The Golden Age of Basketball

"Good evening, everyone. Today is Tuesday, May 5th. Welcome to the nb commentary program brought to you by Bill Seanley. Please use to access this site. Tonight at the Memorial Stadium, the Portland Trail Blazers will play against the Denver Diggers. The Kings play Game 7. In the previous four games, the Trail Blazers and the Nuggets ended in a 2-2 tie, a surprising but not-so-surprising result. The Blazers scored two straight at home , played at home in Denver but lost two games in a row. Now that both sides are back on the same starting line, the fifth game will be an extremely critical game. If anyone can win this game, the initiative of the series will be It is in whose hands. Fortunately, this crucial game is played in Portland, let us wish the Blazers good luck, and the game will start soon."

On the night of May 5, Seanley sat behind the Trail Blazers bench as usual to explain the key game between the Trail Blazers and the Nuggets tonight.

As Seanley said, the Trail Blazers and Nuggets drew 2:2, which is a surprising but not so surprising result.

Judging from the matchups in the regular season, the Trail Blazers did not have an advantage when facing the Nuggets. Instead, they fell behind 1:3. The only game they won was a game that was scheduled to be played at the end of the season.

The Blazers won two games in a row in the first two games. In the first game, it was Ramsey's reasonable tactics and the team's strong morale at home, so they won the game at risk.

In the second game, the Blazers worked hard and made another victory when the Nuggets were exhausted.

But in the subsequent game in Denver, the Blazers players were obviously insufficiently prepared. In addition, the Nuggets' own strength was close to that of the Blazers, and their style of play was relatively restrained.

Therefore, it is both surprising and reasonable for the Blazers to be pulled two games after leading 2:0-this team is still too immature.

After the entrance ceremony and the singing of the national anthem, there are only a few minutes left before the start of the game. The starting players of both sides are making final preparations on the sidelines, and the coach is also telling the players some important details. [

At this point in the game, there are no tactical secrets to speak of, and what is more important is the details and fighting spirit.

"It feels so good to be back at home." Kenny Karl said to Gan Guoyang before playing.

The entire memorial stadium, like any previous game, was filled with spectators early on. They used noise and noise to create the best playing atmosphere for the Blazers. After all, this is the only professional team in Portland and is The greatest pride and sustenance of sports fans.

"Yeah, but I always feel that it is different from the first game." But Gan Guoyang felt that the feeling when he returned to the home court after a trip in Denver was completely different.

"The game is about to start. The two centers are standing in the middle circle and ready to jump the ball. Tonight the referee is Earl Strom and Hugh Hollins. Okay, the game starts, the referee throws the ball into the air!"

As the old referee Earl Strom threw the ball into the air, this crucial battle of Tianwangshan officially kicked off.

Gan Guoyang touched the ball first in the jump ball and passed the ball to Valentine. The first quarter started with the Blazers' offense.

At the preparation meeting before the game, Ramsey put forward two most important requirements, one is to reduce turnovers, and the other is to increase the attack on the inside.

Judging from the first four games, the first two games against the Nuggets had a good effect, because the Nuggets made a lot of mistakes in the high-paced game, and the Blazers' offensive efficiency was also higher than that of the Nuggets. high.

But in the last two games, the Nuggets began to bring the game into a faster rhythm, and took great care in the rotation of inside players, trying to make Gan Guoyang, the Blazers inside pillar, as uncomfortable as possible.

After all, Gan Guoyang still lacks experience in the playoffs, and his adjustment and coping skills are obviously insufficient. This also led to his insufficient contribution to the team in the two games that the Blazers lost.

And as soon as this game started, Gan Guoyang began to actively seek positions in the low post, just as he did in the first game.

"Gambly wants the ball in the low post, and the first offense of the Blazers will be played in the paint. I think this is the right choice. In the two games in Denver, Gan didn't pose much threat to the Nuggets in the paint. , which is very puzzling.”

But he may soon understand why Gan Guoyang's contribution in the interior is very limited when he is playing in Denver.

Valentine just dropped the ball to Gan Guoyang, and Leaf immediately stepped forward to double-team. [

Leaf's double-teaming can be said to be very fast, and this is due to his good positioning. When he defended Valentine, he did not stare at Valentine, but stood on the side of Gan Guoyang and Valentine. between.

At the same time, Liv also looked back at Gan Guoyang from time to time. As long as Gan Guoyang walked further in, Liv would also move inward, regardless of whether Valentine would suddenly shoot cold arrows from the outside.

In other words, the Nuggets have made it clear that even if the Blazers are allowed to shoot outside, Gan Guoyang cannot be allowed to open inside.

The coach of the Mavericks had already discovered this strategy in the last round, but it was a pity that he was beaten down by Gan Guoyang in the second round, and he was unable to stand up after that.

Now the Nuggets are using more targeted and tighter double-teaming to deal with Gan Guoyang, because they have realized that investing defensive forces on Gan Guoyang will yield the greatest results.

Double-teaming Gan Guoyang, firstly, Gan Guoyang’s own ability to transfer the ball is not strong, so the tactical price paid for double-teaming is relatively small; secondly, Gan Guoyang occupies an important position in Ramsey’s tactical system, a pioneer who is out of touch inside and outside , the combat effectiveness is obviously going to drop a notch.

Taken together, Gan Guoyang has become the "Achilles Ankle" that the team is most likely to target!

This is the playoffs. An immature player, even if he is a genius, will be beaten most affectionately and cruelly by his opponent.

"Gump passed the ball, Valentine caught the ball and shot directly! The ball missed, the rebound was accepted by Calvin Knight, and the Nuggets launched a counterattack."

Valentine was obviously in a hurry with this ball. After Gan Guoyang passed the ball, although there was no one in front of him, he was still far away from the basket. This ultra-long two-pointer stepped on the three-point line , but out of the basket.

Calvin Knight didn't choose to pass the ball after getting the rebound, but dribbled the ball directly from the backcourt and went straight to the frontcourt!

As a power forward who is about the same height as a guard, Knight has a natural advantage in speed, and he is also superior in strength.

"Nate, broke through to the basket with the ball and made a layup! The ball went in... Calvin Knight's fast break made a one-stop layup, and the Nuggets scored their first point in the opening game."

Knight's quick counterattack can be said to have exceeded everyone's expectations. The Blazers players were not fully prepared before they were caught off guard by Knight.

"Retreat! You must retreat quickly! Don't let them play fast!" Ramsey yelled from the sidelines. He had repeatedly instructed before the game that the rhythm must be suppressed at the beginning to increase the success rate of the attack.

But this time it was good, as soon as it came up, someone beat one.

"Stay steady! We're going to score a goal!" Valentine began to dribble the ball slowly at this time, and he began to carefully organize the Blazers' offense.

"Karl, up, up!" Valentine yells, and Kenny Karl immediately lifts up to the top of the arc to set up a pick-and-roll for Valentine.

At this moment, Liv's attention finally focused on Valentine. He wanted to avoid Carl's block and defend Valentine.

But Valentine didn't rely on Carl's cover at all. This was a fake pick-and-roll, and Valentine broke through directly from the right side.

Valentine's physique is naturally not as good as Leaf's, but his speed has an advantage, and he broke through to the three-second zone in an instant.

Wayne Cooper of the Nuggets immediately came out to defend, and this time Gan Guoyang was completely missed. Facing the pincer attack of the two old teammates, Cooper and Leaf, Valentine calmly threw the ball into the air.

Gan Guoyang jumped up from the middle, caught the ball with both hands in the air, and dunked vigorously!

"Beautiful pass, beautiful alley-oop! From the cooperation of Valentine and Gan, they scored the first point of the game for the Blazers, a very morale-boosting goal."

The fans at the scene were also very excited and applauded Gan Guoyang with warm cheers and applause.

But the dunk will not add more points to the team, and its effect is not as different from an ordinary shot as it seems visually.

Soon, English was in the middle of the attack, with a 45-foot shot from 13 degrees to the left, adding two points for the Nuggets.

English's simple style of play is by no means as shocking as Gan Guoyang's dunk, but when a player can hit the opponent's head again and again and make such a shot, the psychological shadow he brings to the opponent is one or two dunks Can't compare.

"wht--fukng..." (Fucking...) Gan Guoyang watched English shoot with his slightly crappy straight-arm master, and when he turned over and threw the ball against Drexler, I felt a sense of depression in my heart.

At this time, Drexler also felt the same way. After four games, he found that he could not contain English's performance.

Although all nb players know that some nb stars cannot be completely restricted, but it is frustrating to be scored on the head by English repeatedly using a move.

In response, after Drexler ran outside to catch the ball, he made an outside shot with the help of a cover from Gan Guoyang.

"Drexler's shot...the ball went in! His posture is really ugly..." Obviously, Drexler's shooting posture is uglier than English, his kicking movements in the air No matter how you look at it, it looks like a toad hanging in the air.

The two sides drew again, and such a tie situation occurred 40 times in the next 41 minutes of the game.

41 draws means that 41 leads have changed hands, and as the game progressed, the smell of gunpowder between the two sides became more and more intense.

For the Blazers, both Gan Guoyang and Drexler received technical fouls, and even Vandeweghe, who has always been calm, even had a technical foul.

On the Nuggets side, two leaders, English and Dan Issel, also took the lead, and were called technical fouls by the referee one after another. It seems that at such a moment, if you don’t get a technical foul, you can’t prove that you are playing with your heart.

The verbal battle between the two sides is also escalating, trash talking filled the whole game, physical movements are getting bigger and bigger, and direct conflicts almost occurred several times.

In this way, the game continued in a suffocating atmosphere until the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter. The score on the field became 101:102, and the Nuggets led the Blazers by one point.

Such a score is obviously considered small between these two teams, and it is enough to show the intensity of the competition between the two sides.

At this time, Ramsey still had two timeouts in his hand, one long timeout and one short timeout. He decisively used a short timeout to arrange an offense for the Blazers.

"Paxson, come on and replace Clyde. We're going to play a cover shot!" Once Ramsey finished speaking, it meant that Drexler, who played well in this game, probably didn't Ways to stay on the court at critical moments.

Drexler, who was sweating profusely, was bent over and focused, his expression froze when he heard Ramsey's words. He straightened up silently, sat back on the bench, and took a towel to put on the bench. He turned his head and stopped looking at Ramsey's tactical board.

And Ramsey also paused, and continued: "Valentin, you are responsible for the deployment of this ball, Paxson, Vandeweghe, you are on the left wing together, and you use cross positions to find opportunities, and Gan And Sampson, you gotta set up screens for Valentine on the upline. But it's an illusion, an illusion, we're leaving the right side completely open, Paxson, you've got to take your chances off the line and go to the right side and go for it Open shots! Finally, rebounds, offensive rebounds, very important! Can come back to life."

It is understandable for Ramsey to replace Drexler. After all, his shooting is too unstable. In this game, Paxson, as a substitute, has scored 12 points and made 6 of 6 shots. It is no problem for Ramsey to hand over this key attack to Paxson.

But this still hurt Drexler a little. You must know that in the days when Paxson was away, Drexler's performance at critical moments was definitely a superstar level.

The 20-second timeout passed quickly, and Ramsey had no time to tell the details of the tactics. In fact, this tactic is a very common tactic in the Blazers' usual training.

However, Ramsey overlooked one thing. In the Nuggets lineup, there are three players who used to be under his command. They are very familiar with Ramsey's tactical arrangements.

And Doug Mo also has in-depth research and understanding of Ramsey's tactical habits and details through Leaf, Cooper and Knight. He has already vaguely guessed what players Ramsey will send to the field at such a moment. , What kind of tactics will be used.

"Players from both sides re-entered the court and the game continued. There were less than 2 minutes left before the end of the game. The Blazers were still one point behind. It has reached the most critical moment. The Blazers' offense will be very important."

In the auditorium of the stadium, all the fans have stood up to watch the game, and the tension and atmosphere enveloped the entire Memorial Stadium.

Gan Guoyang served the ball from the sideline, and the Nuggets' defense shrank very inside, so Valentine had no difficulty receiving the ball.

At this time, the Blazers' players had already squeezed to the left, and the Nuggets' defenders had to follow to the left, leaving a large space on the right.

Paxson and Vandeweghe, the two deadly shooters, made a crossover on the left baseline. Paxson switched to a position closer to the baseline, and then Vandeweghe took advantage of the opportunity to make a single block screen for Paxon!

Valentine relied on the cover of Gan Guoyang and Sampson on the upper line, got rid of Leaf's entanglement, and found a position where he could shoot and pass.

At this time, Paxson has already passed through the basket quickly and went straight to the right corner. Behind him is Nuggets guard Dunn.

Valentine saw that Paxson had gotten rid of Dunn's defense, and his own shooting position was not very good, so Valentine passed the ball to Paxson without hesitation.

However, the intention of this ball has been seen through by Nuggets power forward and former Trail Blazers player Calvin Knight. When he was in the Trail Blazers, the team had already practiced this ball several times.

Knight directly reached out and rushed towards the basketball flying in mid-air, but he was too short, and just poked the basketball with his fingertips, which changed the course of the ball.

Knight failed to steal, but at this time, Paxson made a fatal mistake.

He watched the ball come towards him but veered off, and instead of waiting for it to go out of bounds, he reached out to get it back.

"Don't touch the ball!" Ramsey yelled loudly when he saw Paxson reach out to catch the ball, his heart jumped into his throat.

After Paxson heard it, he immediately wanted to withdraw his hand, but it was too late, the ball hit his hand and went out of bounds.

"Beep!" The referee whistled, and then pointed to the Nuggets' frontcourt, "Nuggets' ball!"

The entire Memorial Stadium was silent. The male fans held their heads with their hands, and the female fans covered their mouths with their hands. Everyone felt like a big stone was pressing on their hearts.

The Nuggets immediately called a timeout, they didn't want to give the Blazers any chance.

"Well, we are only one point behind, and there is still plenty of time. We still have a chance to defend this goal! The premise is that we must defend!" Ramsey is still encouraging the players, but he can also see Come out, the players are very frustrated.

The home game didn't seem to bring too much energy to the Blazers, and the Nuggets didn't get too much interference from the away game. They were used to the noise and restlessness of the Memorial Stadium.

Although the Blazers exchanged leads with the Nuggets throughout the game and played inextricably, the Nuggets appeared to be more efficient and calm, while the Blazers played more like relying on a breath.

And Paxson's mistake just now vented the breath that the Blazers had accumulated throughout the game.

"The Blazers are standing on the edge of the cliff. They are very dangerous." Seanli said worriedly. He can't see the fighting spirit and hope of striving for unity and winning the game in the current Blazers.

(It's been abusive recently, but it will explode later.)