Pick Westbrook

Chapter 229 The Only Big Brother

In other words, the Bucks will not have any record pressure, and the 75ers will also not have any record pressure.

"Tonight's game is the last dance dedicated to Iverson and O'Neal."

At this time, the big screen at the scene also displayed the starting lineups of the two teams.

Bucks: point guard Dragic, shooting guard Iverson, small forward Danny Green, power forward Villanueva and center O'Neal.

75ers: PG Jrue Holiday, SG Judy Meeks, SF Andre Iguodala, PF Elton Brand and C Spencer Hoey s.

After Kenny Smith saw the starting roster sent by both sides, he clicked his tongue.

Because the Bucks actually sent a full bench lineup, but the 75ers sent all the main players.

Barkley explained on the side: "Tonight's game has no strategic value or practical significance for the Bucks at all."

"So they directly let the rotation players play the game. The purpose is naturally to let the Bucks' role players cherish every opportunity to increase their actual combat experience."

"Of course, in addition to this purpose, another attempt of the Bucks is to give Iverson and O'Neal a grand retirement night."

"If it's not what I expected, the two of them may play as long as they want in this match tonight."

Kenny Smith nodded again and again, strongly agreeing with Barkley's statement.

With the Bucks' current record of more than 60 wins and enough strength to compete for the championship, they really don't need to spend a lot of time on the 75ers.

More importantly, the two teams will never meet in the first round of the playoffs, so there is no necessary tactical advance rehearsal.

If the two teams are really going to fight each other to the death in the last game at the end of the game, then it will be completely meaningless.

"But why would the 75ers field their full starting lineup at this point?"

Kenny Smith couldn't help asking curiously.

After all, the next playoffs will be an extremely difficult challenge for any team in the league. All teams have worked hard for the whole season just to compete in the playoffs and kill the Quartet.

The playoffs have always been a war.

It is impossible for the 75ers not to know this truth. According to the usual habits of all teams, such meaningless games as the end of the season will not shoot core players at all.

But that's what the 75ers did.

Barkley thought about it for a while but didn't think of the reason. After a while, he guessed: "Probably. They also want to give Iverson and O'Neal a grand retirement night."

After all, the 75ers and the Bucks are in almost the same situation now, and they really have no reason to fight the Bucks.

But the team still fielded its full starting lineup, so Barkley could only guess at the explanation.

75ers coaching bench.

Coach Doug Collins smiled as he looked at the pictures on the court.

He has never coached Iverson and O'Neal, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know each other.

When the Philadelphia 75ers defeated the Washington Wizards 116-114 in overtime, Doug Collins saw Iverson become the hero of the 75ers.

He made a steal at the last minute and made a layup before the buzzer to help the 75ers win the game.

At that moment, Iverson defeated Doug Collins.

As for O'Neal, the fear he caused the entire league is even more numerous.

Shaquille O'Neal was once No.1 in the league!
So Doug Collins believes that these two players who are destined to become Hall of Famers in front of him deserve to be taken very seriously in the last game.

"This is the night of retirement for the two, and it is also the last match between the two. Of course, it must be a real fight!"

The referee blows his whistle and the game begins.

Midfield jump ball.

O'Neal looked at Spencer Hawes, who was 216cm tall, and said with a shark smile: "Dude, I'm going to retire tonight, can you give me this ball?"

Spencer Hawes spread his hands, as if to say, this is the NBA, who would do such a stupid thing on an NBA court.

Seeing that Spencer Hawes remained indifferent, O'Neill continued, "Hey, I know you're from Seattle, Washington."

"In fact, a cat I fed at home was born there, and I even went to swing on the Space Needle in Seattle. In fact, my grandma is also from Seattle."

Spencer Hawes covered his ears and was almost annoyed by this big shark.

"Shaq, don't say that your grandma is from Seattle, even if you are from Seattle, you are a brother whom you haven't seen for many years, I will call you tonight."

The referee serves.

Spencer Hawes jumped high, and in the confrontation with O'Neal, he slapped the basketball into the hands of his teammates.

The 75ers attack.

Jrue Holiday advances with the ball.

Facing Dragic's defense, he played very resolutely.

A beautiful ball-handling force went straight to the basket and scored.

O'Neal couldn't get back to the defense in time, and he had just walked beyond the three-point line when the latter made a layup.

Kenny Smith shook his head repeatedly at the live commentary stand and said: "Jrue Holiday is a very strong defender. This season, he can contribute 14 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists per game."

"With Dragic's body, it's not easy to defend him."

"It seems that in this game tonight, the Bucks will be slaughtered by the 75ers."

In a rare moment, Barkley strongly agrees with his old partner.

In fact, when the two teams came up with the starting lineup and rotation lineup respectively, the result was already obvious.

This is not a close contest at all.

The Bucks attack.

Dragic held the ball steadily, and Jrue Holiday gave a very aggressive confrontation from the beginning.

At this time, there is neither Cousins ​​nor Yi Jianlian on the court, not even O'Neal.

In other words, the Bucks lost the executor of the outside pick-and-roll, and Dragic could only find a way to get rid of Zhu Holiday's defense by himself.

But Jrue Holiday's defense is very strong!

"Golan, give me the ball."

Iverson, who found that Dragic encountered the death entanglement of his opponent, took the initiative to raise his hand from outside the three-point line to ask for the ball.

Dragic passed the ball steadily, and the defensive pressure in front of him suddenly decreased.

Iverson holds the ball.

Guarding him was Judy Meeks.

Judy Meeks is 193cm tall and is a player who shoots accurately and is good at following up three-pointers in fast breaks.

It's just that Judy Meeks' pass control ability is average, so he can only become a fixed-point shooting player. In addition, he has the disadvantage of insufficient wingspan and mediocre athletic ability.

Fortunately, Judy Meeks has a good defensive awareness and solid defensive basic skills, so he can be regarded as a player with an average defensive level in the league.

But a player with this level of defense to defend Iverson?

Facing the defense of Judy Meeks, Iverson only took a tentative step to break through with the ball and scared the opponent back in a hurry.

After the tentative step, Iverson received a large pull back with the ball.

The continuous change of ball-holding rhythm and dribbling skills caused Judy Meeks to directly lose his center of gravity, and he stumbled back several consecutive steps behind him.

Barkley almost covered his face.

"Iverson didn't even use his butterfly step and breakthrough skills, and Judy Meeks just got knocked out like this?"

"I can't believe this is a player who is retiring soon."

"I suggest that Iverson can play for another year!"

Swish!
While Barkley was speaking, Iverson had already made a shot from beyond the three-point line.

The basketball hit the basket steadily, and there was a splash of water.

75ers coaching bench.

Coach Doug Collins couldn't help but laugh at himself.

"As expected of Iverson, let Judy Meeks guard you, my heart is still too big."

Switching offense, Elton Brand easily crushed Villanueva and scored.

At this time, the Bucks' inside combination is Villanueva and O'Neal.

Villanueva is not good at defense. O'Neal's current weight has almost no inside mobility, so it is difficult for him to help defend and double-team at this time.

Villanueva can only defend Elton Brand alone, and the result is self-evident.

"Although Elton Brand is only 206cm tall and weighs 120kg, his weight is heavier than Yi Jianlian."

"But Elton Brand, who is under this weight, is a good low-post offensive player. His post-up singles are very flexible and his mid-range jumper is very accurate."

"So the players defending him will have a huge headache, and it's hard to make up their mind whether to defend his back turn on the line or off the line."

In Barkley's view, for a player like Elton Brand, only O'Neal, Yi Jianlian and Cousins ​​​​are currently the only ones who can defend the Bucks.

If Villanueva is used to defend the opponent, then it is necessary to arrange a tactic of assisting defense and double-teaming Elton Brand in the interior, otherwise letting Villanueva defend alone is simply to deliver food.

It stands to reason that with the defensive level of the Bucks, it is not enough for Villanueva to defend the opponent alone in the game, but there is really no way in tonight's game.

Because now the big center of the Bucks is the faltering O'Neal.

"Can he come to help defend?"

Barkley shook his head affirmatively.

The Bucks continued to attack.

Dragic once again took the initiative to pass the ball to Iverson.

The fans at the scene immediately stood up, and the shouts followed.

When everyone looked at the players facing Iverson on the court at this time, the audience was surprised.

Iguodala is defending Iverson!
"The 75ers chose to switch to defend Iverson, and Iguodala is the best defensive player in the 75ers right now."

Tyronn Lue took a deep breath.

In his opinion, even if it is as strong as Iverson at this stage of his career, it is difficult to single Iguodala successfully.

After all, Iguodala is very hopeful to enter the best defensive team this season, and his defense has been praised by countless players and coaches.

Marshall looked at the head coach Li Lai next to him, and he also hoped that the other party could think of a way at this time.

If the retirement night of Iverson and O'Neal turned into a night of embarrassment, it would be embarrassing and embarrassing.

Li Lai was indifferent to environmental protection with both hands.

He just looked at the time on the scoreboard, and then turned his head to look at the court again.

"Iverson is not weak at this time."

On-site commentary desk.

Barkley, who saw this scene on the court, also shook his head again and again.

That's why he thinks the Bucks will get slaughtered by the 75ers in this game tonight.

The 75ers' ability to make the Eastern Conference playoffs this season is not based on luck. They really have the strength to make it to the playoffs.

It is based on defense!

The 75ers' defense ranks seventh in the league, especially in perimeter defense. The blockade formed by Jrue Holiday and Iguodala is enough to become a nightmare for all teams in the league.

"In terms of perimeter defensive efficiency, the 75ers also rank fourth in the league, so the Bucks want to make a fuss about facing the 75ers on the perimeter."

"It's definitely not a good idea."

Iguodala looked at his big brother who used to be himself in front of him, and couldn't help but smile.

He still remembers the 06 All-Star Night slam dunk contest.

At that time, Iguodala and Nate Robinson both entered the finals of the slam dunk contest. Originally, Iguodala only needed to score 45 points to win the championship.

You must know that 45 points is not a very high score in the slam dunk contest, and Iguodala could have been very easily satisfied.

But the result!
Iguodala scored only 44 points after a crotch dunk, and the slam dunk contest was forced into the playoffs.

In the play-offs, Nate Robinson tried 15 consecutive alley-oops, and it took nearly 4 minutes to perform successfully. After 4 minutes, the audience almost fell asleep, but he still got 47. high score.

And Iguodala completed a wave of very beautiful crotch change dunks, but only scored 46 points.

So Nate Robinson won the Slam Dunk Contest that year.

Boos immediately broke out at the scene at that time. Iverson took Kobe, and the two gangsters who formed the biggest names at the time directly found the judges' theory for giving points.

Iguodala still remembers the expression of the big brother Iverson at that time, which was the most sincere appearance to his brother.

"In my heart, Iverson will always be my big brother, the only one."

on the field.

Iguodala took out his 100% defensive attitude to defend Iverson.

He knows very well that his big brother will never need pity from his opponents. Even at this stage of his career, Iverson must hope that his opponents will use all their efforts to defend him.

Iguodala chose to take a step back to defend, while staring intently at Iverson's upper body and the basketball in his hand.

Unlike most players who guard their feet, guarding Iverson can never stare at his feet.

Because Iverson's footstep breakthrough is too large and too flexible, few people can keep up with his breakthrough rhythm.

Therefore, those who dare to keep an eye on the changes in his footsteps will inevitably be terminated by his bare feet.

To defend Iverson, you can only stare at his upper body and always pay attention to the change of his dribbling center of gravity. This is the key to defending him.

"Iguodala is very familiar with Iverson. When he was in the 75ers, he did not miss one-on-one defense."

Coach Doug Collins is confident.

He believes that with Iguodala to defend Iverson, the opponent will have a rare point.

on the field.

Even if Iguodala knows how to defend Iverson the best way, this time he did not dare to get too close to each other.

Because even Iverson, who is about to turn 36, passing a defender who dares to cling to him is as easy as crossing a road.

Iverson, who was holding the ball, couldn't help but smile when he saw Iguodala's defensive state.

"I like that defense."

Wachovia Center.

The audience has all stood up.

They clapped wildly, waved posters that belonged only to Iverson, and then yelled at the court.

"Al! Break through him! You can do it!"

"You're the court elf, and there's no one in this world who can defend you one-on-one."

"You singled out the entire Lakers hero! You are our legend!"

At the moment when the fans shouted, Iverson moved.

Lower the center of gravity, and move your right foot forward to make the first step of breaking through.

It was just such a tiny movement, and Iguodala immediately took a small step back.

Iverson saw this small step, and then raised his hand without hesitation to make a long two-point shot from the middle distance.

The basketball flew over the Wachovia Center Arena, drawing a perfect arc.

Swish!
"bingo!"

Kenny Smith waved his fist excitedly at the live commentary stand.

This is Iverson!

All players in the league will choose to take a step back when defending Iverson. If Iverson does not have a certain shooting ability, then he will be infinitely emptied by his opponents, and his breakthrough power will be greatly reduced.

So except for Iverson's mid-range shooting percentage of only 41% in his rookie season, he was able to keep his mid-range shooting percentage around 44%-47% in almost every season of his career.

"This is also the way Iverson often chooses to attack when the opponent chooses to retreat to defend Iverson."

As Iverson hit this shot, the fans at the scene immediately burst into crazy shouts like a tsunami.

Kenny Smith and Barkley couldn't help covering their ears at the same time.

Fans of a home team would erupt such a sensational cry for an away player. Iverson is probably the only one in the entire NBA history.

next round.

The Bucks continued to attack.

Iverson is still holding the ball, this time Iguodala did not dare to put it further, but took a small step forward.

At this time, Iverson decisively chose to go to the basket.

With a sharp continuous change of direction, Iguoda stretched his hand and was immediately wiped out by Iverson.

Breaking into the restricted area, layup with one hand.

But at the same time!Elton Brand's help defense is here!

(End of this chapter)