basketball court controller

Chapter 38 Advancing to the Second Round

Sure enough, the ball was delivered to Alan Houston. According to Pat Riley's arrangement, Tim Hardaway rushed over to flank him the moment he saw the opponent dribble.

Houston's ball control is not bad, nor is it top-notch. He watched two people from the Heat surround him, dribbled the ball and retreated, but he didn't take a step back. He only made a movement to lift his feet up. With a forward rush, Hardaway and Mashburn, who were about to successfully close the door, were knocked away, and they stumbled and squeezed between the two.

Such a tough performance is due to the trust of the coach and teammates in him. At this time, he had to stand up and break through the blockade of the two. He pulled it up without adjusting his posture, in order to complete the shot before the defensive players came over. Action, he didn't have time to make adjustments and use his standard mid-range shooting posture, but he felt very good when he shot. The moment he shot, he knew that the ball could be scored.

A figure that couldn't have been here suddenly appeared in front of Houston, jumping high enough to take off his slightly forward-looking shot.

When Houston started, three seconds passed, he broke through the defense to shoot, and two seconds passed, Zhang Chen picked up the ball and landed, dribbled the ball to the frontcourt to shoot, and just ran out of time.

Due to the influence of Zhang Chen from another time and space history, the moment Houston started, not only Hardaway moved, he also moved, but he was a little farther away, so Hardaway slowed down a bit, but the timing was just right .

As expected, Houston chose to take the last shot by himself. Zhang Chen ignored the coach's arrangement, left his defender behind, and used the absolute control he had always kept, becoming the hero at the last moment.

If Hardaway chooses to pass the ball, Zhang Chen will be a very low-level out of position, and the novice will follow the ball. But at this time, Houston will not choose to pass the ball, and there is no if in the game.

94:91, the Heat made a big reversal at halftime, leading with a total score of 2:1.

After this game, the Heat regained their home court advantage, and it can be said that the burden on their hearts has been relieved a lot.

For Pat Riley, he saw a new possibility for the team. Zhang Chen grew up so fast that he felt like an old player who had played for many years. fluctuations.

There is a kind of player who is born for the big scene. Pat Riley now believes that Zhang Chen is this kind of player. In this way, even if Tim Hardaway can't get back to form, the Heat will not have the first game passive.

The first round of matches has been played three times, and the winners and losers of two groups of matches have been decided neatly.

The Indiana Pacers were as stable as expected before the game. They beat the Milwaukee Bucks mercilessly with a big score of 3:0, and the Portland Trail Blazers also won the Phoenix Suns with a complete victory.

The most surprising thing is the Jazz, which fell behind 1:2 and lost to the Kings. It is surprising that the Orlando Magic, which has a better record in the regular season, is 1:2 behind the Philadelphia 76ers. After all, the Jazz The state of the regular season is quite awesome.

In addition, both the Eagles and the Lakers lost away games. Like the Spurs, they both lead 2:1.

After the third game, Pat Riley forbade the outside contact between the players and the media. During the closed training, the Heat trained a new tactic, the organization forward tactic, which was used in the regular season and helped Zhang Chen The time when the data was impacted actually had this flavor.

If Zhang Chen continues to be placed at the No. 1 position, he will probably run into trouble, because although he shoots well, due to his technical characteristics, he still has relatively few long-range shots. If the Knicks continue to use Sprewell to defend him , his lethality will be reduced when he is away from the basket.

It's better to put him in the 3rd position, which can not only increase the lethality, but also connect the whole team.

It was also because of Zhang Chen's outstanding performance in the last game that Pat Riley dared to make this decision.

In the fourth game, the Knicks had no way out. The fans at home were cheering for the home team before the game started, and cursed the Heat by the way.

Amidst the cheers of the fans, Ewing won the jump ball and scored the Knicks' first 2 points again, while Mourning's first offense felt a little worse, and Houston hit the Knicks The second goal, it seems that they are going to show off in this game.

Sprewell stuck to Zhang Chen's side from the Heat's serve, "Today, you won't have any chance." The whole court stuck to Zhang Chen, he has this physical strength, and it will not cause any damage to his offensive end. influences.

In order to limit Zhang Chen, Jeff Van Gundy also adjusted the lineup and put Sprewell in the starting lineup.

Zhang Chen smiled slightly, and ran directly to the right side of the offensive end to squeeze Sprewell into the position. At this time, Mourning was on the other side, and P-J-Brown pulled near the free throw line.

Hardaway lobbed the ball in, and Zhang Chen squeezed in immediately after receiving the ball, making a move similar to the domineering step of an inside player, and scored the ball.

Sprewell is good at defending and is considered a very good outside defender. Unfortunately, this very good outside defender also has a weakness, that is his strength. Singles, he is very helpless.

"Now, do you still think I have no chance?" Zhang Chen left the other side with a back.

With Pat Riley giving him more freedom, it is not easy for defensive players with weaknesses to lock him up. The so-called closer to the basket, the higher the shooting rate will be. At that time, he entered the profession after college. Zhang Chen of the team happened to be familiar with various techniques.

And he is getting more and more comfortable defending Sprewell. Preventing the opponent from breaking through is the top priority. Try to keep up with the opponent's footsteps, especially the terrifying first step. If the opponent wants to draw wind and draw in from a long distance, just let him. After the first step of defending, it is close to defending against the shot, and Sprewell bursts in again. The season's block leader at the basket is not a display.

In this game, the Knicks played two straight balls from the beginning, and the subsequent scoring was very tangled. Sprewell had few chances to be defended, Houston was a bit unstable, and Ewing's strong attack was compared to Zhang Chen's. Offensively speaking, it was too strenuous to play.

When Zhang Chen asked for the ball near the basket, the Knicks realized that there was no player who could defend him. They replaced Thomas for a short time and used his height to cover him. Unfortunately, Zhang Chen was not an inside player. It was because of Sprewell that he targeted the low post.

Using Thomas to defend him, the height and strength are enough, but the footwork is too bad. He can pass the opponent clean with one turn. Whether the Knicks' inside defense or not, it is precisely this game P-J-Brown Zhang Chen's half-stop was very good, and Ewing passed the supplementary defense. As a result, Zhang Chen got a few more assists.

"Zhang Chen's performance has reached the level of an All-Star, and the Knicks are in danger."

"If Pat Riley had used Zhang Chen like this earlier, I'm afraid this series would not be as tangled as before."

In fact, even Pat Riley didn't think that letting Zhang Chen go low in the offense would cause such trouble for the Knicks. In fact, since he forced Sprewell, Zhang Chen was not a complete point forward. More like a power forward, he's so aggressive.

However, his passing was also in line with the standard. After halftime, the Heat led by 10 points.

"Alonzo, from the beginning of the third quarter, you should defend Ewing, and Zhang Chen will control the offensive end. Try to defeat them in the third quarter...don't put too much pressure on it, pay attention to defense, even if you don't win the opponent in the third quarter, In the fourth quarter, we can change back to the regular style of play and play slowly."

At halftime, Pat Riley once again concluded that Ewing would stand up in the second half of the Knicks. This is not just a matter of the coach's tactical choice. It should be said that this is the tradition of the NBA. When the team is in crisis, it is common to stand up. They are the bosses of the team.

Ewing has stayed with so many people in New York and has been the boss for a long time. Regardless of the reason, he must stand up. This is his destiny.

Even though Zhang Chen wanted the ball in the last game of the Heat, in terms of ending the offense, Mourning actually did more.

A boss like Mourning who came to the Heat halfway has to take on the offense when the team is in trouble, let alone a player like Ewing who has always been with the Knicks.

So it's not that Pat Riley is too cunning, it's just that the answer is too obvious.

As expected, Ewing started to work hard on both the offensive and defensive ends as soon as he played in the second half.

Seeing Ewing, who is no longer young, fighting hard at the basket, waves of "MVP" shouts sounded on the court. However, his style of play is too hard.

Mourning can defend Ewing alone, and the Knicks naturally did not let go of the other Heat.

The result is that Ewing's data is constantly rising, while the gap between the team and the Heat is slowly widening.

There are different voices among the fans, not to blame Ewing, anyone can see that he tried his best.

As a result, many fans accused other Knicks players and coaches.

Fans are the cutest, but they are also the most vulnerable to the score. They are not professional, so their emotions are more unstable than players.

"Ewing's ball was a little weaker. The Heat launched a fast break. The defense that the Knicks are proud of didn't see it at all in this round."

Ewing fought for the whole quarter, and the Knicks fell behind by 15 points in the third quarter.

It's not a desperate score, but the Knicks feel hopeless because no matter how hard they try, the momentum is always on the Heat's side.

In the fourth quarter, Mourning showed his strength inside, but Ewing tried his best but failed to recover the score.

At the end of the game, Ewing was basically helped down, and the New York Knicks ended the season at their home court.

88:72, the final score, the Heat won the first opponent in the playoffs 3:1, and successfully advanced to the second round of the playoffs, the Eastern Conference semifinals.

(End of this chapter)