed.

Artest received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side and hit a three-pointer!

Artest's three-point shooting percentage reached 40.6% this season, averaging 2 three-pointers per game. His shooting percentage and number of three-pointers are both ranked first on the Rockets, and his long-range shooting performance is comparable to that of Yi Jianlian and Curry on the opposing team. This was something no one expected before the start of the season.

When it was the Knicks' turn to attack, Battier and Artest partnered at the three and four positions, and the Rockets' defensive intensity, perimeter switching and help defense speed, and ability to cut off passes all improved significantly!
Curry used a screen to drive in, circled around, then dribbled out and passed to Yi Shui, who was being closely marked by Battier. Although Battier didn't have Artest's strong physique or explosive power, his defensive IQ was superior, and he was equally willing to do the dirty work.

With little time left on the offensive, facing Battier's persistent and tenacious defense, Yi Shui opted for the simplest and most direct tactic—a tank-style charge!

After shoving Battier aside, Yi Shui drove into the paint and found himself surrounded by the Rockets. His vision was much better than Curry's, but he didn't pass. The opponent's defense was spreading too fast, and even if he passed, his teammates would hardly be open.

He drove straight to the basket, avoiding Artest's elbow defense, and jumped over Yao Ming, who was guarding the basket. In the air, he twisted his waist and pulled up his sleeve like a guard, dodging Yao Ming's blocking hand, and threw the ball towards the backboard...

The ball bounced off the rim and fell into the hoop!

That was an incredible shot! He beat Battier, avoided Artest, and attacked Yao Ming's rim protection with a powerful shot... When Yi Shui released the ball, the rim was barely visible; he made the shot purely by feel.

Such a goal is hard to replicate. Battier, Artest, and Yao Ming's close defense, the timing of wing help defense, and Yao Ming's positioning choices have all been adjusted. Yi Shui attacked twice more afterward, but both times were unsuccessful. However, it was not without effect. At least it forced Yao Ming to take a few more steps. With Artest, the Rockets' overall defense was indeed too good!

Adelman's decision to play Artest at power forward caused the Knicks' half-court offense to stagnate, and their fast breaks were ineffective, resulting in a rapid decline in scoring efficiency.

The Rockets' offense improved significantly. With Artest playing power forward, Swift became his defender, and they stopped using the Princeton offense, allowing Artest to drive and dish directly. After McGrady calmed down, he also exploited the opponent's weak interior defense to drive and dish.

Yi Shui wanted to switch to the power forward position to guard Artest, but he was stopped by D'Antoni after only one possession, who told him to stay on the wing to guard Battier's corner three-pointer and collapse the help defense.

D'Antoni's criticism wasn't because Swift's collapse completely exposed Battier, or because he lacked the ability to cut off Battier's receiving lanes when collapsing like Yi Shui did. His main concern was that it wasn't worth it; Artest couldn't penetrate, and the opposing team had Alston and McGrady.

With 6 minutes and 22 seconds left in the first quarter, Yao Ming made his first low post back-to-the-basket move, receiving the ball, taking a step, turning, and hitting a high-reaching shot.

The score was 17-16, with the Rockets taking a one-point lead, prompting the Knicks to call a timeout!
After that incredible shot from Yi Shui, the Rockets went on a 9-4 run against the Knicks!

...

Playing against a strong Texas team, once again going from an early lead to a slump, D'Antoni's face turned red with frustration.

However, compared to those two teams, the Rockets have one obvious weakness – roster depth!
In response to this, D'Antoni had an idea...

Both teams made personnel adjustments.

Adelman brought Scola back in to partner Yao Ming in the frontcourt, while Artest returned to the small forward position and was replaced by Brooks to partner Battier in the backcourt.

He looked across the field, and as he expected, they had switched to a dual point guard setup: Duhon and Curry.

Both of them made Adelman envious. Duhon is a point guard that system team coaches really like. He has strong execution, a calm personality, and good defensive ability. Curry, on the other hand, is full of inspiration and has amazing shooting talent. Despite being so reckless, he still has a 40% three-point shooting percentage.

Thinking of Yi Shui and Curry, Adelman was extremely envious. Drafting a backcourt duo that could immediately lead a team to playoff contention in the East made D'Antoni incredibly lucky... Wait, where's Yi Shui?

Adelman was shocked to discover that the opposing front three consisted of Wilson Chandler, David Lee, and Anderson!

平时出场节奏与姚明差不多，首节打9-10分钟、第二节打5-6分钟、第三节打7-8分钟、末节打10分钟左右的易水，首节只打了6分多钟，被提前换下了！

Yi Shui wanted to go head-to-head with the opponent as soon as he took the court. D'Antoni couldn't change, nor did he want to change, the sharp edge of his star player, so he took the initiative to create conditions for 'off-peak travel'.

Since we can't win in a direct confrontation, we'll have to resort to a war of attrition!

After the timeout, the Rockets completely took control, and the Knicks' disadvantage became even more obvious.

With Yi Shui off the court, the Knicks' already poor defense became even worse.

On offense, the Knicks have lost their biggest threat and their ability to create opportunities has also become worse.

However, after Duhon entered the game, the Knicks' offensive formation and fast-paced offense improved, forcing the Rockets to work even harder on defense.

Moreover, although Wilson Chandler and Birdman are not very strong, their fighting spirit is no less than that of Yi Shui. In addition, the two are even more 'brainless'. With Artest on the front line and Yao Ming under the basket? They still charge!

The Knicks had no other skills but their relentless fighting spirit, which slowed down the Rockets' ability to pull away from the deficit.

打到10分22秒，姚明中投命中，比分来到28比23，火箭队领先优势来到5分，过去4分钟压着对面打出了11比7的比分。

But after the timeout, Yi Shui, who had returned to the court, took advantage of Yao Ming's absence, cut to close range to receive the ball, pushed past Scola, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand, sounding the horn for a counterattack!
(End of this chapter)