The Knicks' offense is still the same after the substitution, but the goal of Tiberdore's substitution is not to strengthen the offense, but to strengthen the defense. Only when it comes to the defensive end can the effect of Tiberdore's substitution be detected.

The Rockets were dunked by Li Feng, and Harden immediately came to the Knicks with anger.

When Li Feng was in the capital, he made Harden unhappy. Now that he is at home, Harden is still playing so arrogantly.

Suddenly, Harden felt that he had to give the Knicks some greatness, so after Harden came over, he immediately reached out to ask for the ball at Delphino.

Delfino passed the ball. When Harden saw that the guy Thornton was defending himself, he immediately came across his shoulder and wanted to knock Thornton away in one step.

But Thornton's template was LeBron James, who was not afraid of confrontation and directly raised his chest to engage in a fierce physical confrontation with Harden.

Harden bumped and did not adjust to his best condition. When he raised his hand to shoot, Thornton's footsteps quickly caught up and directly covered Harden's eyes.

Harden didn't expect that his old teammates were so defensive, tall and clumsy, and he also caught the timing well.

In a moment of embarrassment, Harden missed the shot immediately, and Kirilianko was relatively easy to grab Motiyunas.

After the Knicks changed, they were indeed effective on the defensive end. When Taberdog saw that he had achieved his tactical goal, he immediately remained silent on the sidelines.

When McHale saw that the Knicks had effective adjustments on the defensive end, he immediately glanced at the watch. It was not far from the end of the first quarter. It was time for him to replace Harden and replace him with a full bench lineup.

Kirilenko immediately threw the backcourt rebound towards Li Feng, and Li Feng ran towards the Rockets at halftime.

However, the Rockets' group of people ran faster than Li Feng. When Li Feng arrived at the Rockets' half, he saw that the Rockets had already run back several people. The Rockets' small lineup's advantage in speed is really obvious.

As a result, Li Feng could only pause for a moment, and then when Thornton and Kirirenko came over, Li Feng called for Kirirenko's cover.

There was a reason why Li Feng called Kirilenko to cover at this time. Li Feng had already seen Motiyunas' defense but that was the case.

Although his nickname is Magic Iron, it is just that the blocking is excellent. Motiyunas takes over the inside to assist and defend against the top. Motiyunas is a little bit worse, so at this time, Kirilianko should be beaten out like this.

Kirilianko came out to cover Li Feng, and sure enough, he started to find a position to attack.

Li Feng happened to play this point intently and immediately dismantled the basketball into Kirilenko's hands.

Kirilenko took the ball and faced the basket while moving, with his hands on his hands, and Yunas could only fly because of his height difference.

Kirilenko took this opportunity and leaned forward, took the ball with his right hand and rubbed the rebound. Not only did he score two points, but he also deceived Yunas for a foul.

Kirilenko played against Junas so easily, and after scoring Reggiller said: "

I think the Rockets should increase the height of the inside line. One big one with four small ones, and the defense requirements for the big one in the middle are very high. Mortiunas obviously cannot achieve it!"

Bill Walton also said:

"The Rockets should substitute, otherwise their inside defense will be too bad!"

When the two of them suggested that the Rockets substitution, Kirirenko hit the free throw line and made a steady free throw.

Li Feng saw that Kirilenko was so easy to beat Yunas, and he immediately came to Dragic and said:

"I'll pass the ball to AK later. I think it's time for him to take action today."

Dragic also smiled and responded.

After calling the timeout, the Knicks made continuous success on the offensive end and also achieved results on the defensive end. It was obvious that the Knicks were about to gain the upper hand.

At this time, the Rockets inevitably have some fluctuations. The situation in the West is so chaotic, and the Rockets don’t want to lose. The battle between teams with such fierce competition can be said to be in the playoffs. Both sides are careless and are unwilling to reveal a little flaw.

So when he played again, Harden finally made up his mind and pulled out the three-point line to get the ball. Then he shook continuously outside the three-point line.

Just now, Harden had realized that it was difficult to eat Thornton, but he still had a chance to use his steps.

Sure enough, with Harden's continuous shaking, Thornton was indeed a little unable to keep up. Harden took advantage of this opportunity to reach the bottom line and scored two points for the team with a close jump shot.

What impressed Harden most during the Rockets era was his accurate two-point jump shot, but in terms of the development of basketball.

Two-point jump shot has been rejected by the times. Now basketball is getting faster and faster, and the requirements for shooting are getting higher and higher.

This way, there is no advantage in comparing two-point jump shots of about 16 feet, three-pointers and basket offense.

Although three-pointers are more risky, they gain more and can open up space for team combat.

The basket breakthrough and strong hit rate is high, and there are bonuses for fouls. The mid-range jump shot is both trapped by the hit rate and no tactical bonus, so the benefits of specializing in the middle distance are no longer great.

Under such circumstances, Harden still mainly scored mid-range, greatly reducing his offensive efficiency.

Just after Harden scored, the Knicks immediately advanced again. This time the Knicks still beat Kirirenko's basket.

Li Feng used Thornton's cover to pull out of the three-point line and suddenly passed the ball to Thornton who bounced out of the three-point line. Thornton took the ball and then passed the basketball straight to Kirilenko who had already stuck to the position.

Thornton's ability to support was still passed. Kirilianko, who took the ball, immediately dribbled the ball and turned his body to pass Mortiunas, then easily made a layup with his left hand and scored another point, and also created Mortiunas' defensive foul.

The Knicks began to frequently play the Rockets' weakness, and Mortiunas was beaten two 2+1 in a row. At this time, even the fool could see that the Knicks regarded Mortiunas as an ATM.

McHale took this opportunity to start a large-scale substitute lineup. Casby and Asik were replaced on the court by McHale. Asik obviously came to curb Kirilenko.

Since the Rockets have replaced the full substitute, the Knicks have not hesitated to get Li Feng off and replaced him with the substitute lineup.

After replacing the substitute, the Knicks took Thornton and Kirirenko as the core. Thornton helped the outside pick-and-roll to assist in long shots, and Kirirenko dominated the low post and used an empty cut to attack the basket.

The other players are always ready to make three-pointers and breakthroughs. The Knicks play this way, and the Rockets' inside line is indeed a bit unbearable.

Mortiunas couldn't save Thornton's long shot and support, and Asik also used Kirilenko's air cut to attack the blue.

The Rockets encountered some trouble at this time. The Rockets are a team that relies on the outside attack. They rely on their feel very much, and after all the substitutes appear on the bench.

The Rockets' touch is very bad. Garcia's long shot is silent, and Casby's long shot is unstable. Delfino is a veteran and has not made much contribution to offense. Asik encountered the monster Monroe in front today, and later he met the Russian tree and was quite unhappy.

At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks, who played away, led the Rockets by 32-28 slightly by 4 points.

The Rockets played well in the first quarter, but they lost in the final substitute period, which was completely beyond everyone's expectations.

Before, almost all experts thought that the Rockets' substitute was better, but now that the game has started playing, the Knicks' substitute is more stable.

The pair of black and white inside combinations of Thornton and Kirilenko, one inside and the other outside, has no choice but to play against the Rockets.

After the end, McHale immediately frowned. The Knicks' substitute's toughness was indeed beyond his expectations. This variable made the game more likely.

At the same time, Tiberdore accidentally opened a door. Tiberdore clearly saw the Rockets' weakness in defense.

The Rockets still lack people in the inside, and they are especially afraid of the opponent's high inside attack. This is a deadlock in the Rockets' personnel configuration.

So at this time, Tiberduo immediately decided to attract the Rockets' attention from the outside in the second quarter. Let Kirirenko be the main attacker and attack the Rockets' basket.

In order to implement his goal, Taberdog decided to let Li Feng appear early at the beginning of the second quarter and make a fuss while the iron is hot. It would be difficult to overturn the opponent if he missed this opportunity.

At the beginning of the second quarter, McHale also replaced Harden, and both teams replaced the main players early. Obviously, the atmosphere of confrontation is very strong. In the current fierce competition in the West, both teams do not dare to be careless.

Seeing that the second quarter was about to begin, Bill Walton said:

"The situation in the first quarter is very unfavorable to the Rockets. Their offense is not fully opened, and the defense cannot defend against the inside. It is very dangerous to play against the Rockets in this way. Now it is necessary to test McHale's defensive ability. If he cannot defend, he will lose in today's game."

"Yes! Only offense and no defense are not enough, especially for a team like the Knicks that have both offense and defense."

Reggie Miller obviously agrees with Bill Walton too.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Knicks played first. At this time, Li Feng came up and played a high pick-and-roll with Thornton. At this time, the Rockets players underestimated Thornton and double-teamed Li Feng together. Li Feng passed the basketball to Thornton behind.

Thornton took the ball and took a step forward, just widened the distance from Mortiunas, then took the ball and raised his hand and threw it away.

Thornton's shooting posture is not good-looking, it looks similar to Dali's passing, but this bad-looking shooting posture has an advantage, the shooting point is very low and the shooting is very fast, and Mortiunas can't catch up with Thornton's three-pointer and throw it out.

"brush!"

A three-pointer from Thornton hit the Rockets' basket steadily, and the Knicks' firepower was continued at the beginning, which made the Rockets stunned. Kevin Thornton's current steady performance made the Rockets dumbfounded.

The Knicks' strong performance, especially Thornton's strong performance, suddenly broke the balance expected by the court.

At this time, the Rockets began to feel the crisis. Douglas, a veteran of the long-tested battlefield, immediately smelled something wrong. He dribbled the ball to the Knicks' half again, and Douglas immediately made a demeanor to stabilize the situation.

But just as Dragic was relaxing a little, Douglas immediately came up and fought Dragic for a force.

Douglas is not the kind of amazing player. His speed is not very fast and his bounce is not very high. His only advantage is that he has acquired muscles and strong will. Therefore, Douglas' strong play is destined to not look good, and it will only appear a bit procrastinating. However, these do not mean that Douglas's singles are not threatening, especially when the opponent is slacking off.

At this time, Dragic was also lazy. Douglas immediately broke through and forced his shoulder to fight Dragic. Dragic immediately lost his position. Douglas seized such an opportunity and jumped up and threw a long-distance throw.

Douglas' singles moves are not good-looking, and they are not fancy, but the ball is solid.

Douglas immediately turned around and shouted:

"Strengthen the defense and give them pressure on the outside! Be sure to give them pressure on the outside."

When Douglas was yelling on the sideline, McHale on the sideline was also nodding repeatedly. At this time, the Rockets had difficulty in defending the inside. Strengthening the pressing on the outside is definitely a good way.

As the commander on the court, Douglas is undoubtedly qualified. McHale is convinced that with Douglas joining this season, they will go further.

Douglas can not only command his teammates, but also practice it. When the Knicks pounced on him again.

Douglas immediately took the lead in putting defensive pressure on Dragic, and Douglas led the Rockets' outside defense suddenly rushed out.

At this time, Dragic's weakness was reflected. Dragic is a double-easy defender, not a pure point guard. This way, his ability to hold the ball will definitely be slightly weaker.

Once an old ginger like Douglas saved, he immediately felt the pressure and could only pass the ball quickly to Li Feng. In this way, the pressure was completely on Li Feng.

The moment Li Feng took the ball, Douglas took a big step towards Li Feng, as if he wanted to double-team himself with Ma Chado, who came on the bench. In this way, Li Feng happened to pass the ball to Dragic, but as soon as Li Feng picked up the basketball, Douglas shrank back.

Li Feng took back the basketball, but saw that Machado had been put on his body, and Mortyunas was ready to assist in defense behind Jones.

Douglas's false pounce delayed Li Feng's offensive opportunity and formed a defensive trap against Li Feng.

At this time, it was more difficult for Li Feng to attack again. The Rockets had half of the defense after playing here.

Just when the Rockets were consciously defending successfully, Thornton suddenly pulled outside the three-point line.
To be continued...