Legendary star

Chapter 20 Francis on the Brink (1)

Different from the boring scene when the main lineups of both sides are on the field, the tempo between the substitutes of the two teams is relatively much faster, and the corresponding mistakes are more. , The confrontation between the substitutes has dropped by more than two levels compared to the main lineup. Even if both teams have players like Duncan Barkley on the court, they cannot play the rhythm and confrontation intensity of the first quarter.For the current situation where the intensity of physical confrontation is not high and the perimeter defense is useless, the Spurs small forward Chucky Brown also played at the level of last season again. In less than 5 minutes, he scored 6 of 4 shots. I scored 8 points.Together with another backup guard Terry Burt, the Rockets played two consecutive 6-0 spurts in the second quarter, which also made the Spurs lead the Rockets by 38 points 33 to 5 when the second quarter was officially suspended.

After the timeout, the two teams replaced all the main players. After Francis dribbled the ball over the center line, he did not slowly dribble to the outside of the 3-point line as he did in the first quarter. Lower body center of gravity.

"Do you want to break through in this way? You won't succeed." Seeing Francis who was accelerating, Meng Xu went up to him without hesitation, and took a good position on Francis' dribbling route in advance. If Francis didn't change his luck If he chooses to change direction at this speed, unless he has the ability to change direction without slowing down like Iverson, as long as he slows down, he can calmly follow go up.

"No, he's not a breakthrough." Just when Francis was about to bump into Meng Xu, Francis stopped less than half a meter away from Meng Xu and jumped up high.

As the whistle blew, the entire Compaq Center erupted. Francis, who was defended by Meng Xu in the first quarter, scored 2 points with an emergency stop jumper and caused a foul by Meng Xu.

"Boy, do you see that? This is called shooting. You should go back to the NCAA and practice for a few years." After scoring the goal, Francis also excitedly patted Meng Xu's chest, letting out the anger in his heart.

Standing near the free throw line, watching Francis make the free throw, Meng Xu recalled the moment just now with a blank face. Just before Francis took off, Meng Xu had already noticed that Francis was going to shoot instead of breaking through, and his body subconsciously Just jumped up, but it was a little embarrassing that Francis jumped up when Meng Xu was about to hit the ground, and just leaned on Meng Xu, a 2+1 was born.In Meng Xu's view, this is caused by his inability to fully use the skill of sixth sense. The sixth sense successfully predicted Francis' attempt to shoot in advance, but the mistake is that what he perceives now is actually 0.7 seconds later. The moment, and after Meng Xu took off at the same time, Francis will take off 0.7 seconds later.

After being scored 2+1 by Francis, Meng Xu began to force Francis at all costs. As soon as Francis passed halftime, Meng Xu would take the initiative to post it, regardless of whether he had the ball in his hand, as long as he sensed that Francis wanted to catch the ball Meng Xu will take a detour to force his teammates not to pass the ball to Francis easily.In any case, Francis can no longer score easily, let alone let him score more than 10 points.

"FACK, you kid, are you a mad dog?" By now, Francis was not only depressed, but also in pain.Since that 2+1, this kid has started to defend himself at all costs. Not only is it extremely difficult for him to shoot, but it is also very difficult to catch and dribble. Unlike the clean defense in the first quarter, this guy began to use more than himself His much stronger body kept colliding with him, even tore his jersey, and even used his wingspan and speed to entangle him to death. Every time he called for a pick-and-roll to get rid of him, it would take less than 2 seconds. This guy Will post again.

"With such defensive pressure, the defense of this rookie of the Spurs is really good. Francis is completely frozen. No wonder Michaels praised his defense as historical. Among the 3 positions in the entire league, the last one has such a strong The defensive player is Scottie Pippen, which is unbelievable." Seeing Meng Xu who was frantically defending Francis on the court, Kenny Smith was also a little scared. In the history of the NBA, there has never been a rookie with such a strong defensive ability.

"If the Rockets can't solve this point of Francis, then this game will be dangerous. The physical strength of Olajuwon and Barkley is no longer enough to support a game."

"How did this happen, how did this happen." After Francis dribbled the ball for halftime, Meng Xu came up to meet him again. This time, Francis lost his composure and made a dribble error under Meng Xu's pressure. Looking at the figure of Meng Xu hanging on the basket, Francis had an unbelievable expression on his face.

After stealing the ball this time, Meng Xu also slightly relaxed his pressure on Francis. One is because his physical strength is no longer enough to support such a high-intensity defense. Another point is that Meng Xu has already confirmed that Francis must He is talented in ball handling, but obviously not at the level of Iverson.

At this time, the head coach of the Rockets, Tomjanovich, was also walking around on the sidelines to relieve his anxiety. As long as he called a timeout and replaced Francis, this unfavorable situation on the court might be changed. , but Francis is the team and his key training object, the future boss and successor of the team, Tomjanovich is not good to replace him rashly, in case Francis loses his mentality after this game, then The loss outweighs the gain.

At this time, Popovich, who was on the Spurs' bench, looked at the anxious expression of Tomjanovich opposite him, with a relaxed and proud expression on his face. Francis was completely restricted by Meng Xu in this game. If Tomjanovich does not make changes, I am afraid that the third quarter will become garbage time.

Finally, after a strong psychological struggle, Tomjanovich called a timeout, replaced Shandon Anderson with Cuttino Mobley, and replaced Francis with Cuttino Mobley at point guard. And pushed Francis to the shooting guard position.

"If I play the whole game in this state, I will definitely fall apart." Taking advantage of the dead ball, Meng Xu leaned on the sidelines with his hands on his hips. After 14 minutes, my physical strength was almost exhausted. Fortunately, the first half was almost over.

Like Meng Xu, Francis also hopes to get off the field early to rest. This game is really too difficult.

(End of this chapter)