no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 166: Eat, sleep and fight World of Warcraft

You may not believe it when you say it, but when Rose made the free throw, the Bulls already had a huge advantage tonight, and could even be said to be winning.

This is due to the [excellent] level of the Magic's management.

In the deal that brought back Turkoglu in December last year, in addition to sending Carter, they also sent a "little man" Marcin Gortat.

Gortat, nicknamed the "Polish Hammer", is 2 meters tall and can play both center and power forward positions. He is excellent in the pick-and-roll. Anyone who knows a little bit about basketball should have heard of the "Gortat pick-and-roll"; supplement He is quick on defense, but his lateral movement is surprisingly good for a big man; he has strong tactical execution and a tough style of play.

In the past few seasons, in limited opportunities, he has shown excellent inside strength and is Howard's most reliable substitute.

Therefore, many teams wanted to poach him to be the starting center. When his rookie contract expired in 2009, the Mavericks offered him a five-year, 5 million-dollar contract, but the Magic finally chose to match the offer. contract.

It stands to reason that if you just continue to be Howard's substitute, this contract should not be matched. Since it is matched, he should be reused. After all, in this era when the maximum salary is only 500 million, a team with an annual salary of 700 million Coming off the bench is quite a luxury.

As a result, Van Gundy really continued to use him as a substitute. This season, he would rather use Brandon Bass than start him.

You must know that Gortat is not a center. He is skilled and has stable mid-range shooting. In his first full season after leaving the Magic, he averaged a double-double of 15.4 points and 10 rebounds per game. .

As a result, Van Gundy was not used, which made Gortat's contract look like a premium contract. In the end, the magic control of the contract was matched and he chose to send him away.

Of course, if you don't open your eyes and Van Gundy doesn't want to use it, sending Gortat away is just as good as sending him away.

But the amazing thing is that they didn't make any reinforcements to the inside after sending him away!

The direct result of this is that among the Magic's 15-man roster, only Howard is a center.

Yes, you read that right, there is only one center in Howard, and the remaining two tallest players are the two power forwards, veteran Malik Allen, who is both 2 meters, and second-year player Earl Clark.

No one knows what the magician thinks. Perhaps as the fans said, they really regard Howard as "Superman".

The direct result of this is that after the trade, Howard's playing time was a career-high 38 minutes.

Although Howard averaged career peak data of 22.9 points, 14.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game throughout the season, the increase in data is actually more due to the increase in playing time. His personal strength has not improved, but has increased consumption in vain.

What's even more terrible is this indirect result. Because there is no substitute, once Howard suffers an injury or falls into a foul crisis, the Magic team does not have anyone who can step up and can only rely on Clark or Buss to step up to the center.

This is also the reason why the Magic replaced Ryan Anderson as a power forward at this time.

You can barely beat other teams, but against the Bulls, do you think Yao Ming can't play or O'Neal can't play?

This was a foreplay by both sides, they were full of energy, and they were ready to have a big fight, but just one minute passed, and the Magic team said they couldn't do it anymore.

In the end, the Magic surrendered in three quarters and lost to the Bulls 76-101.

In terms of statistics, Rose scored 28 points in three quarters, blowing Niers' pants off.

霍华德深陷犯规困扰，只打了21分钟，拿到8分6板2盖帽5犯规的数据。

The Magic's highest scorer was Turkoglu, but he only scored 18 points.

Before the game was over, social media had already exploded. Fans thought the Magic would lose, but they didn't expect it would be in this way and lose so completely.

"Dwight looks less like a 'Warcraft' and more like a 'giant baby'. Does he really not know how to control fouls?"

"How did he beat LeBron back then?" A comment from "My.King.LeBron".

"I don't know. I just remember that Howard averaged 5.3 fouls per game in pick-and-rolls. He left the game with six fouls in three of the six games. He was ejected in the two most critical games of G6 and G3. He really doesn't know how to control fouls. ” Comment from “KBfnas”.

"If I remember correctly, even then, Howard still scored 65 points and 25.8 rebounds with a 13% shooting rate. If he hadn't committed too many fouls, he should have scored 30+15. There is a high probability that the Cavaliers will be swept by the Gentlemen. "

"Tsk, Peak World of Warcraft bullies you, Young Zhan? How can Magic still win with such bragging?" Comment from "I want to bring my talent to the South Coast" (reputation -100).

"Don't you know how strong the Magic's lineup was that year? Lewis and Turkoglu were both All-Star teammates. On the other hand, the Cavaliers were LeBron's single-core team. He averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8 points per game that year. Assists, what more do you want from him?" A comment from "Bronny's Future Superstar".

"Oh, if you didn't mention it, I almost forgot. He averaged 15.7 free throws per game, more than Howard. Then he must have destroyed the Magic's inside line. No wonder Howard committed so many fouls. It turned out that he couldn't guard LeBron and had to rely on Foul to stop it." Comment from "I want to bring my talent to the South Coast" (reputation-999).

"I think the Magic management has a bigger problem. They didn't even find a substitute for Howard." Comment from "My.King.LeBron".

"Yes, it is not surprising at all for the management to ask O'Neal if O'Neal is worth a [-] million contract, and then let McGrady accompany Hill to recuperate during his peak period." Comment from "Bronny Future Superstar" .

"Changes the subject pretty quickly." Comment from "I'm taking my talent to the South Coast." (This user has been reported)
……

"I think this is not our true level. I will solve my foul problem in the next game. 'Superman' will be back." At the post-game press conference, although he lost G1, Howard was still the sunshine Boy, full of confidence.

This also allows the outside world to continue to pay attention to this series. After all, what Howard said is right.

However, this attention was attracted by another game the next day.

On the second day, the other two groups in the conference semifinals also competed one after another.

The Heat defeated the Celtics 93-88 for their first victory.

There wasn't much to say about this game. Although James performed averagely and only scored 19 points on 7 of 20 shots, Wade couldn't hold off Wade and scored 21 points on 14 of 38 shots. He almost won the game by himself.

What really attracted fans' attention was the game between the Lakers and the Mavericks. In this series, which was considered the least suspenseful, the Mavericks won 96-94.

科比29投14中，三分球9中4爆砍36分，但是架不住湖人内线被诺维茨基一人打爆。

Nowitzki scored 22 points on 11-of-28 shooting and took the game away with free throws at the last minute.

In fact, two minutes into the third quarter, the Lakers' lead even reached 2 points, but in the end they failed to win the game.

Some fans are beginning to feel that the Mavericks are undervalued, but more people still think like Comey on social media.

"G1 was just an accident. The Lakers will still win the series 4-1."

……

The Bulls are preparing for the G2 game.

After training, Xu Yong was resting on the sidelines, and O'Neal walked towards him with a smile.

"When will I be able to eat the pancakes you mentioned?" O'Neal said and wiped the corners of his mouth subconsciously.

Xu Yong's description to him before made him very fascinated, but the last time Xu Yong mentioned it was before the playoffs, and now he has played more than one round in the playoffs and still hasn't caught it.

Xu Yong was stunned for a moment when he heard it. He didn't expect that O'Neill was still thinking about this thing. He would have almost forgotten it if O'Neill didn't say it.

"After we finish the series with the Magic, I will cook it for you personally." Xu Yong replied with a smile.

He may not be very good at cooking, but he is still very good at doing this.

"Then we have to hurry up." O'Neill said seriously.

Nothing can stop him from eating good food, not training, not the series.

Xu Yong couldn't help but become happy when he saw this. O'Neal's funny character was really endearing.

"The next game will not be as easy as before." Xu Yong reminded.After all, the Magic are a mature team. If Howard plays normally, the Magic can definitely bring more difficulties to the Bulls than numbers.

"As for Dwight, I'm not saying that, but I can still control him right now." O'Neal said with disdain.

Xu Yong nodded. Although Howard was not as defeated as Yao Ming against O'Neal, he was indeed very limited.

Because O'Neal is one size bigger than Howard in terms of size, it is difficult for Howard to explode from the front.

"How can he be called 'Superman' if he looks like that? Has he achieved anything? Champion of the slam dunk contest?" O'Neal was thinking casually.

Xu Yong couldn't help laughing after hearing this.

A trivia fact, in fact, in addition to the nickname of Big Shark, O'Neal also has a nickname, yes, it is Superman.

So when Howard stole the title in the dunk contest, O'Neal has always been upset.

In addition, the media always likes to compare Howard with him, which makes him even more unhappy.

For a historical center like O'Neal, he thinks highly of Yao Ming because of his strength and skills, but Howard is still a rough guy after playing for so many years, so how could he catch his eye.

To put it bluntly, what this kind of super giant with status and strength despise most is the kind of players who are obviously very poor in skills, but are praised by the media.

But O'Neal has this idea, which shows that he also wants to beat Howard with all his strength.

In G1, because of Howard's foul crisis, he didn't even have a chance to face off against Howard.

"What are you talking about?"

At this moment, Yao Ming saw the two chatting and came over and sat on the other side of Xu Yong.

Xu Yong looked at O'Neal, then turned to look at Yao Ming, and said with a smile: "We are talking about how to beat Howard."

Yao Ming laughed subconsciously after hearing this.

……

The next day, Game [-] of the series between the Bulls and Magic continued at the United Center.

A lot of media came to this game. Howard's confident remarks after the last game earned enough attention, so during the warm-up before the game, the camera kept showing this "Superman".

Howard also still has his signature smile.

Needless to say, Howard's mentality is really good, and he can smile so brightly no matter what situation he encounters.

The warm-up ended quickly and the scene entered the opening ceremony. The starting lineups of the two teams were announced one after another.

The Bulls continue to use a lineup with one large and four small players, and the Magic continue to use Nelson as the starter. Neither side has made any adjustments to the starting lineup.

For the Bulls, there is no need to adjust when they have an advantage. For the Magic, the lineup created by Van Gundy this season is also excellent. If Nelson is not used, they can only use Arenas. .

"Agent 0" is 28 years old this year and still has three years of a maximum-salary contract with a salary higher than Howard's. Due to injuries, he can't even compete with Nelson.

Without ten years of cerebral hemorrhage, this kind of lineup would never have been created.

Then in fact, if you are smart, you should have discovered another problem, that is, this Magic team does not even have an elite-level perimeter defender.

Keith Bogans, DeShawn Stevenson, Trevor Ariza, Courtney Lee, Michael Pietrus, these defensive heroes in the Howard era are really good players now. Not a single one is left.

Such a magic pipe is not suitable without adding drumsticks. Of course, the Bulls will add it.

Therefore, Van Gundy is somewhat of a clever woman this season, trying to make ends meet.

The game started soon, and Howard was really high-spirited. He jumped like a rocket at the beginning and pushed the ball back to the half court, officially kicking off G2.

But excitement is excitement, Howard hasn't gone up to beat Yao Ming in the low post.

He still played pick-and-roll with Turkoglu honestly, and then cut to the basket.

This time, he was wary of Battier's foul. After stopping the ball, he squeezed past Battier, then jumped up and smashed the ball toward the basket with both hands.

"boom!"

But as soon as the ball was pulled up, it was swatted away from behind.

Howard dunked an empty basket.

The basketball hit the backboard and bounced into Yao Ming's hands.

He gave Howard a familiar greeting gift at the beginning.

And after getting the rebound, Yao Ming turned around and threw the ball out.

After receiving the ball, Rose and Xu Yong quickly went down the line, two on one in the frontcourt.

After reaching the frontcourt on a fast break, he saw the right moment and threw the ball directly into the air.

Xu Yong was led by the ball into the air, grabbed the ball in the air and slammed the ball into the basket.

The United Center exploded instantly.

They don't know if "Superman" will come back, but the team blocked shots and made alley-oops in the opening game, which was very exciting.

The Magic team continued to play pick-and-rolls in the frontcourt. This time Yao Ming shrank to the basket, and Turkoglu chose to stop mid-range.

However, Battier's shot successfully covered up the defense and caused interference, and his shot failed to score.

Yao Ming protected the defensive rebound, and the Bulls failed to find a chance to counterattack and moved into position.

The Bulls' style of play did not change much from G1. Rose continued to break through Nelson with the ball.

Nelson imitated Fisher and lifted up his trousers, but he couldn't keep up with Rose's speed, so he turned into a wooden pile.

Rose drove inside and jumped for a layup.

Howard came out to help defend at this time. Rose's ball lost the angle. After adjusting in the air, he pushed the ball towards Yao Ming behind Howard.

Howard's goal showed his dpoy strength. After realizing that Rose was about to pass the ball, he turned around and defended in front of Yao Ming.

"Shh!"

Although, this didn't work for Embiid.

After receiving the ball, Yao Ming hit Howard's light hook steadily, helping the Bulls score another goal.

　感谢壹个人挺好的5000打赏！感谢凨吟和白月贤的1500打赏！感谢太扯的1000打赏！感谢星想事成5922、燕云节度使、火炎焱燚K、希望在西边、cowsing721、天帝哒哒子哒哒哒、嚣张T_T、秦塚、YC沉猫、墨染瑾年子夜、不懂我就别瞎说、筱柒的打赏，感谢大佬们的支持~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)