69novels Chapter 33 Li He's Going Crazy with His Throwings, Van Gundy's Defenses Broken
Chapter 33 Li He's Going Crazy with His Throwings, Van Gundy's Defenses Broken
As the referee tossed the basketball into the air, the preseason "China Derby" officially began!
Yao Ming used his height advantage to easily pass the ball to Cardino Mobley, and the Rockets took the lead in the attack.
Francis dribbled and controlled the pace, looking at the young Chinese man in front of him, and couldn't help but recall Yao Ming's words, "Don't underestimate that kid."
Francis didn't take Li He seriously, because he was at the peak of his career, with agile and explosive playing style. Last season, he averaged 21 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game and was selected as an NBA All-Star for two consecutive years. How could he possibly take a rookie with the number 16 seriously?
Back in the day, Francis was a true second overall pick in the draft.
With continuous changes in rhythm on the outside, Francis took a small hop, feinted, and prepared to throw up a shot. Li He not only didn't lose his position, but his long arms also kept interfering with Francis.
Francis forced a shot, and the instant the ball left his hand, he realized he was in trouble.
Li He slapped Francis's throw out of bounds!
"Oh...Hanson Lee's defensive judgment was superb! That was a massive, earth-shattering block!"
"No wonder Coach Maurice Cheeks wasn't bothered by Ruben Patterson's absence; Hansen Lee's defensive ability is definitely superior!"
Francis was very frustrated after being blocked. After the ball was served again, he took a pull-up shot against Li He.
This time he wasn't blocked, but he also failed to score.
Rasheed Wallace grabbed the defensive rebound and immediately passed the ball to Amar'e Stoudemire.
The flying squirrel advanced rapidly, and young Zach Randolph had already sprinted down.
Damon Stoudemire made a bounce pass to Zach Randolph, who then backhanded the ball to Li He on the other side.
Without hesitation, Li He took a three-pointer over Francis after receiving the ball.
The basketball traced a beautiful trajectory in the air and fell into the basket with a "whoosh".
"Hanson Lee's three-pointer is here!"
"Hey, this young man isn't intimidated at all; he just picks it up and gets to work!"
"Who exactly is saying his shooting ability will drop in the NBA?"
In the opening two rounds of offense and defense, Li He made it quite difficult for Francis, which also earned him cheers from the audience.
Chinese fans from all over the United States who had traveled to Portland applauded and cheered for Li He.
In the next possession, Yao Ming used his height advantage to create a second chance for the offense, scoring a putback basket.
The Chinese fans who had just cheered immediately erupted in another wave of applause.
There's no way around it, both sides have Chinese players, they're both my flesh and blood!
Rashid Wallace stepped back from the baseline and quickly served the ball, while the other four players launched a rapid counterattack.
Damon Stoudemire drove and passed to Zach Randolph, who took a step and flicked the ball to the corner!
Li He is in position!
This was a completely open space, and Li He even had time to adjust his position.
Swish!
Another three-pointer!
"God! Hansen Lee is in exceptionally good form."
"Two consecutive three-pointers at the start!"
"He's definitely the Trail Blazers' biggest surprise in recent years!"
"And I fit the team's style perfectly!"
Style aside, while these players on the Trail Blazers' "Prison Team" are all trash, their performance on the court is incredibly strong.
Rasheed Wallace's skill level needs no introduction, and the young Zach Randolph also shows great potential for the future.
Damon Stoudemire and Bonzi Wells have already proven themselves.
The Trail Blazers started strong, taking a 10-2 lead over the Rockets.
This also gave head coach Maurice Cheeks hope.
If these players can focus on playing, the team will definitely achieve good results!
Well, getting these lousy guys to play in peace is an incredibly difficult task.
Jeff Van Gundy, a disciplined coach who emphasizes defense, couldn't tolerate such a start and immediately called a timeout.
But after the timeout, the Trail Blazers went on a rampage, maintaining their offensive firepower.
With the first quarter halfway through, the Trail Blazers had already scored 16 points, a rare sight in this era of defense-oriented, slow-paced, physical battles.
Li He was substituted with 4 minutes and 01 second remaining in the first quarter.
He played for nearly 8 minutes, making 3 of 4 three-pointers and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 11 points and shining throughout the game.
The performance in the first quarter alone was enough to make the Trail Blazers management and Chinese fans have wild imaginations.
With 8 minutes remaining in the second quarter, Li He was substituted back onto the court.
This time, after receiving the ball on the outside, he first raised his hand and glanced at the basket with a fake move, which fooled Francis.
Li He took a step forward and chose to go for a two-pointer.
Precise hit!
Francis was so angry he was about to yell at someone!
Who said this guy can only shoot hoops?
They'll fake it out, take a dribble, and then shoot!
Compared to Li He's impressive 13 points, Francis's shooting touch was lackluster, managing only 6 points by the end of the first half.
Yao Ming scored 8 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.
At this point, Li He had already scored 15 points in the first half, making him the highest scorer on the Trail Blazers.
Based on his performance in just the first half, Li He won over coach Maurice Cheeks. As a coach who came from an NBA guard background, he was extremely satisfied with Hansen Li's game performance.
Decisive, straightforward, without any hesitation, and even with excessive confidence.
Coupled with that textbook-perfect shooting motion and rhythm.
perfect!
A player like that has to be a starter in the regular season, and a starter for the entire season! Maurice Cheeks thought to himself.
In the second half, both teams' starting players were substituted, but rookie Li He remained on the court.
Maurice Cheeks wants Li He to get back into better form as soon as possible.
As a result of the reduced intensity of the game, Li He's shooting became smoother.
He made 3 three-pointers in the third quarter and 4 three-pointers in the fourth quarter alone!
Li He has gone completely crazy with his votes!
Jeff Van Gundy was furious and started cursing. He couldn't stand a rookie player shooting so wildly on the other side.
"I told you to protect yourselves before the game, but I didn't tell you to play without intensity on defense!"
"To be shot at like that by a rookie, don't you feel ashamed?!"
"You'll be on the front page of the news tomorrow, and everyone will laugh at you!"
Indeed, the Rockets successfully protected themselves against the prison team, and the entire game was smooth and natural, without even any verbal altercations between the players.
But they lost the game, by nearly 20 points...
"If only we had a player like that on our team!" Jeff Van Gundy thought to himself.
In the end, Li He's stats were 10 three-pointers, scoring a game-high 38 points!
He led the Trail Blazers to a 110-92 victory over the Rockets.
The moment the match ended, the Rose Garden fans gave Li He a thunderous round of applause to cheer him on.
At this moment, the Chinese fans who had traveled all the way from the United States felt extremely satisfied.
They have Yao Ming, the "Great Wall of China," in the paint;
They have a superb shooter, Li He, on the perimeter.
Both of them are very young and have unlimited potential for growth.
This combination of internal and external strength, along with some key domestic players, will easily dominate Asia in the next 10 years.
They even have a real chance to compete with world-class teams like Argentina and Spain.