NBA: Magic Johnson opens the season, crowned MOP

Hammer action!

Hammer means hammer, and action means moving with the ball.

The main feature of the hammer tactic is that when the players on the strong side make a fake pick-and-roll, the players on the weak side simultaneously set off-ball screens for the shooters.

As the name implies, it means: the ball-handler breaks through with the ball to attract the attention of the defender, so that the player who sets off-ball screens on the weak side has an opportunity to shoot three-pointers.

The purpose of setting off-ball screens on the weak side is to give the shooters more shooting space, which tests the quality and timing of the pick-and-roll on the strong side and the off-ball screen on the weak side.

The ultimate goal is to let the ball-handler break through the baseline and pass the ball to the weak side corner for a three-pointer.

This is a tactic specially set by Popovich for the Spurs' shooters, so when Joey spent a few days figuring out this complete tactic with 17 variations, he used it in today's game.

In several rounds, Dio held the ball outside the left three-point line, and Duncan quickly moved forward to make a fake pick-and-roll for Joey, mainly to push the opponent's power forward Adela outside the three-second zone.

Then Joey accelerated to break through the baseline, and Dio's ball would be passed to Joey, who was already free, to engage the defense of the Trail Blazers' players on the court.

At this time, Leonard would make an off-ball screen for Danny Green/Neal outside the right three-point line. When Joey ran to the right baseline with the defender, he passed the ball to Danny Green and made a screen for the latter, who successfully received the ball and shot in an open position.

The Spurs' tactical execution rate was very high, so the players cooperated very well. In addition, Green and Neal were still hot, so in the second game, they made 4 three-pointers in a row in five minutes, successfully widening the gap.

As the center of the ball transfer, Joey was crucial. What was tested was his ability to command and adaptability on the court, but not too strict on passing skills.

After a short break for half a quarter, Joey continued to play in the second half. At this time, the Spurs' lineup changed again. Due to Parker's rest, Joey played most of the game as a point guard, as a ball holder who digested a lot of ball rights. In addition, the score difference was more than ten points, so the old man specially arranged a four-out lineup for him.

The shooting guard was the sexy and bald Argentine demon sword, the small forward was the young Kawhi Leonard before he evolved into a"robot", the power forward was the red Mamba Matt Bonner, who had a three-point shooting rate of 38.9% last season, and the center position was the French fat man Dio who had a smooth small mid-range shot and could attack and defend.

Is this a lineup that the Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts can't handle?

What does Sima Laozi mean by this? Just don't want rebounds and inside offense?

In this lineup, except for Manu, the team's best sixth man, who briefly returned to the starting lineup last season, three of the other four people are on the bench without stable playing time, and one is a rookie who was selected at a"big price" this year.

But soon, Joey answered his doubts with practical actions.

At the beginning of the second half, Joey changed his style of"passing first, shooting second" and scored a"two plus one" against Lillard.

It should be said that no matter how top-notch Lillard's offensive ability is in the later period, and how complicated his tricks are...this defensive ability has always been his weakness throughout his career!

With the title of"Silver Powerful Terminator","、"With the blessing of multiple finishing badges such as"Bronze·Dribbling Veteran", Joey, who is a circle bigger than Lillard in height and build, might as well find a piece of tofu to kill himself if he still can't beat the latter alone.

So in the first half, with Popovich intentionally controlling Joey's playing time, Joey still has more than enough physical strength to complete various"one-on-one" duels with Lillard.

At this time, coach Terry Stotts and some referees who understand basketball on the sidelines have already seen the clues -

Damn, they are still wondering if Sima the old thief has changed his nature and wants to vigorously cultivate the team's rookies this year and start to consider the inheritance of the team's new and old. In the end, he just wants to create space for this rookie to play one-on-one?

It's not Sima the old thief, haven't you always insisted on"team style"、""Tactical coordination"? How could a rookie be the team's main attacking point and consume a lot of ball rights?

Seeing Lillard, who played the whole half of the game, being pulled away by Joey one after another and scoring several singles, Coach Stotts could not sit still and began to signal Elliot Williams and Russ Lauderdale on the sidelines to double-team.

This action was noticed by the old man Pop on the opposite side, and the old man laughed, which was exactly what he wanted.

So, when Joey signaled to pull away again, the Trail Blazers' outer defense line obviously shrank a lot.

The bronze dribbling veteran and the ball protection master were stimulated at the same time, and Joey's dribbling became smoother and more agile.

With just a change of direction of dribbling under the crotch, he instantly got rid of Lillard who intended to steal the ball, and the latter had to chase and defend.

Obscurely creating a physical contact, Joey hit Coach Lillard's chest with an elbow, and the latter staggered and fell, and instantly lost his strength in pain.

Damn, this Asian kid is not like what he looks like So easy to bully, how ruthless he was!

The referee didn't blow the whistle, Williams and Lauderdale decisively double-teamed, Joey rhythmically dribbled back, passed one person, and faced another person's defense and made a fake pass - bang - clang!

The ball was thrown high, and the bronze alley-oop initiator lit up. A black shadow wearing the Spurs' silver-gray No. 2 jersey rushed into the basket, facing the unguarded basket, and dunked the ball with one hand in the air!

It was Leonard!

Shit!

Lillard watched the Spurs score again, regardless of the pain, quickly got up from the ground, took the serve, and went straight to the Spurs' half.

At this moment, there were less than 30 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Trail Blazers' offensive round was almost over. The third quarter was over.

At this moment, the score on the field was 71:84, and the score difference was widened to thirteen points!

So this offensive round was crucial for the Trail Blazers.

A few simple dribbles disrupted Joey's defensive steps,���With Aldridge's screen, Lillard made an exaggerated back dribble to open up the shooting space in an instant - he was ready to shoot!

In the early days of his career, Lillard's shooting posture was actually quite strange. He actually pushed up from his chest, trying to shoot from the highest point. Maybe this was also related to his short height and being easily blocked by help defense...

This shot was in a wide open position. According to reason, Lillard's current 43.6% three-point shooting rate in the preseason should have been a sure thing. But at the moment before the shot, a big black hand suddenly appeared right above the basketball!

What?!

It was impossible for Lillard to stop at this time. He had already jumped up to shoot, so he could only bite the bullet and shoot!

Bang - as expected, the shot was caught by Leonard who rushed down, and Joey who had just bypassed the pick-and-roll happened to pick up the basketball and quickly pushed for a fast break.

Lillard cursed inwardly and hurriedly turned around to chase.

At this time, a one-on-one situation was formed in the frontcourt. Just as everyone watched Joey use his size advantage to crush Lillard into the three-second zone, a dark shadow rushed over:

"Bang! Clank!——"

Joey hit the ball to Leonard who followed up, and the latter ended the fast break with a simple slam dunk.

71:86, the score difference was widened to 15 points.

After this round, Leonard and Joey, both of whom are somewhat shy, actually high-fived each other and celebrated a little.

Indeed, there seems to be some natural tacit understanding between the two, which can be seen from the fact that Popovich often puts them in the same group during daily training.

The combination of two static talent monsters can always produce some unexpected"chemical effects".

Just like the ball just now, when Leonard saw Aldridge's pull-up, he decisively left Batum behind and rushed to the right at a 45-degree angle. As a result, he guessed it right - Lillard was going to force a three-pointer to save the situation!

This is the natural sense of smell from a top perimeter defender!

At the end of the third quarter, Popovich replaced Joey and all the other players on the court, and made a simple arrangement for the fourth quarter. The Spurs bench was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"Hey rookie, I didn't realize you and our Spurs' Tim Duncan have such good chemistry.……"

Parker, who was sitting in a row behind the Spurs' home bench and wearing a suit and a hot Mexican model, touched Joey's head.

The latter suddenly showed a hint of embarrassment on his face, which made the Spurs' group of old guys even more excited.

Dior, who is also a"romantic" Frenchman, even held a bottle of Gatorade and told a"stand-up comedy" on the side."：

"The NBA Spurs team only sells Gatorade drinks for $3.2, and the Spurs' No. 3 Joey and No. 2 Kawhi jointly endorse it.……"

After causing a round of teasing from the Spurs players, which made Joey and Leonard blush, the old guys started teasing Danny Green and the newly joined Baynes.���Before the Spurs, Joey could never have imagined that there would be so many black-bellied, funny and shameless players in a professional league like the NBA. It was really a relief.