Super Role Player

Kevin McHale was anxious, but Harden's defense was still so careless. He shouted loudly: "Defense! Pay attention to your defense!"

James Harden gave an OK sign to the sidelines, but McHale was still worried. Harden's defense this season has always been a bit scummy, and he was often beaten by one step on the defensive end. Fortunately, the Rockets have Dwight on the inside. Howard, otherwise the Rockets' defense will definitely be at the bottom of the league.

After the continuous warnings, Harden used gestures to express his intention to defend well.

Then, during the Rockets' offense, James Harden held the ball from the outside. Anxi lowered his body and stood in front of Harden.

Neither of them spoke, but Harden gestured around for a while, looking at the posture, he wanted to hit Anxi alone. Although Harden had wanted to hit Anxi alone several times in a row, after the first few rounds, Haden, Den only succeeded once with the help of a screen.

On the contrary, Anxi scored 10 points in a row and defeated Harden.

But the game has just begun, and Harden still has a chance to come back. Harden thinks the same way now. He is not unaware of the media hype before the game, such as the battle for the first shooting guard and the MVP ranking. Although he was beaten by Anxi almost every time they met, Harden was also holding back his energy and was very unconvinced.

In NBA, no one will take it for granted that they are worse than others, especially stars of James Harden's level. They have defeated too many role players and are already full of confidence in their hearts.

However, in this game, Harden met Anxi, who was in great shape and already full of fighting spirit. Obviously, his tragedy was unavoidable.

James Harden's continuous crotch dribbling and cross-stepping, followed by a dribble and a direct breakthrough. This is Harden's usual routine. The continuous crotch dribbling and cross-stepping are all fake actions, and he often easily deceives defensive players. The focus is different, but Anxi is different. He judges Harden's breakthroughs or fake moves very well. When Harden continues to fake moves, Anxi doesn't move at all. As soon as Harden adds, Anxi becomes entangled.

During the fight, Anxi took action directly, trying to steal the ball from Harden's hand.

As a result, Harden, who was already in trouble, seized the opportunity, leaned forward, fell on Anxi, and then threw the basketball towards the basket.

beep!

The referee blew the whistle decisively.

Anxi was immediately happy, because he was so angry with Harden. Harden played the ball very cheaply and saw that there was no chance. As a result, Anxi's defense was stronger and more aggressive, giving Harden a chance.

Harden went to the free throw line and made two free throws. His personal score also reached 4 points.

In the 76ers' offense, Anxi brought the ball to the frontcourt with his own hands, and Harden's defense really became serious. It's not that Harden can't defend, but that his attention is always unable to focus on the defensive end. He always thinks about Offense, and once Harden pays attention to defense, he can be considered a good defensive player.

Anxi is in good shape now, but he still chose to go it alone for this ball. He changed direction on the outside and passed Harden. He still used his old style of play before, rushing into the inside and shooting a pull-up jumper.

However, the Rockets were on guard. As soon as Anxi broke through, Chandler Parsons immediately made up for it, but Anxi still took the shot, but the ball was slightly backward, facing Chandler Parsons's defense. , threw the ball.

There was a bang, but it didn't come in.

The rebound was grabbed by Howard, and Anxi waved his hand regretfully.

Seeing Anxi playing iron, Harden saw the hope of reversing the score. In the next round, he continued to attack with the ball, preparing to continue to attack Anxi alone.

It's still the same style of play. James Harden's routine is a bit simple. He cross-steps from the outside and then rushes into Anxi. Anxi's defense is still very stable and there are no loopholes. So Harden wants to repeat the same trick and commit another foul.

But this time, Anxi still didn't give in, and still pushed forward forcefully, using his hands to interfere with Harden's shooting.

In the fierce confrontation, Harden once again threw the ball towards the basket.

There was a bang, and naturally it didn't go in, but the whistle Harden was expecting didn't sound either.

This surprised Harden.

Anxi smiled, "Does it mean that you, James Harden, are the only ones with a star whistle, but I don't have one?"

The referee has just blown Harden's star whistle once. Will he blow it a second time in a short period of time? It’s impossible even to think about! If Anxi was knocked down by two consecutive fouls, the game would not be played and the Rockets would just win the game with a walk.

So even though Anxi still got in front of Harden and defended the ball strongly, the referee did not blow the whistle.

Asik grabbed the rebound, this is a clean defense!

Harden was a little dissatisfied and ran to the referee to complain.

Anxi didn't care what Harden said to the referee. He directly asked for the ball and rushed forward with the ball, hoping to advance quickly and launch a fast break.

Seeing this, Harden didn't care to complain to the referee anymore and hurriedly turned around to defend.

Fortunately, the other Rockets players returned to defense quickly and were unable to allow the 76ers to directly play a fast break.

Since there was no fast break, Anxi was not in a hurry. He controlled the outside line for a while, then handed the ball to McAway and started running without the ball.

After making a circle from the bottom line, Anxi once again rushed to the top of the arc through the screen. This time, it suited McAway's hand-to-hand coordination. After receiving the ball, he met Terrence Jones who was covering the defense and shot another three-pointer.

Bang, the three-pointer was a little short, and Anxi still didn't score.

But for Harden, he is a little confused now. Anxi's defense is like an iron wall. He can't attack. Now the referee no longer calls for fouls. After thinking about it, Harden can only continue to hold the ball from the outside. Called cover.

With Terrence Jones' screen, Harden stepped forward. After the switch, the player guarding Harden became Pau Gasol. Gasol could only retreat and wait for Anxi to catch up.

Harden took a step forward and raised his hand to shoot over Gasol's head.

At this time, Anxi rushed out from behind Harden, with a volleyball hat behind him, and slapped the basketball out!

"Big hat! Beautiful! James Harden continues to be defeated!"

He was defended by Anxi again, and this time he got a big block. Harden's depression had reached the critical point. After the ball was returned, he caught the ball and shot. Facing Anxi's defense, he shot a buzzer-beating shot. Bang. There was a sound, but it still didn't come in.

The score was still 1o:6. For several consecutive rounds, neither team scored.

But obviously, the 76ers still have the advantage on the court.

After Anxi hit the ball continuously, he continued to attack with the ball, holding the ball from the outside and reaching out. Harden defended Anxi from a distance. He took it for granted that Anxi, who hit the ball twice in a row, would definitely not shoot three-pointers again.

But Anxi did the opposite, pulled back his feet, stepped back, and scored another three-pointer!

Swish, hit again!

Director Zhang sighed and said: "Anxi's three-pointer scored again! He has already scored 13 points, this feeling! Unreasonable!"

13:6, on the Rockets side, Harden continued to attack with a dark face. Facing Anxi's defense, he also tried to score a three-pointer from the outside, but bang, it still didn't go in!

So far in the opening game, Harden has made 1 of 6 shots and only scored 4 points. However, Anxi has directly countered Harden, making 5 of 7 shots and feeling hot.

After Harden failed to score a three-pointer, Anxi no longer limited himself to personal offense. He began to create opportunities for his teammates.

Quickly moving the ball in the frontcourt, Anxi ran without the ball and had a chance. After receiving the ball, the Rockets turned around and a defensive player came to cover it. Anxi did not stick to the ball and directly passed the ball into the penalty area. Omer Asik hid. Howard returned to defense and completed a light dunk on top of Howard's head.

Facing his old club, Omer Asik also successfully scored.

At 15:6, Kevin McHale called a timeout.

For the Rockets, it was only four minutes into the game, and the point difference was about to reach double digits. The start of this game obviously couldn't be worse. James Harden continued to hit the iron, and Kevin McHale wanted to replace him. Yes, but considering that the team still needs Harden to contain Anxi, they gave up this idea.

However, after a timeout, Kevin McHale made arrangements, requiring the team to attack more inside, allowing Howard to occupy more positions and take more shots.

After the timeout, the Rockets began to shift their offensive focus to the inside. Harden gave Howard the ball. Howard beat Asik and turned around for a layup, scoring 2 points.

In the 76ers' offense, Anxi continued to take the ball from outside the three-point line, and after a breakthrough, he attracted double teams. Anxi once again distributed the ball, and Pau Gasol hit a mid-range shot. At 17:8, the 76ers still maintained a 9-point lead. .

On the Rockets' side, after the outside screen, Chandler Parsons caught the ball and shot, and hit a three-pointer with a bang.

But Anxi soon returned the favor. After the same screen, he got rid of Harden and scored a three-pointer!

At 2o:11, the point difference was still 9 points. Chandler Parsons' three-pointer failed to narrow the point difference for the Rockets.

Yu Jia praised: "Anxi played so well. Just halfway through the first quarter, he already scored 16 points!"

Director Zhang also smiled and said: "Yes, in comparison, Harden has been completely outmatched. So far, he has only scored 4 points on 1 of 6 shots. The gap is too obvious."

The gap is indeed obvious. For the 76ers, with Anxi's outstanding performance, they have maintained a 9-point lead. It seems that if Chandler Parsons and Dwight Howard hadn't scored on the offensive end, the 9-point difference would have been It needs to be further expanded.

Immediately after the Rockets' offense, Harden failed to break through. Anxi's defense was still solid. He could only choose to pass the ball and hand the ball to Chandler Parsons.

Chandler Parsons caught the ball and made a breakthrough, facing Jae Crowder's defensive throw. With a bang, the basketball hit the backboard and eventually bounced into the basket.

At 2o:13, the Rockets' star player was completely locked up by Anxi. Instead, it was Chandler Parsons who began to lead the team to score consecutively and cling to the score.

In the 76ers' position battle, Anxi handed the ball to Pau Gasol for high-post support. Gasol looked for an opportunity at the top of the arc for a while, and finally chose to do it by himself. After taking two shots of the basketball, he took two steps inside and made an adjustment. He threw his hand and hit with a bang.

At 22:13, the score difference was still 9 points. 8