Chapter 52: When "Uncle Liu" meets the Queen Bee

"Position! I need you to understand where you are! The whole, you are a whole!"

"You are a group of professional players who have played NBA, not a group of young boys who have just been involved in basketball in middle school! But I can only see you running around like headless flies! You are running around!"

Although Rivers did not roar loudly at this moment, the fans sitting not far from the player's seat could definitely hear his roar. Rivers had already lost all his composure and was only angry.

Less than five minutes into the second quarter, but the Celtics had already called two long timeouts. Rivers replaced Delunt from the field, but Tony Allen was also a little overwhelmed after it got on.

Paul's breakthrough was not only sharp, but this kid was not the kind of player who was just pursuing his own score.

Chris Paul can ensure that he has been in the team's main position in the first grade. In addition to having a stable performance in breakthroughs and shooting, assists are the kid's unique skill to stand out.

Although the Hornets were at a disadvantage in the first quarter, no one would deny Paul's role. Even though the score was always behind, Paul's assists had already scored four before the end of the first quarter.

After the start of the second quarter, Paul not only made three consecutive breakthroughs, but also made Delunt West suffer a technical foul in great depressed manner, and he also earned two free throws.

The most important thing is that Paul's successful defense breaking on the outside was directly driven to vent his team's offensive firepower in the inside. His assists felt like he was mercury.

One, two, three, and when Paul's assists had reached eight, as long as he was a person with eyes, he could tell that this guy's pass was the most troublesome thing to the Celtics.

Breakthrough, pass the ball, and breakout is pretty defensive, but Paul's pass is a bit elusive.

Every time you don't know when this guy will choose to shoot, and even more so when he will use the pass to find your defensive loophole and then assist his teammates to score easily.

If you can't defend the opponent's breakthrough at one point, then the entire defensive system will begin to collapse.

This is what Thibodeau often says to the players during training. Today, Paul, as an opponent, confirmed Thibodeau's defensive theory with practical actions, and he used one point to penetrate the Celtics.

Even Pierce is getting a little dull now. He scored 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in the first quarter, but the efforts he made before have now become a foil for opponents' performances.

After the start of the second quarter, although Pierce scored 4 points, compared with his opponent's crazy counterattack, his score was simply a drop in the bucket and would not have any effect at all.

Moreover, Pierce has a lot of energy to be involved in defense. Tony and Delunt were defeated by Paul one by one. Pierce had to stare at Stojakovic, who was cruising on the outside.

Because after a silent quarter, Stojakovic scored two three-pointers at the beginning of the second quarter, and all of them were passes and assists after Paul cut in.

Pierce can only follow this former Yugoslav sharpshooter now to prevent this guy from suddenly starting to shoot three-pointers like crazy. If his hands get hot, it will definitely be a disaster.

However, following a pure shooter who often runs on a large scale on the outside is indeed a very difficult job, which also makes Pierce a little tired and has no way to devote himself to the offense.

Jefferson, the only one in the Celtics, can continue to contribute stably, but under West's restraint, he can only be considered a support, and cannot play very smoothly like the first quarter.

When facing a group of wild bees dancing wildly, the Celtics can do nothing now.

Rivers also knew that his roar was not helpful to the team. After a vent of anger, he had to find a way to curb his opponent's fierce attack in a 100-second timeout.

"Rajon! Damn it, take off your clothes outside quickly! You are ready to take over Tony. I don't care what you use. In short, just one sentence, you must reduce Paul's breakthrough speed for me! He must only stay outside and sway! You can't let him cut into the basket so casually!"

After the first five minutes of the second quarter, Rivers had used Tony Allen and Delunt West, and now he can only hope that Rondo's long arms can work.

"Maybe I'm crazy, but now I'm afraid there's only hope that Rondo can catch up with Paul."

Rivers would not say this in his heart, but now he almost treats dead horses as living. If Rondo also loses, he can only prepare to use fouls to stop Paul.

After all, this is the Celtics' first home court, and he doesn't want to be defeated just by his opponent's outbreak. Moreover, Rondo's outstanding performance in the preseason also gave Rivers a little hope.

"Don't let that little man be too proud after you come on the court. If the score is too wide, I can't guarantee that I will be able to catch up!" Chen Feng took advantage of this gap and whispered to Rondo.

"It's best that you can guarantee that this game will play, and it's not in garbage time." Rondo is now thinking about how to play against that "Queen Bee", but he doesn't have time to talk to Chen Feng more.

"Wait until you look at it, the premise is that you don't have to resist that kid, otherwise more than 10,000 people here will boo you." Chen Feng ignored Rondo's attitude just now, just said it a little serious.

After all, Rondo is not himself, and Chen Feng believes that he can remain unmoved in the face of booing from ten thousand people.

But he couldn't guarantee that Rondo would be like himself, after all, not everyone has such a thick-skinned face.

"A person who has been baptized by your endless saliva every day will not be so nervous."

Although Rondo is a little nervous now, he may care more about his opponent than those booings. Just as he said, Chen Feng would say a lot of nonsense every day, and he had long been used to it.

As for booing, God, Rondo always believed that no matter how many booing he had, he could not catch up with Chen Feng's nagging.

"Hey, Rajon, remember, you're much better than that kid! That's what I said! Don't lose to him!"

After the timeout, when Rondo was about to play, Chen Feng stretched out his hand and patted Rondo on the shoulder. He said very seriously for the first time, and also gave Rondo a thumbs up and said cheering.

"I will prove that your vision is right!" Rondo also gave Chen Feng a thumbs up before playing.

"My God! What is Rivers going to do? Does he want to give up this game? We are only four points behind now! He actually sent a first-year rookie to guard the opponent's core guard at this time? Does Rivers think a rookie can accomplish such a difficult task!?"

Alex's low voice in the commentary seat not only represents his surprise, but also represents the views of many Celtics fans. Many people think this is a trick of Rivers.

Although some fans who have watched the preseason know that Rondo is a relatively promising rookie, more people still think that his current abilities may be more suitable for being a substitute than appearing at this time.

I'm afraid only Thibodeau and Rivers themselves knew that their gambling was actually forced.

They originally hoped to let Rondo adapt to the NBA game rhythm step by step, but now it seems that this idea must be changed.

Because of Paul's strong attack, they had to let Rondo take it. Although they didn't know what the result was, it was much better than standing on the sidelines and watching the other party perform casually at their home court.

"Chris, continue to attack like you did just now. You control the rhythm of the team. If you have trouble, don't hurt yourself. The opponent is a novice, be careful about his movement amplitude."

As the head coach of the Hornets, Scott cares more about his team's core, whether he can play a season healthy, rather than being injured by his opponent in the first game.

You know, when Delunt made a bad move behind Paul's back, Scott almost jumped on the court and yelled at the referee.

After all, the Hornets have made such a big move this season, so they want to find a bunch of helpers for Paul who can support the team, and then let the Hornets break out in the West.

Now that Rivers is such a strange novice, Scott can't help but doubt the other party's intentions. If Rivers doesn't want to lose too ugly, he will be shocked.

The opponent can afford a rookie, but Scott can't afford Paul. After all, the gap between the two is too big.

"Don't worry, coach, I know how to deal with it." Paul is one of the rare kind of good kids in the NBA. He is not only polite, but also very humble in many cases.

But even the most humble player will show a strong sense of aggression when facing the game, especially after defeating Tony Allen and Delunt West's defenses in succession.

After starting the game again, Paul still dribbled the ball and quickly crossed the half. When Rondo came up, Paul changed direction during the dribble at high speed and was ready to cut in like he would throw away Tony.

"Beautiful!!! Our rookie boy didn't let Paul pass! He successfully stopped the queen bee in Orleans!" Alex's voice on the broadcast room suddenly woke up many people.

Many people thought Rivers' decision was terrible before this second, and Rondo would definitely be tortured by Paul's sharp breakthrough, but a second later, Paul was pressed outside the three-point line.

Breakthrough! Paul's mind is very simple. He wants to break through the rookie in front of him, then make a layup, or assist West and Stojakovic to make a three-pointer.

But just after he had already taken the first step of the breakthrough, the unsightly novice blocked him near the three-point line with his long arms and tightly pressed steps.

"No, don't think about going over!" Rondo's voice was not loud, but it was enough for two people to hear clearly.

"I don't want to be ridiculed as a fool by that bare-headed guy, so don't think about going over!"

When the queen bee encounters "Uncle Liu", she will inevitably be pointed at the wheat.

Don't forget that there was a more aggressive guy sitting on the Celtic bench.

The Hornets meet the Green Shirts, and now they are just in the process of fighting to the death...
Chapter completed!