Rockets fans in China were quite optimistic this season. After all, they narrowly lost to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, and with some adjustments this season, they believed they could still compete in the Playoffs once Yao Ming or McGrady returned from injury.
Furthermore, Iron Ariza had been playing quite well. With his 203cm height and lean physique, fans saw him as the perfect swingman for the Rockets!
Fans thought they might not be able to beat strong teams, but they generally had high hopes against the Thunder. However, as soon as the first quarter ended, most fans were completely deflated.
"Is this all Ariza is capable of? Who hyped him up before? Said he was comparable to McGrady? He was defended to 0-for-6 by a rookie, Kayce!"
"I said it a long time ago, Ariza is just a role player. Look at his clumsy dribbling, Kayce is even better than him."
"We still need to be patient. Maybe he's just having an off night, and he'll adjust later."
"Don't defend him anymore! Kayce didn't suffer much even against Kobe, at least he didn't turn the ball over. If it were someone like Ariza, Kobe would have completely dominated him. Kayce is much stronger than Ariza."
"Sigh, when will McGrady's injury heal? I feel like the Western Conference is even tougher this season. The Thunder are on the rise! Kayce's playing style is really good to watch."
"If Yao Ming doesn't return this season, I'll watch the Thunder and the Nets. Yi Jianlian's form is also improving."
"Let's see Ariza's adjustments. If he keeps bricking shots, then I'm done with him. I really didn't expect him to be defended like this by a rookie."
Rockets fans on Hupu (a Chinese sports forum) started a heated discussion after the first quarter. Players are always afraid of comparisons, and with this comparison, Kayce was incredibly strong! Iron Ariza, on the other hand, looked like a rookie.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 30-24, with the Thunder leading by 6 points. Karl Landry and Chase Budinger came off the bench for the Rockets and scored frequently, which helped stabilize the situation.
As the second quarter was about to begin, Head Coach Brooks instructed Kayce:
"Kayce, increase your aggressiveness when you get on the court, and also seize opportunities for transition offense."
"I understand, Coach."
Kayce immediately nodded. He only took one shot in the first quarter, focusing primarily on defense and connecting the team. With 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, a double-double today seemed very likely.
The Thunder's bench lineup still featured Kayce and Thabo Sefolosha in the backcourt, Thomas, Nick Collison, and Serge Ibaka on the front line.
The Rockets' backcourt consisted of Kyle Lowry and Chase Budinger, with Shane Battier and Karl Landry on the front line, and David Anderson at center.
It was clear that Adelman and his Coach Ben had studied the Thunder's bench lineup. Bringing on Battier and a big center was specifically to limit Kayce and protect the defensive rebounds.
The Rockets' ball movement was very quick at the start of the second quarter. After a pick-and-roll between Lowry and Landry, the latter took a mid-range jump shot from near the free-throw line.
"Swish!" It went in cleanly.
Kayce glanced at Lowry. This little 'steel cannon' was indeed good at pick-and-rolls, with excellent timing for passes and very patient offensive organization.
Kayce slowly dribbled the ball past half-court and noticed that Battier, who was defending him, came up very aggressively, but also maintained a certain distance to prevent Kayce's breakthrough. It seemed the opponent had studied him.
Kayce signaled Thabo Sefolosha to come get the ball and then posted up in the low block using Collison's screen. As soon as Kayce received the ball, Battier quickly closed in.
After a Triple Threat, he quickly put the ball down, accelerated with a right-hand dribble, and the badge bonuses from Triple Threat Veteran and First Step Master allowed Kayce to get half a step ahead.
Then he directly backed down twice, quickly gathered the ball, and executed a convincing shoulder fake, which made Battier hesitate for a moment. Seizing this opportunity, he turned around and took a fadeaway.
"Swish!" The mid-range fadeaway went in smoothly.
"Beautiful fake! Kayce's fadeaway is so beautiful, it's reminiscent of Kobe playing against Battier in the Los Angeles Lakers Playoffs!"
In the Sina broadcast studio, Ke Xiaofan excitedly shouted.
Kayce looked calm and composed after the basket. In fact, he wasn't entirely satisfied with this offensive play. His two back-downs didn't really move Battier's defense much, which prevented him from getting into his preferred shooting zone.
"I still need to work on my strength. Battier's defense is indeed tough to play against," Kayce thought to himself as he ran back on defense.
Currently, the Rockets' offense was initiated by Lowry. So, Kayce went all out, defending him intensely, using his height and wingspan advantage to constantly bother Lowry.
The upgraded Defensive Expert badge had a very good effect. Kayce attempted to steal the ball twice, almost succeeding, which made Lowry very uncomfortable.
Additionally, the other players' ball-handling abilities weren't very high, and the Thunder's defensive rotations were quick, so no really good opportunities emerged.
Finally, the Rockets' possession ended with Budinger taking a contested three-pointer.
"Clang!" It was a hard brick, and the long rebound bounced out. Kayce, with quick eyes and hands, immediately secured it, then quickly accelerated with the dribble, pushing a transition offense.
The bonus effect of the Conversion Master badge became apparent. Kayce's ball-handling speed indeed increased a bit, but Budinger's defensive recovery speed was also not slow, only a small step behind.
Feeling someone chasing from behind, Kayce didn't stop the ball, continued to accelerate, and directly took off. Budinger behind him wanted to attempt a chase-down block.
But Kayce paused in mid-air, and with excellent core strength, executed a reverse layup. This not only evaded the block but also drew contact.
"Squeak!"
"Bang! Swish!" The bank shot went in, and the referee's whistle blew.
"Oh, what a great play! That core strength shows Kayce's excellent athleticism. This is the difference between a third overall pick and a second-round pick!"
Coach Ma, seeing Kayce's reverse layup, couldn't help but start praising him directly.
Budinger was from the same draft class as Kayce, but he was a second-round pick. The physical difference between the two was still significant.
On the Thunder's bench, Russell was wildly waving his towel. He loved watching these contested layups and powerful dunk breakthroughs after contact, making him almost dance on the spot.
Kayce first high-fived his teammates, then stood at the free-throw line, took a deep breath, and calmly sank the free throw.
After the free throw, Kayce immediately stood in the opponent's half, waiting for the inbound pass. He was now going to full-court press Lowry, a defense that made the Rockets' offense increasingly stagnant.
"Squeak!" The referee called a defensive foul on Kayce.
Kayce also raised his hand, signaling it was his fault. Lowry did a good job protecting the ball, and Kayce hadn't been able to steal it successfully.
Seeing that the shot clock was running out again, Lowry, out of desperation, took a floater over Kayce's defense, but it was mercilessly blocked by a helping Serge Ibaka.
"Slap!"
The ball was swatted directly out of bounds, with only 2 seconds left on the shot clock.
The Rockets inbounded the ball from the baseline, quickly throwing it towards the rim, but it was an airball. The Thunder successfully defended them for a 24-second violation.
"Great defense, Serge!" Kayce loudly praised Ibaka, who had inbounded the ball.
Ibaka had received many opportunities this season due to Kayce's presence. Plus, Kayce's Spanish was good, allowing for seamless communication, and Ibaka gradually integrated into the team.
Kayce quickly dribbled past half-court. Ibaka came up to set a fake screen, and Kayce executed a wide behind-the-back dribble, then accelerated directly with the ball in his right hand. Battier constantly made body contact with Kayce, trying to force a turnover.
Budinger, seeing Kayce driving to the paint, also wanted to come interfere. But as soon as he moved his foot, Kayce flicked his wrist, and the ball flew directly to Thabo Sefolosha on the perimeter.
The latter caught the ball and immediately took a jump shot from beyond the three-point line.
"Swish!" It went in easily. Budinger was out of position defensively and was a step slow in closing out.
Thabo Sefolosha came up and high-fived Kayce. He liked this about Kayce: he would definitely pass to you if there was an opportunity, never being greedy with the ball.
After that shot went in, the lead was stretched again. Kayce saw Battier constantly talking to Budinger, indicating that the veteran was very dissatisfied with the defense on that play.
For the rest of the time, the Rockets' offense became completely constipated. Lowry was severely bothered by Kayce's defense. Without an offensive organizer and without an absolute strong point, their offense was disjointed.
The Thunder, on the other hand, were getting creative with their screens. Whether it was continuous handoffs or fake screens followed by rolls, Kayce constantly manipulated the Rockets' defense.
This time, Ibaka, after a pick-and-roll, rolled directly to the basket. Landry over-committed on the hedge defense, and as a result, Kayce delivered a high-lob pass, and Ibaka took off for a dunk.
"Slam!" A two-handed alley-oop dunk was made.
"Boo!" The home crowd at Toyota Center booed, clearly frustrated with the game.
More than 6 minutes into the second quarter, the Thunder went on a 16-6 run. Adelman's timeouts couldn't stop the score from being completely pulled away.
Kayce had already dished out 5 assists in the second quarter, bringing his total assists for the game to double digits, and he had no turnovers.
Seeing the lead grow to 16 points, Adelman called another timeout. At this pace, the game would be a blowout, because the Rockets couldn't contain Kayce.
Coach Brooks almost laughed out loud. He didn't expect his opponent to collapse before he even exerted full effort. The more he looked at Kayce, the more he liked him.
"Kayce, maintain the offensive rhythm. You're playing very well right now, and everyone must pay attention to protecting the rebounds!"
In the Sina broadcast studio in China, Ke Xiaofan was also a bit troubled by the game situation. If it became a blowout, would Kayce still get to play?
"Coach Ma, the Rockets are trailing by a large margin now. Can you offer some advice to the Rockets on how they should play the rest of the game?"
Ke Xiaofan knew the Rockets had many fans, so he quickly tried to reassure them, so they wouldn't just turn off their computers if the game became a blowout.
"The main reason in the second quarter was that they couldn't contain Kayce, allowing him to get all his teammates involved. Battier defended very well, but Kayce played too smartly!"
"He didn't resort to a lot of one-on-one isolations but instead constantly used handoffs and screens from his teammates to shake off his defenders. Budinger and Lowry both have defensive issues."
"Kayce exploited these two points to constantly attack. The Thunder played a balanced inside-out game. For the Rockets to catch up, they first need to play defense. Ariza should be on the court; getting the starters back might still give them a chance to compete."
Coach Ma almost directly said that Kayce had completely dominated the Rockets and there was no saving the rest of the game, but he also had to consider the feelings of the fans.
After the timeout, the Thunder's lineup remained unchanged, while the Rockets brought back all their starters. Seeing this, Kayce gave Thabo Sefolosha a signal, indicating he would guard Iron Ariza.
On the offensive possession, Iron Ariza didn't try to force anything and passed the ball directly to Luis Scola in the low post. The latter executed a spin move in the paint and scored.
After Kayce dribbled past half-court, he found that Iron Ariza was now his primary defender, with Battier also keeping an eye on him. Seeing this, Kayce inwardly complained:
"I'm still a rookie…"
However, Kayce thought for a moment, then gave his teammates an offensive signal. Thabo Sefolosha came over to receive the ball, and Kayce, after an off-ball screen, started to post up in the low block again.
Ariza watched Kayce in front of him with intense focus. He didn't want to be a background character again.
After Kayce received the ball, he took a jab step. Seeing Ariza move back, he immediately pulled up for a jump shot.
"Swish!" The 2 points went in easily.
"Boo!"
The live audience immediately became displeased. They used to see shots like this often, with McGrady pulling up on opponents in the same way, but now the situation was reversed.
The live director also knew how to stir things up, even pointing the camera at McGrady, who was sitting on the bench in casual clothes.
At this moment, Ariza felt a chill in his heart. Is this a rookie? Can a rookie have this level of skill? He started to doubt his life.
In the next few minutes, Battier came over for a double-team, preventing Kayce from getting the ball to attack.
After another two minutes of play, the deficit still hadn't been reduced, so Coach Brooks took Kayce out of the game. The starters would get cold if they sat any longer.
"Kevin, don't go easy on them. Don't you dare say you can't defend them!" Kayce whispered to Durant before he entered the game.
"Of course, I guarantee he won't score on me!" Durant was also a bit mischievous; he loved to stir things up and said to Kayce with a wink.
Kayce patted his chest, indicating his gratitude, and sat on the bench. Looking at his stats, a bold idea suddenly sparked in his mind:
"9 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists… Is a triple-double calling my name? Ariza, I'm sorry, but I have to come out swinging in the second half."