The Rockets have always held a special emotional place in the hearts of Chinese fans, especially since Yao Ming became the Rockets' first-round pick in 2002 until he left the professional game. Especially after Maddy joined the Rockets, the team's competitiveness has improved significantly. However, it is a pity that in 2009, the Rockets led by Yao Ming at their peak had a chance to compete for the championship, but injuries pounced on them like tigers... In the 2008-2009 season, Yao Ming ushered in the peak year of his career. He played 77 games in the regular season, a career-high and averaged 197 points, 99 rebounds and 1Comprehensive data for 9 blocks. When Maddie missed most of the game due to injury, Yao Ming stepped up and led the team to a 53-29 record, ranking fifth in the West, and successfully made the All-Star Second Team.
Even Howard, who was in his peak state at the time, was not Yao Ming's opponent, and people described Yao Ming as being able to beat basketball monsters when he ate and slept. In the 2009 playoffs, Maddie was injured and Yao Ming led the team to a narrow victory over the Trail Blazers and reached the semifinals. Their opponent is the Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant and Gasol. Although the Rockets' lineup is not as good as the Lakers, with Yao Ming here, anything is possible. In the first game of the series, Yao Ming was injured at one point. Ignoring the opposition of the team doctor, he resolutely returned to the court and staged the feat of returning the king, scoring 28 points and 10 rebounds in the game, leading the team to a difficult victory over the Lakers. However, in the third game of the series, Yao Ming was injured again, and the score was already 1-2 down. With Yao Ming and Maddie unable to play in the follow-up matches, the game seemed to have been one-sided. However, the remnants of the Rockets fought with the Lakers to the end, forcing their opponents into a tie-break. How do they do it? Black Beans took the lead, and the role players stepped up.
Rockets: Resilient and Courageous Although the Rockets no longer have a key player after Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, they will never succumb to the predicament and let others dominate. Especially after head coach Adelman took over, the team's offensive system has been quite perfect. Even with the loss of two key players, the team's offense was still quite fluid. Brooks, in particular, known as "Black Bean," stepped up and picked up the team's offensive pillars. In Game 4, Black Beans played well, scoring 34 points in the game, contributing 4 assists and 3 rebounds, hitting 12 of 20 shots with a 60% shooting rate, and hitting 4 of 9 three-point shots with a 3-point shooting percentage of 444%, and the true shooting rate of the whole game is as high as 751%。Meanwhile, tough guy Battier also had a great performance in this game, scoring 23 points and successfully limiting Kobe Bryant on the defensive end. Their excellent performance overwhelmed Kobe Bryant and Gasol to defend the home field and level the score at 2-2.
However, in the crucial fifth game, the Rockets challenged the Lakers away, and the whole team was tired and suffered a heavy loss. But in the sixth game of life and death, Brooks stepped up again, frequently breaking through the interior line, creating a lot of trouble for the Lakers. And the breakthrough of black beans also drove Scola. At the end of the game, Brooks scored 26 points and Scola scored 24 points, and the two combined for 50 points to win Game 6. In the two games won by the Rockets' main players after injuries, in addition to Brooks, Hayes and Lowry also performed very well. And Artest, who was eye-catching on the defensive end, successfully suppressed Kobe's shooting percentage and united the entire Rockets team. Although they lost in the final tie-break, this Rockets team earned everyone's respect. Their defense was extremely efficient and limited the Lakers' offense.
After all, the Rockets showed some of the best defensive skills in the league during the regular season because they had two excellent defensive players, tough guy Battier (who was the one who managed to contain Kobe) and Artest in his prime, who were more than enough to support a team's defensive system. The Rockets have shown a stronger defense in the playoffs, and opponents have been intimidated by their solid defense. Even a superstar like Kobe Bryant can suffer severely from his offensive efficiency against the Rockets. Back in 2009, the Lakers led by Phil Jackson implemented a triangular offensive strategy, and the tacit cooperation between Kobe and Gasol made the Lakers' offensive efficiency among the best in the league, and they averaged 106 points per game in the playoffs9 points, third in the league. However, when they faced a formidable Rockets defense, the sharpest offense was met by the strongest defense, and as a result, the Lakers' offensive quality and efficiency dropped significantly, with their points per game average dropping to 979 points, a direct drop of 9 points.
Judging from the average data per game, it can be said that Bynum is the Lakers player who is most obviously affected by the Rockets' defense. In the regular season, Bynum averaged 143 points is a scoring weapon for the Lakers, but in the playoffs against the Rockets, he averaged only 6 points per game, which was obviously limited by the Rockets' defense. Therefore, it can be said that the Rockets' difficult performance in this series is closely related to Bynum's successful blocking. Team Rocket is united and high-spirited. Even without the support of the main players, they need to show their quality. Especially after years of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, this opportunity is really not to be missed. With injuries to key players, role players have to step up, after all, they have lived up to the expectations of the fans, maintained a high level of play, and did not retreat due to the absence of Yao Mai. In the opening match, Battier continued to play despite being seriously injured by Vujasic, showing a fighting spirit that was not afraid of difficulties.
In this series, the tenacious performance of the Rockets set the tone in the first game. Yao Ming's return to the game despite his injury greatly boosted the team's morale. In addition, the fierce confrontation between Artest and Kobe, and the unremitting struggle of Hayes, Black Bean and Lowry, fully demonstrated the Rockets' determination to win. As the saying goes, never underestimate a champion's heart, even role players have dreams. This injury-plagued Rockets team has made many people's hearts twist. If Yao Ming and Maddie hadn't been injured back then, how different would their results be?