Basketball starts with breathing

Chapter 261 The crippled lion 【Subscribe】

On September 9st, the match between the Chinese men’s basketball team and the American Dream Team 1 finally started. When the Chinese team members arrived, another Group C match had already ended.

Algeria lost to Germany 70-102.

That is to say, Group C has confirmed that China, the United States and Germany have qualified for the three teams.

As the whistle of the match between Algeria and Germany sounded, more and more fans began to pour into the arena. Most of them were local students and overseas Chinese. There were also many American fans in the arena. In an ordinary group game, fans actually packed the entire arena.

The interval between the two games was very short. After the on-site staff urgently cleaned up the traces left by the game in the arena, the Chinese team and the American team began to warm up.

In the interview area, Yao Ming's face appeared relaxed and confident when he was interviewed by CCTV reporter Yu Jia.

Yu Jia asked: "Seeing Dayao's expression, you should be very happy to know the news of qualifying?"

Yao Ming smiled and said, "Yes, of course I'm very happy to qualify, but I'm even happier to be able to play a game with the U.S. team and start the game without any pressure!"

"As the most powerful opponent in the AC group, have we made corresponding tactical arrangements?" Yu Jia then asked.

"Well... this is a secret. You can ask Wang Fei. He is the head coach. The tactics leaked by the head coach must be fake tactics."

"Haha, Dayao is really humorous. Last question, do you have the confidence to enter the quarterfinals?"

"Of course." Yao Ming raised his chin, "Have you seen my beard? I told my teammates that I won't shave my beard if I don't make it to the quarter-finals!"

Yu Jia was infected by his strong self-confidence and couldn't help applauding him, although his reason told him that the Chinese men's basketball game would be hard enough to win the United States. After all, the American Dream Team has always been the No. [-] team in the world. .

Although the Dream Team has lost its invincible halo since the Sydney Olympics, their strength should not be underestimated.

But as a Chinese, Yu Jia believes that what the Chinese team needs at this time is encouragement, not preaching to tell them to recognize the reality.

"I look forward to your performance, I look forward to the performance of the Chinese men's basketball team, and I hope to see your clean chin at the closing ceremony of the World Championships. Chinese basketball fans stand behind you and cheer for you!"

Yao Ming nodded and said seriously: "Thank you! Definitely!"

Yao Ming did not reveal that, in fact, the team's goal is not the quarter-finals at all, but the final championship.

Yu Jia originally planned to interview Lu Yu, but Lu Yu refused the interview.

Lu Yu just said lightly: "You won the game, come and interview me again..."

He knows the strength of this American team better than anyone, so he is more reluctant to be distracted before the game, although this dream team has been called the worst dream team in history.

The head coach is the Nuggets coach, George Karl.

Unlike in 2000, many top NBA players refused to play for their country, so USA Basketball had to choose to play mainly second-tier players.

But even such a crippled lion is still a lion...

Yu Jia ran from one end of the interview area to the other end to interview Wang Fei, but Wang Fei just told him that if he wanted to interview, please come to the interview area after the game, and at this time he was going to enter the court.

There was no relaxed expression on Wang Fei's face at all.

Only he knows what kind of pressure he will face after this fight.

Sun Yiping sat down early in the live broadcast room.

"CCTV……"

"CCTV……"

"Good evening, everyone. I'm in the United States now broadcasting the match between the Chinese men's basketball team in Group C of the men's basketball group stage of the World Basketball Championship against the American men's basketball team."

"Actually, it's already 7 o'clock in the evening here in the United States, but I know that our time in China is just in the morning. Everyone is standing in front of the TV to support our Chinese men's basketball team. Yao Ming will challenge Ben Wallace's defense. This will be the first time Yao Ming has faced a top NBA defensive player... Today the Chinese team wears white jerseys and the US team wears black jerseys, and from what I can see, the number of Chinese fans at the scene is half the number of American fans."

After all, in addition to domestic fans, there are also many Chinese Americans who came to support.

He cleared his throat and continued: "The Chinese team has 4 NBA players. This is the golden age of the Chinese men's basketball team. The players of the American men's basketball team are not all NBA players, such as Nick Collison, who is a player from the University of Kansas. , like our Chinese men's basketball team's Yi Jianlian, belongs to the NCAA professional league."

"The game is about to start. We see that the starting lineup of the Chinese team is center Yao Ming, power forward Wang Zhizhi, small forward Li Nan, shooting guard Lu Yu, and point guard Liu Wei."

"This is slightly different from what the media predicted before the game. No one expected that Coach Wang Fei would mention Li Nan to the starting position. You must know that the starting small forward was always Hu Weidong, but Lu Yu's position has not changed, and the point guard is still the same. It's Liu Wei."

"The arrangement of the men's basketball coach Wang Fei is beyond everyone's expectations, but the adjustment is not big on the whole."

Fans of the Chinese team chanted the names of Yao Ming and Lu Yu off the court. The game had just started, and the atmosphere in the arena was already warm.

"The coach didn't let me start because he was afraid that I would destroy the United States in minutes..." Zhu Fangyu said while sitting off the court.

In fact, he still really wanted to be able to start the game, but he knew that he was a little worse than Li Nan in terms of handling the ball, just like Yi Jianlian next to him. In terms of physical talent, the two of them are definitely no worse than the old players of the team. , that is, the competition experience is relatively small.

Yi Jianlian sat on the stool calmly, and he was always ready to play.

Although his playing opportunities are much smaller than Zhu Fangyu.

Zhu Fangyu's small forward position is actually not very competitive. The only three small forwards that the team can play are Zhu Fangyu, Li Nan and Hu Weidong. Hu Weidong is still old and his physical strength is a problem.

The current national team competition between power forwards and centers is too fierce. Yao Ming, Bartell, Wang Zhizhi, Gong Xiaobin, Liu Yudong... Even Bartell is a substitute, so he knows that his playing time will not be too much.

Thinking of this, he envied Lu Yu on the court even more.

At this time, Lu Yu seems to have become one of the leaders of this Chinese men's basketball team.

The referee threw the ball into the air and both sides jumped the ball.

Yao Ming picked the ball with his fingertips when the ball reached the highest point, Ben Wallace was only a little short, and it is useful to know the height.

Yao Ming easily allocated the ball to Liu Wei.

Yao Ming may struggle a little bit with the jumping men in the NBA in the future, but Ben Wallace obviously didn't take him to heart. As a result, Yao Ming jumped to the ball.

Liu Wei took the ball quickly through the half, and encountered an interception from the opposite side at the midline.

Standing in front of him is this year's NBA's 'assist king' - Andre Miller.

Andre Miller.

Height: 188 cm.

Weight: 91 kg.

Features: Can play in low post, with flexible footsteps; not fast but able to organize fast breaks.

In the 2000-01 season, Andre Miller played in 82 games, all starting, averaging 15.8 points, 8 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.45 steals per game.He ranks sixth in the league in assists per game and first in the East.

In the 2001-02 season, Andre Miller started all 81 games, averaging 16.5 points, 10.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.56 steals per game.Both average assists and total assists ranked first in the league, becoming the league's assist king, ranking second in the league with 3 triple-doubles, and fifth in the league with 43 double-doubles.

If Reggie Miller is the spiritual leader of the Dream Five, Andre Miller is the brain of the team.

But no one knows that his greatest strength is not his passing, but his defense. Liu Wei is struggling with his defense. Yao Ming.

Wang Fei frowned off the field, obviously the team underestimated the opponent's defensive pressure.

Fortunately, after Yao Ming caught the ball, he handed it over to Liu Wei. Yao Ming's attacking point was not at the three-point line. The reason why he brought it up was because he was too familiar with Liu Wei. It can be seen that Liu Wei is facing the defensive pressure.

This wave of response relieved Liu Wei's pressure. Liu Wei held the ball and did not rush into luck, but observed the situation on the court.

He didn't expect that Andre Miller, who was defending him, would go straight to the intensity, which was a bit of a surprise to him.

Just looking at it, Liu Wei understood the opponent's intention. The opponent just pressed him after halftime and disrupted the rhythm of the attack. After the team settled down, the United States had changed to a 2-3 defense formation at this time. .

Team USA also plays 2-3 zone defense?

George Karl, the head coach of Dream Five, was also very helpless. After playing a few games, he found that one-on-one did not have a particularly big advantage, so he simply learned to play zone defense with European teams.

Anyway, the NBA did not play less zone defense last year.

Liu Wei couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If he had noticed the opponent's intention for the first time, and found the ball directly to the shooter, it would have been a gap.

It's just that it's too late now, and we can only look for opportunities again.

"We can see that the U.S. team has a 2-3 defense formation... Let's take a look at the starting lineup of the U.S. team." At this time, the list of starters from both sides was displayed on the big screen. The Chinese team's starter Sun Sun Yiping has already introduced it before, and he only needs to introduce the roster of the US team.

"U.S. starters: Ben Wallace at center, O'Neal Jr. at power forward, Paul Pierce at small forward, Reggie Miller at shooting guard, Andre Miller at point guard."

"Comparing the lineups of the two sides, the Chinese team seems to be slightly inferior in strength. The Chinese team has a two-tower combination of Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi on the inside. Ben Wallace and O'Neal play one offense and one defense. I wonder if the combination of Yao and Wang can carry it. Wait, I finally know why coach Wang Fei replaced Li Nan, because the small forward position is the strongest point of the US team, Paul Pierce, maybe he wants to hope that Li Nan, who has a better defense, can slightly limit the opponent, and the shooting guard lands Yu is stronger than Reggie Miller, which has been proved by Lu Yu in the NBA, and Liu Wei's opponent is Andre Miller...Liu Wei passed the ball, and Li Nan directly passed the ball The ball was passed to Wang Zhizhi, Wang Zhizhi stood in the high position and lobbed the ball to Yao Ming without stopping, Yao Ming scored and the Chinese team took the lead!"

The Chinese fans in the audience immediately became excited, and they gave warm applause to this attack, hoping that the Chinese team can continue to play such a wonderful performance.

When Wang Zhizhi mentioned the position of the free throw line, the two guards did not dare to shrink. Only O'Neal in the middle area filled it up. Once O'Neal came out, he left enough room for Yao Ming to play inside.

The camera was aimed at Lu Yu at this time. This wave of offensive basketball passed the hands of the four players, but did not reach Lu Yu at all.

What is Lu Yu doing?

He is running!

When Liu Wei received the ball and passed it to Li Nan, he directly cut into the American team's defensive area from a 45-degree angle, forcing the American team to shrink their defense. With the three-point ability, the US team's defensive area can only continue to expand, so that Yao Ming can just score the ball steadily.

Lu Yu under the camera was very calm, he just interspersed and ran according to Wang Fei's request, this time Yao Ming had a chance to fight Yao Ming, next time if the opponent tightens up, he should do it.

Wang Fei nodded with satisfaction. As for the understanding of the team's tactics, no one in the Chinese team could be left behind by Lu Yu.

The most important thing is that every time Lu Yu runs, he can pinpoint the time node very accurately.

The head coach of the U.S. team, George Carr, was stunned. The layman watched the excitement, and the expert watched the doorway. Only those who really knew basketball would understand how deadly an excellent empty-handed movement was to the regional defense.

It's not just the shot that breaks the zone...

"O'Neal of the US team asked for the ball at the basket." Sun Yiping shouted: "Andre Miller easily hit the ball to O'Neal's hands, and then he slipped past O'Neal and crossed the baseline , opened up space for O'Neal... O'Neal turned around and swayed, Wang Zhizhi didn't catch his fake move, he turned back... Be careful, it's Andre Miller's air cut!"

Just when everyone thought that Jr. O'Neal would pass the ball to Pierce on the outside if he couldn't make it, he was referring to the east and west, and a sharp pass passed the basketball to Andre Miller.

Andre Miller throws up!
hit!

Lu Yu chased behind Andre Miller, helplessly watching the ball fall into the basket.

"Blame me!"

He took the initiative to signal that he didn't defend the ball well. Yao Ming actually wanted to make it up when he was blocked, but Lu Yu shouted, "Don't change it!"

That is to say, Lu Yu did not ask to switch the defense, but bypassed the defense and chased behind Andre Miller. He was worried that Yao Ming's defense of Andre Miller would suffer after the change.

To win this game, Wang Zhizhi and Yao Ming have a much bigger role than him, so ensuring Yao Ming's physical strength is the most important thing.

The two sides tied at 2:2.

Liu Wei played halfway through the game. This time he learned how to be smart. He didn’t need extra moves. He directly passed the ball to Li Nan who had run out of space. Li Nan had just reached a 45-degree angle when his ball arrived. Li Nan shot a three-pointer and the ball smashed. Missed at the rim.

……

"O'Neal Jr. beat Yao Ming again, and the strength of the two was half a catty. He was forced to carry it inside again, and the other tried to squeeze Yao Ming out of the shooting block... The other was squeezed away, but his elbow had a swing. The action. The referee's whistle blew, and O'Neal Jr. blew an offensive foul. Yao Ming's defense was really good!"

……

Yao Ming hits a hook at the basket.

……

O'Neal Jr. immediately returned one.

……

"Yao Ming has played very well during this period, and the team's defense is also doing a good job, but the shooting percentage of other players in the Chinese team, especially the perimeter players, is not high, but the US team has already hit the first three of the game. If there is no pressure on the outside, the opponent will recklessly shrink the defense... Lu Yu! It is Lu Yu who has stood up!"

Before he finished speaking, Lu Yu, who understood the situation better than him on the court, was ready to take action. Lu Yu shouted to Liu Wei just after halftime:
"Give me the ball!"

Andre Miller narrowed his eyes, he knew that the most difficult perimeter player of the Chinese team finally showed his fangs at this time!

He took a step forward, out of his defensive zone.

The teammates behind him immediately understood, and the US team's defensive formation was instantly adjusted to man-to-man defense.

The head coach of the US team, George Carr, had already arranged that if man-to-man, it would not be Reggie Miller who would defend Lu Yu. Reggie Miller was too old to keep up with Lu Yu, so Lu Yu would be guarded by Reggie Miller. , Andre Miller.

Wang Fei stood up nervously. He knew that this attack was very important, because Andre Miller wanted to personally stifle Lu Yu's attack!

　Thank you to the author for your reward for not updating!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)