Chapter 1 The Hornets' Offense

On the Hornets' offense, Rozier's single after a step-back jumper was still disturbed by Butler and hit the iron.

After the opening, he took four shots in a row, one was broken, and three hit the iron. 4投0中! (4 shots, 0 hits!)

In the NBA, to judge whether a player is really capable, you can't just look at the data.

Data is sometimes very deceiving.

You have to watch the game, and you have to see how the player performs in the face of high-pressure defense.

Rozier's 20+5+5 data looks good, but it's mostly because of the Eastern Conference, where the defensive pressure in many games is not that great.

Moreover, in fact, putting aside the data itself, his 39.8% shooting and 36% three-point shooting percentage are not good for a guard.

To put it bluntly, with a 7-game losing streak and this shooting percentage, it's definitely a big刷子 (shuā zi - stat padder).

Only Jordan is stubbornly吹 (chuī - boasting) about it, and I haven't seen other people, even Charlotte's media, do it.

He is really much worse than Walker.

Walker was playing in the frontcourt, dribbling behind his back after changing direction in front of his body, and then scoring with an空中180° (kōng zhōng 180° - mid-air 180 degree) turn layup after starting.

He was excited, and everything came after his body opened up.

Hornets coach Clifford on the sidelines looked helpless. He touched his bald head and signaled for a defensive change.

If Rozier continues to play like this, he may really be depressed.

The Hornets switched Batum to defend Walker, but it still didn't work well.

Although Batum is Walker's former teammate, he is a swingman, and more of a small forward, so he is a bit slow.

In this quarter, Butler and Tang Tian were happy to make way for Walker, who became the absolute protagonist on the court.

Walker was in good shape after his body opened up. He was unstoppable in this quarter, scoring 22 points in a single quarter and breaking his personal single-quarter scoring record!

An interesting thing is that Walker's previous single-quarter scoring record was 19 points, which he achieved with the Hornets.

And 19 points is also the Hornets' team history single-quarter scoring record.

Walker went to the Pelicans, and it was only his eighth game before he broke this record.

The fans at the scene were in a complex mood.

Inside the VIP box.

Jordan took a hard puff of his cigar.

Today, I don't know what's going on with this cigar, it's a bit bitter.

At the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans led the Hornets 33-11 by a large margin.

In the second quarter's substitute transition period, the Pelicans' substitutes continued to work hard, led by Brogdon, and widened the point difference to nearly 30 points.

The scene was also restless.

Although many of them came for the Pelicans, the Hornets are their home team after all, and this beating is a bit too brutal.

At a critical moment, Rozier, who had 7 shots and 0 hits in the first quarter, came on early and finally found some feeling on the court.

He first made a difficult three-pointer from the outside against Brogdon's defense, and then hit a急停干拔 (jí tíng gān bá - pull-up jumper) with Zeller's pick-and-roll.

After scoring five points in a row, he helped the Hornets narrow the point difference to within 25 points.

At this time, both sides entered the rotation one after another, and the main players of the two teams reappeared.

Tang Tian came up and made a标志性的 (biāo zhì xìng de - signature) turn-around fadeaway, temporarily stabilizing the situation on the court.

Rozier held the ball again, and his defender changed from Brogdon to Butler.

He seemed to have learned a lesson, and didn't force a shot against Butler, but reached out and signaled Gilchrist to pick him up.

Gilchrist is not as big as Kaminsky, but he is faster.

Although he was still bypassed by Butler, he still blocked him a little.

Rozier had scored consecutive points before, and his condition was a bit up, and at this moment he seized a moment of opportunity, 猫腰 (māo yāo - hunched) and directly钻过 (zuān guò - slipped through) the defense.

Dedmon came out to help defend the inside, and Rozier directly made a high-difficulty floater after jumping up.

Dedmon's defensive awareness was very good, and his defense was also in place, sealing Rozier's shooting vision and almost blocking the ball.

But the ball finally crossed the defense and successfully landed in the bag.

The referee's whistle also sounded, indicating that Dedmon had invaded Rozier's shooting cylinder.

It's a 2+1!

Cheers broke out at the scene.

In this section, Rozier has scored 7 points!

This is a bit like the Hornets' new boss!

After Rozier took the shot, he fell to the ground. After seeing the ball go in, he jumped up from the ground and rushed to the sidelines to捶胸怒吼 (chuí xiōng nù hǒu - beat his chest and roar) quite excitedly.

The fans at the scene also responded to him with even louder cheers.

After roaring, he looked at Walker with a proud look.

That expression seemed to be saying: Look, I am the king of Charlotte now.

Tang Tian walked to Butler at this time and whispered for a while.

Rozier's free throw opportunity.

His hand was hot, and the free throw was also steadily made.

He swept away the decline of the first quarter, and scored 8 consecutive points in this quarter with 3 of 3 shots, showing an eye-catching performance.

Inside the VIP box.

Jordan was still smoking a cigar.

But at this time, he felt that the taste of the cigar had become sweet.

He said, he is the god of basketball, and he can never be wrong.

On the Pelicans' offense, Walker's breakthrough layup didn't go in.

When Rozier dribbled the ball forward again, he felt like he was about to float.

"Come on! Hornets!"

Neat cheers also sounded at the scene.

When the point difference was close to 30 before, the team had basically collapsed.

But after Rozier scored 8 consecutive points, the point difference came to 20 points, which is completely playable.

Although Davis is absent, if the Hornets win against the Pelicans by accident, then the Hornets and Rozier will really be deified.

Rozier smiled triumphantly.

Then when he got to the frontcourt, his smile slowly disappeared.

The Pelicans have defensive adjustments, and the person defending him has changed again, from Butler to Tang Tian!

Tang Tian, five-time Defensive Player of the Year!

Putting aside his status as the league's number one player, he is also the strongest defensive player in the league!

He飘归飘 (piāo guī piāo - he may be floating), but he is still虚 (xū - nervous) in his heart.

The shouts at the scene also slowly subsided.

Tang Tian's aura is there, and everyone knows that it is a bit unrealistic to expect Rozier to play against Tang Tian.

Rozier also turned to look at his teammates, this is another tactic about to be played.

"If you can get 10 points, I'll count it as my loss."

But at this moment, Tang Tian said to him in a very calm tone.

This is not trash talk, there is not a single dirty word.

It's not even considered a provocation, after all, I didn't say I was going to score 100 points on your head.

But, it's very 装逼 (zhuāng bī - pretentious).

Rozier has already scored 8 points, and the meaning of this sentence translated is that if you can score another goal, I will count it as my loss.

Rozier is also the core of a weak team, this is really 装逼 (zhuāng bī - pretentious).

Rozier reached out and signaled Gilchrist to come for a pick-and-roll again.

He is not a player known for his basketball IQ, but he is known for his confidence, unparalleled confidence.

Today he really wants to狠狠地 (hěn hěn de - fiercely) slap Tang Tian in the face.

Gilchrist's pick-and-roll came, and he aimed for a chance to break through directly.

"Pa!"

But as soon as he accelerated, he felt a lightness in his hand.

Tang Tian is not Butler, his awareness and ability to绕挡拆 (rào dǎng chāi - navigate around the screen) is unique in the league.

He is past the pick, but the ball... is gone!