The Golden Age of Basketball

Paxson's unexpected outburst put the Nuggets in a bigger predicament.

Before the sixth game, the Nuggets were already confident that they would win four games in a row, and some people were even ready to compete with the Lakers for the championship seat.

However, the Blazers' strong response made the Nuggets unprepared, especially Gan Guoyang's offensive changes in the first quarter, which made the Nuggets' defense extremely uncomfortable, and then Parks' eight-of-eight shots made the Nuggets even worse.

"The two sides in the playoffs are fighting for change. I originally thought that the Trail Blazers and Nuggets have become variable at this level. Unexpectedly, the Trail Blazers have made major adjustments on both offensive and defensive ends. Compared with the Nuggets, there is no change. , They are still using the tried-and-true strategy in the first five games, but in this game, they have been greatly hindered." Frank Graber analyzed the performance of both sides during the intermission.

At the end of the halftime, the score of the two sides has become 67:39, and the score gap between the two sides has widened to 28 points, which is close to the huge gap of 30 points.

"The Nuggets underestimate the enemy. They thought they could beat the Blazers by relying on the routines of the previous games, but they didn't expect that the Blazers still have a right hand. And the key is that the players of the Blazers are in a very good state in this game." , was very active on the field, with a high degree of concentration on the defensive end, and a hot offensive end; while the Nuggets, who lacked resilience, became more and more discouraged as they played. I wonder if they can rejuvenate at home after adjustments in the midfield. "

Although James Brown doesn't know much about the ball, and he doesn't know much about the changes in tactics on both sides, he can also see that the state of both sides is not at the level of one side.

At this time in the Blazers locker room, all the Blazers players were very excited. The big halftime lead made them full of confidence in the whole game.

"Well, don't be too careless. It was luck that we were able to play like this in the first half. We can't expect the Nuggets to be so bad in the second half. The third quarter will be very critical. If we can survive the first half After three quarters, if we still maintain a lead of more than 20 points in the fourth quarter, then we have a great chance." Ramsey poured some cold water on the players in a timely manner, which is also his job. [

"Just hand the ball to Paxson! Mr. Hit and Hit! Hahaha..." Kenny Carr said loudly.

Everyone laughed after hearing Carl's words. In the first half, Paxson really played well, making [-] of [-] shots. At the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter, it was his consecutive scoring that made the team all of a sudden. The scores on both sides opened up, which also set the tone for the first half of the game.

"If all the balls are passed to me, I'm afraid I won't have enough fingers." Paxson responded after listening to Carl's words. Eight out of eight have already used eight of his fingers. Certainly not enough.

After Paxson finished speaking, the teammates laughed again, and the dullness in the team's locker room was swept away.

"Hey Gan, why did you suddenly hit the shot? I was shocked when I watched you shoot from the bench. Of course, I was even more shocked after the ball was scored... You have been holding back for a whole season. Did you just start using CIC today?" Mitchell Sampson shifted the topic to Gan Guoyang.

"That's right, I have expected that we will be in trouble in this series, so I have kept my mid-range shooting skills, just to catch the Nuggets by surprise at such a critical moment." Gan Guoyang also took advantage of the trend and started joke.

In fact, before the game started, Gan Guoyang decided to try to use his mid-range shots in this game.

Since entering the league, Gan Guoyang has never stopped training to restore his mid-range shooting ability. After he won the shooting competition with Vandeweghe for the first time after training, his mid-range shooting in training became better and better. This can be seen from the free throw percentage in his game.

However, he rarely tries mid-range shots in official games, because there is neither tactical arrangement nor the need for mid-range shots.Therefore, Gan Guoyang has always been skeptical about the practicality of his shooting.

However, the series with the Nuggets has reached this point. Gan Guoyang has become more and more aware that his defect of not shooting mid-range shots has been magnified. In the next few games, the Nuggets have already developed a set of defenses against Gan Guoyang. Strategy.

Interfering with receiving the ball, resolutely double-teaming, hindering Gan from entering the basket, and ignoring Gan out of the three-second zone. These measures are strictly implemented by the Nuggets. Although a large number of double-teams will inevitably give the Blazers many shooting opportunities from outside, But the overall benefit is still better than not double-teaming.

However, when Gan Guoyang was able to hit a mid-range shot from the outside, everything changed. The inside space was completely opened up, and the Blazers had more opportunities to break through from the outside. The Nuggets' defense was more difficult .

"Gan, I don't think you will have so many open mid-range shots in the second half, and the shooting is very dependent on the touch. I still need you and Sampson to kill the Nuggets inside, so that we can do it in the third quarter. Only then can the situation be stabilized." Ramsey vaccinated Gan Guoyang again.

Gan Guoyang nodded after hearing Ramsey's words. He also knew that the Nuggets would definitely strengthen their defenses in the second half. In fact, after Issel played in the second quarter, it was difficult for Gan Guoyang to perform well in the middle distance. Worked.

Later, Ramsey arranged and arranged the team's tactics, requiring the team to increase the shooting percentage in the offense, relax the defense appropriately, and preserve physical strength. The most important thing is to maintain the advantage established in the first half. [

Twenty minutes passed quickly. For the Nuggets fans at the scene, most of them were quite anxious, but everyone was still looking forward to the miracle in the second half of the city.

"Welcome back to the scene. The Nuggets' home court may be one of the best in the league, but now the Nuggets fans must suffer. Their team trails by 28 points at home. If this loss Lost, the Nuggets will go to Portland to play the seventh game against the Trail Blazers, which is undoubtedly very bad for the Nuggets."

Graeber was right, dragging back to Portland for Game [-], and with the Blazers winning Game [-], the Nuggets are in dire straits.

"That's right, but the Nuggets' offensive power is not covered. Let's see if the Nuggets can show some momentum different from the first half in the second half. Their offense in the first half was really bad. 39 points, That's how much they scored in one quarter, and it's hard to imagine that this is a game played by the team with the highest scoring average in the league."

Indeed, the Nuggets' offense in the first half was terrible. Firstly, the Blazers' strong outside pressure in the first half caused the Nuggets to make a lot of mistakes and the offensive was not smooth; After the field, he finally fell into a cold trough.

"Okay, the second half of the game has begun. The Nuggets serve first, and the first attack will be very important. If the Nuggets can't reverse the momentum at the beginning of the third quarter, then the time left for them will be less and less. English ... got a pass from Leaf, turned over a jumper, and it went in! A good start."

In the first attack of the Nuggets, English received the ball at 45 degrees on the right, dribbled the ball and turned over for a jumper, and the ball hit the board and went into the basket. This goal also gave the Nuggets a sign of recovery.

As for the Blazers, they continued the offensive mode of the first half, using the pick-and-roll of Drexler and Gan Guoyang as the core of tactics. After nine games in the playoffs, the Blazers' new starting lineup, the two Human-to-play coordination has proven to be the best tactical engine.

"Drexler again with Gan on the pick-and-roll, Gan screens and cuts in, Drexler hits the pass, Gan catches the layup! The ball rolls out...but Gan jumps again and makes a putback. "

After Gan Guoyang showed his mid-range shooting ability in the first half, Wayne Cooper obviously hesitated a lot when defending Gan Guoyang. Naturally, his reaction was half a beat slower, so he gave Gan Guoyang a chance to cut inside.

However, the Nuggets' touch is indeed picking up, and the Blazers' defense can't be as high-intensity and high-pressing as in the first half. With Dunn's successful layup under the empty cut basket, the Nuggets have scored six consecutive goals in the second half. points, while the Blazers only relied on Gan Guoyang to score two points.

"45:69, the point difference has been narrowed. The Nuggets seem to see hope. I don't know if the Blazers should suspend the delivery to ease the situation."

But Ramsey did not call a timeout. Perhaps he felt that the 24-point gap was still very stable.

"Run and run! Don't relax too much, Gan! Stay outside!" Valentine commanded loudly from beyond the three-point line with the ball. After the last attack failed, Drexler handed over the offensive power to Valentine's hands.

After all, Valentine has rich experience, and now he needs to rely on him to stabilize the situation.

Hearing Valentine's command, Gan Guoyang immediately lifted it up, leaving more space for the inside line. At this time, Cooper did not dare to let Gan Guoyang wander outside alone, so he immediately followed .

Valentin seized this opportunity, quickly broke through inward with the ball, circled a large circle from the left and went straight to the basket.

As soon as Gan Guoyang saw Valentine rushing inward to the basket, he immediately followed up and almost broke through to Valentine behind the basket. Seeing that Gan Guoyang had followed, he immediately hit the ground and passed the ball. In the hands of Gan Guoyang.

"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded, and Cooper raised his hand. He fouled Gan Guoyang when he caught the ball for a layup.

"Good job!" Valentine stepped forward to give Gan Guoyang a high-five. This cooperation has been practiced several times in training.

"Gan stood on the free throw line, the first free throw... the ball was scored, and the second free throw... was returned. His free throw speed is really fast. Young people are just more anxious."

Unlike some people who like to procrastinate at the free throw line, Gan Guoyang can't wait for the ball to be picked up without the referee's hand for continuous penalties.

After making two free throws, 45:71, the point difference was opened up again.

The Nuggets did not give up hope. Calvin Knight broke through the middle and forced a layup. 47:71, the Nuggets continued to increase their points. They seemed to want to get back all the points they lost in the first half.

Ramsey has already stood up from the bench. It seems that he wants a timeout. Seeing the Nuggets score eight points in a row, this is not a good sign.

But soon, Ramsay sat down again.

"Gan asked for the ball in the low post, Valentine lobbed the ball to Gan, the position where Gan asked for the ball was not very good, he observed it, the Nuggets didn't double-team... Gan dribbled the ball back, he tested left and right, inside Turn around, hook! Go in! A 12-foot hook."

When the momentum of the Nuggets was about to burn, Gan Guoyang was like a firefighter, extinguishing the hope of the Nuggets.

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