The Golden Age of Basketball

"We should set up traps in the defense and let them fall into the trap. Cut off their passing lines inside and outside. In the first half, we let Olajuwon catch the ball too easily. On the contrary, Gan's catch was not easy. Cut off the ball. Passing lanes, even if they give them more space to move outside, if they want to shoot, let them shoot, if they want to drive, stick to the middle, let the wing out. Just like we did in the regular season and in practice, Force them to the bottom line, don't foul easily, control your defense, don't make up defense at will."

During the halftime break, Ramsey kept drawing on the tactical board the defensive strategy that the Blazers would implement in the second half. Since Behrman came to the Blazers, Ramsey's defensive theoretical level has also been continuously improved. This set is very slippery.

But Ramsey also repeatedly told Gan Guoyang not to go to the side to help defend and oppress, because it is very dangerous to let go of Olajuwon to help defend. Olajuwon has strong athletic ability and good mid-range jumper , so that Gan Guoyang must keep an eye on this beast.

"Also, our offense needs to be connected internally and externally, to give more opportunities to the inside line, and to mobilize the twin towers..."

After talking about defense, Ramsey began to formulate tactics for offense. In the first half, Gan Guoyang didn't catch the ball decently a few times. The normal position was too disturbed. Olajuwon kept going around the front and harassed the Rockets striker , Gan Guoyang couldn't catch the ball comfortably.

Without Gan Guoyang as the main offensive point, the Blazers' lead in the first half was obviously due to luck. The change of lineup and the performance of the veteran made the Rockets feel a little uncomfortable, but it may be difficult to rely on this to suppress the Rockets in the second half. The superior offensive point must be used. effect.

"In the third quarter, give them some color. We will bring them into our traps like hunters with wild animals, relying on our wisdom and calmness. I hope you will always remain calm, no matter what the result is , only in this way can we achieve the greatest hope of victory.”

In the end, Ramsey reminded that most of these words were said to Gan Guoyang. Gan Guoyang has always played calmly, but sometimes his temper is really big. Whenever there is a conflict on the court, it is most likely related to Gan Guoyang. His foul mouth is the powder keg detonator on the field.

In tonight's game, on the contrary, Olajuwon, who has always been known for his violent temper, was quite calm and played well. No matter how provocative Gan Guoyang was, he would not move like a mountain. Ramsey also hoped that Gan Guoyang would put more energy into the game. Don't be influenced by other factors.

Gan Guoyang nodded. In the first half, Olajuwon's overall performance was indeed better than him. He was more comfortable in offense and defense, and he controlled the rhythm of the game better. Zhu Wang's performance of 15 points and 7 rebounds is quite good.

………………

"Welcome back to the game. The second half of the game is about to start. Let's see, the two sides have returned to the starting lineup of the first quarter, and Colter has returned to the position of point guard."

At the beginning of the third quarter, Ramsey did not abandon Colter, but let him return to the No. [-] position, because in the current team, the best and most determined one to feed Gan Guoyang is Colter. Although Rexler and Gan Guoyang's pick-and-roll cooperation is excellent, the greater significance of their pick-and-roll lies in the mobilization of the team's offense and the destruction of the opponent's defense. Simply speaking, no one can compare to Cole in singles for Gan Guoyang. special.

"Drexler has the ball, high post, Gan sets a screen for Drexler, rolls the pick and roll, Drexler turns around and passes, it's Colter...he throws a through Gan, Gan turned over and made a hook! The Rockets' defense was misplaced, and Gan made an easy shot, 56:50."

"Beautiful pass, Steve." After scoring the goal, Gan Guoyang stepped forward and clapped with Colter.

This ball relied on Drexler and Gan Guoyang's pick-and-roll, which caused the Rockets to switch defenses. In order to prevent Drexler's breakthrough, Olajuwon exchanged defenders with Reid.

Gan Guoyang seized this gap and went straight to the basket, but Reid couldn't stand Gan Guoyang at all.

But at this time, Drexler couldn't pass the ball to Gan Guoyang, so he passed the ball back to Colter who was responding from the outside. Colter caught the ball without any pause and immediately stuffed the ball to Gan Guoyang. As long as he is late, Gan Guoyang will be blown for three seconds.

Let Gan Guoyang get the ball at such a close distance from the basket, and still dislocate the defense, it must be a waste of points, and it is too late for Olajuwon to turn around and make up defense.

The six-point lead didn't last long. The Rockets turned around and relied on McGregor to hit a jumper from the baseline, 56:52.

The Blazers' defender was trying to drive the Rockets to the bottom line and prevent them from killing the middle lane, but Gan Guoyang couldn't easily come over to flank and supplement the defense, so the power of this move was reduced a lot. It was Vandeweghe, he couldn't rely on his oppressive ability to squeeze McGregor out. In order to prevent being stepped over, he had to keep a distance from McGregor, so he was raped by McGregor.

"Gan received the ball, shook Olajuwon, turned to the other side of the basket, and dunked! Colter's pass was quite timely."

The Blazers' offense began to become smoother, but the Blazers' defense did not play a big role. Gan Guoyang began to score points in the offense. In the third quarter, he has scored 8 points in a row - because the Blazers reasonable Conducting the ball gave him many opportunities to catch and throw the ball. He didn't need to fight with Olajuwon. But in defense, Gan Guoyang could no longer provide enough help to his teammates because he was restrained by Olajuwon.

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang's backcourt rebounds were still well controlled, and the Rockets didn't get too many second-offensive opportunities. Of course, the Blazers also couldn't catch the frontcourt rebounds. Including the Twin Towers, the backcourt rebounds were also firmly controlled.

The biggest benefit of the Blazers' current defense is that in the previous Rockets game, Olajuwon and Sampson cut in the middle, and then the scene of receiving a pass from their teammates for a strong dunk or an alley-oop disappeared, and the middle was defended by the Blazers. The point is, crossing the ball to the middle will only make mistakes.

But the Rockets quickly made the Blazers suffer with jumpers from the corners on both sides.

"Lloyd passed the ball to Reed in the corner. Reed made a three-pointer and made it! The second three-pointer in the game, the Rockets are only one point away. Ramsey seems to be calling a timeout."

Reid's three-pointer broke the back-and-forth on the court for more than four minutes. The two sides played very "harmoniously", with a high shooting rate and few fouls. It seemed that the smell of gunpowder at the end of the second quarter was all of a sudden.

Ramsey doesn't believe that the Rockets' outside line can shoot the Blazers to death, but he can't just watch Reid hit a three-pointer like this. He can only say that the Blazers' defensive strategy is not very successful, and the loopholes on the two wings are changing. getting bigger and bigger.

So the Blazers readjusted to a man-to-man defense, so Coulter was subbed out again, and Cauchy came in, and the guy was completely useless in the first half, and Ramsey gave him another chance.

Unexpectedly, after Cauchy came on the court, the effect was surprisingly good. Because of his presence, Vandeweghe no longer had to defend McGregor alone, and there was an athletic small forward on the wing to deal with the Rockets' striker.

In the first half, Cauchy failed to play because the Rockets focused on the interior. Cauchy was vacillating between assisting defense and single defense. Now that the Rockets have opened up the outside line, Cauchy's main task is to deal with the Rockets' outside line.

Sure enough, a single muscle like Cauchy is suitable for a single-minded stalker. The Rockets' outside firepower has been suppressed, and they must find a new breakthrough point.

"Cauci got the offensive rebound and forced a layup! Ralph Sampson fouled, this is his second foul, and Cauchy is going to the free throw line." Cauchy not only contributed energy on the defensive end, On the offensive end, he also began to compete for offensive rebounds. Both sides had very few offensive rebounds in this game.

Sometimes, a precise and complex tactic is not as real as an offensive rebound.

With the Rockets gradually tightening the inside line on the defensive end and opening up the outside line on the offensive end, Cauchy's playing helped the Blazers control the situation well. After all, Gan Guoyang needed to buffer after scoring consecutively at the beginning.

But this does not mean that the Blazers have suppressed the Rockets. In fact, Olajuwon’s efficiency tonight is surprisingly high. His offensive choices are quite smart. , Do I want to get stuck in one position", use your flexible footsteps and soft jumper touch to score points.

In contrast, Ralph Sampson's state is still not obvious, Mitchell Sampson does not have so much hesitation on the court, he is here to strangle the opponent.

"Sampson missed a turnaround jumper! Olajuwon rushed out and grabbed the offensive rebound, and made a fallback jumper. This should be his first offensive rebound of the game."

At the end of the third quarter, Olajuwon grabbed the first offensive rebound of the game and scored his 22nd point at the same time. It seems that this is another high-scoring night for Olajuwon.

It is acceptable for Gan Guoyang to be scored high by a player like Olajuwon. In the NBA, it is impossible to completely prevent superstars from dying.

But Gan Guoyang did not expect Olajuwon to play so smartly and calmly tonight. He couldn't help feeling that he was a little careless. When he returned to the bench, he covered his head with a towel to calm himself down and think.

At the end of the third quarter, the Blazers still lead the Rockets by 78 points 75:[-]. The Blazers are always one step ahead of the Rockets in scheduling, so they have an advantage, but the Rockets adjust accordingly quickly, and always maintain pressure on the Blazers. .

With the arrival of the final battle, the atmosphere in the air is getting more and more tense. Players on both sides have already entered the state, and everyone's jerseys are soaked in sweat. Always maintain a relatively appropriate lineup rotation, and the players' playing time is relatively evenly distributed.

And the Rockets are still like the semifinals, the main lineup each played more than 30 minutes, plus the fourth quarter, like Olajuwon will definitely have more than 40 minutes of playing time.

The Rockets once exhausted the Lakers by relying on their physical strength, but the Trail Blazers are a team as young as the Rockets.

Gan Guoyang's super-intensive physical training before the game made him look like he just finished the first quarter.