Pick Westbrook

Chapter 237 Change of Tactics
Post-match interview.

A reporter looked at D'Antoni who was in a bad mood and couldn't help but whispered: "The Knicks took the lead in changing formation in this game tonight."

"Judging from the pictures on the court, the effect is also very good."

"Curry's bottom line without the ball was restricted by you very well. He didn't even manage to make an elevator door tactic tonight."

"Will the Knicks continue to use this lineup for the next game?"

D'Antoni took a long breath and nodded, "Of course."

"This is a very successful tactical substitution, but Cousins' offense in the interior has exceeded my expectations."

"A player who can successfully single Stoudemire in his rookie season and cause 4 fouls by the opponent deserves to be favored by most people."

"Cousins ​​does have the potential to be a top center in the future."

"It's just that Cousins ​​wasn't the key to the Knicks losing tonight's game. Curry's sudden possession of the ball in the third quarter was the last straw that crushed us."

"I will find a way to solve this problem. The Knicks will return to their home court next, and we still have a chance to win the entire series."

Hearing D'Antoni's confident words, countless reporters in front of him were in awe of the head coach.

Although the opponent never led the team to the finals when he was in the Suns, he was recognized by all the head coaches in the league in terms of offensive ability.

At this time, countless reporters in front of them also looked curiously at Little Melon Anthony.

The latter scored the highest score in the game tonight, which is also the highest score in the current playoffs, with 40 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists.

It stands to reason that when a player scores such a high score, it should be extremely easy to win the next game, but in tonight's game, the Knicks didn't even take a lead in the score.

When they were closest to the Bucks, they were also 3 points behind.

Anthony is wearing a hat and sunglasses, and his mind is still full of the arrogance of Cousins ​​and the trash talk of O'Neal on the court.

Anthony said with a bossy look on his face: "The next game is my home game. I will let the Bucks see how powerful the Big Apple is. I will give full firepower on the offensive end."

After hearing this sentence, Billups on the side pressed the microphone in front of him and rejected all subsequent interviews.

"I'm 35 years old."

Billups doesn't know how many more years he can play.

But he is very clear that even if he is in the position of point guard, the most important responsibility is to sort out the team's offense and control the rhythm on the court. It will not have a particularly large impact on your own court strength.

But Billups still wants to say that he should not be able to play for two years.

Up to 37 years old.

At that age, it's time for even point guard players to retire.

Originally, Billups hoped to join forces with the Knicks and Stoudemire to compete for his next championship trophy.

Although compared to most players in the league, Billups, who has already won a championship and FMVP, has a perfect enough career.

But only players who have won the championship trophy know that when you touch it for the first time, you will never forget the feeling, and you desperately want to touch it for the second time.

Therefore, Billups, who is already 35 years old, still wants a second time.

Thinking of this, Billups couldn't help heaving a long sigh.

Does the current Knicks have the strength to compete for the championship?

It doesn't seem to him at all.

Only Billups has championship experience in the entire Knicks team, so he is the only one who knows how to play to win the championship trophy.

That's defense!
"Even for the Bucks, which ranked first in the league in offensive efficiency last season, their defensive intensity has risen to a heinous level throughout the entire process of winning the championship."

"Other teams want to compete for this glory, so why not work harder than the Bucks on the defensive end?"

In the two games that have been played in the playoffs, the Knicks are not even as aggressive as the Bucks on the defensive end. In Billups' view, losing the game is no surprise.

What makes Billups angry the most is that until now Anthony is still emphasizing offense, and he hasn't even learned a lesson from his falling out with the Nuggets.

"Yes, you are an offensive kaleidoscope, but even a single player like Kobe will give everything on the defensive end, why can't you work harder on the defensive end."

new York.

Madison Square Garden.

Spike Lee naturally already knew the current situation of the Knicks.

0:2 now.

It is very difficult for the Knicks to comeback under this score, but it is not completely hopeless.

The premise is to desperately win tonight's game and move the big score to 1:2. Only in this way can the Knicks have a chance.

"Bucks bastards! Why are you again!"

"Li Lai, you bastard, come and talk trash! Fuck!"

Bucks players bench.

The Bucks players who were ready to play were speechless when they saw Spike Lee rushing over, cursing.

"Why is this the Knicks mascot again?"

The two security guards hurried over at this time. Apart from carrying Spike Lee away as usual, the two did not forget to apologize to Li Lai again.

"Who in the league doesn't know that Spike Lee has this personality, so please understand, he is a pure fan."

Li Lai nodded to express his understanding. After all, this was not the first time he encountered such a scene.

However, Li Lai did not forget to say the same at this time: "You also need to know that as the head coach of a team, you must not lose your prestige in the away game, otherwise the morale of my players will be greatly affected."

"So, I hope that what I will do next will gain your understanding."

The two security guards were startled, not quite understanding what Li Lai meant, but they nodded in agreement.

After all, people come and go, and Spike Lee scolded the other party, so naturally he should be scolded back by the other party.

Seeing the two nodding, Li Lai smiled, but instead of yelling like a shrew on the court, he raised his right hand and raised a middle finger.

"Oops!"

When Spike Lee saw this middle finger, his lungs were about to explode. He danced on the arms of the two security guards and scolded their mothers directly.

"You bastard, who did you learn this trash talk from? It's really amazing."

"Let go of me, I'm going to yell at him for 300 rounds."

At this moment, the two security guards only felt that their faces were dull, and they felt equally humiliated.

Spike Lee is also the mascot of the Knicks. What is the difference between being humiliated like this and directly humiliating the Knicks?
So the two put down Spike Lee, and the three raised their hands together at this time, and then raised 6 middle fingers together.

The Bucks have already been ready for battle, and all the players and coaches raised their middle fingers in greeting.

A total of 36 middle fingers appeared, and the scene was extremely grand.

Spike Lee:
On-site commentary desk.

Kenny Smith, who saw this extremely dramatic scene on the court, was so happy and crazy, he was laughing up and down at the commentary stand.

"Is this playing in the playoffs?"

The big screen at the scene quickly displayed the starting lineups of the two teams tonight.

Bucks regular starter.

Knicks starting lineup: Point guard Chauncey Billups, shooting guard Bill Walker, small forward Shawn Williams, power forward Carmelo Anthony and center Amare Stoudemire .

"The Knicks still continue to adopt the strategy of placing a big center and changing to a flexible lineup."

"Of course, this lineup has been tested in the last game. The Knicks can indeed limit the Bucks' passing offense with this lineup."

But Barkley is still not optimistic about the Knicks.

Because even though they played this lineup in the last game, they still lost to the Bucks. The reason is Curry's sudden ball-handling style and Cousins' inside attack.

If the Knicks can't solve this problem tonight, they will still lose the game with a high probability.

"Bucks, you cry for me."

"Don't try to take a win in the Big Apple."

"The Knicks are invincible!"

Amidst the yelling and cursing of countless New York fans at the scene, the game began.

Midfield jump ball.

Stoudemire jumped off the first wave of offensive possessions strongly.

The Knicks attack.

Billups advances with the ball.

This time, the court brain did not choose the tactic of actively creating offensive opportunities for Anthony, but signaled Stoudemire to come up and play the pick-and-roll.

In Billups' view, Cousins' inside offense is very lethal, so the Knicks need to actively consume Cousins' physical strength from the beginning.

It would be best if he could make two defensive fouls on the offensive end, which would allow the Knicks' flexible lineup to gain an advantage.

Bucks coaching bench.

Li Lai, who saw this scene on the court, admired Billups' basketball IQ very much. Strictly speaking, this is the rhythm of the court that a point guard player needs to control most.

A simple strategy that consumes Cousins' energy can have a vital impact on the outcome of a game, and this is rhythm.

Tyronn Lue also saw this, and quickly reminded: "If Cousins ​​has a foul in the first quarter, we must remind him and let him protect himself as much as possible on the court."

"If there were two, then we would have to replace him early."

Li Lai nodded.

He is very aware of Cousins' bad temper. It is really possible that this guy can't see the opponent's tactical strategy on the court, which caused a series of butterfly effects, which led to the final Bucks losing the game.

So at this time, Li Lai walked near the center line of the court, raised his hands, and signaled to change to another offensive tactic.

Westbrook, who has been learning to control the field this season, quickly understood the coach's tactical intentions.

Although Westbrook hasn't figured out what field control is until now, it does not prevent him from performing field control tasks well on the court.

Because Li Lai would remind him anytime, anywhere of the team's main tactics.

beep!beep!
The referee blows the whistle.

Stoudemire's alley-oop received a foul from Cousins.

"Sure enough!"

Cousins ​​received his first foul of the game in less than 1 minute, which is definitely a big trouble for him.

And looking at Cousins ​​on the court, I am so angry at this time, my mother, I am my mother, yelling and cursing non-stop.

If Artest on the side hadn't stopped the opponent, he might have been called a technical foul by the referee.

"Cousins ​​should take it easy, don't let the Bucks' 2:0 advantage be wiped out by him."

Su Qun still remembers Cousins ​​as a player.

He has heard news about Cousins' violent temper more than once. Even in the summer league and preseason, conflicts broke out in the Bucks' locker room, and rumors were that Cousins, a rookie, was to blame.

Therefore, in such an important playoffs, if Cousins ​​cannot control his emotions rationally, he is likely to be frequently targeted by his opponents.

Teby is a smart player like Billups. He can easily judge the situation on the court and know which weak point to attack.

Bucks round.

Westbrook holds the ball.

Cousins ​​wanted the ball in the penalty area to single Stoudemire in order to regain face just now.

Westbrook raised his hand to stop the opponent, indicating to play other tactics.

Cousins ​​was stunned for a moment, not understanding.

"The last game was my point, and I also won the victory for the team."

"Why don't you continue to play my advantage in this game?"

Artest did not give Cousins ​​a chance to react. He assumed the role of team leader at this time and shouted at Cousins: "Execute the tactics!"

Cousins ​​still found it difficult to accept, and at this time he turned his attention to the Bucks coaching bench.

Li Lai folded his arms and stared at Cousins ​​viciously.

Cousins ​​shuddered at the gaze.

Don't look at Li Lai as a chick in front of five big and three rough players like him, the coercion and leadership qualities exuded by him can overwhelm all the Bucks players.

Even Iverson and O'Neill agreed to any order from Li Lai, which is evident.

Cousins, who had already challenged Li Lai's authority, naturally knew the result and what would happen, so he dared not challenge him a second time at this time.

For the first time, he sensibly had the idea of ​​asking the coach for the reason after the game, so he didn't play his temper in such a crucial game.

Cousins ​​mentioned the pick-and-roll outside the three-point line.

Curry cut into the penalty area without the ball, and Anthony was forced to help defend Curry.

The restricted area is empty.

Westbrook hits the basket with the ball.

boom!
The tortoise and the battle ax smashed in!

"The Bucks changed the way they play offensively!"

"Because Cousins ​​needs to constantly consume energy on the defensive end to limit the pick-and-rolls of Stoudemire and Billups, the Bucks did not let him continue to attack the basket in the paint."

"It's a really good tactical change."

"Because it's impossible for the Bucks to allow Cousins ​​to contribute on the defensive end and play efficiently on the offensive end throughout the game."

"Such a style of play will only make it difficult for the rookie to catch on both ends of the floor."

"At the same time, Westbrook will attack the Knicks' basket, which will also cause great physical exertion on both Anthony and Stoudemire."

If Barkley wasn't in the commentary seat at this time, he couldn't even help but want to applaud the Bucks coaching staff.

Such a quick tactical response and tactical change, Barkley has only seen it in Popovich, Larry Brown and Phil Jackson for so many years.

Knicks coaching bench.

D'Antoni also understood Billups' tactical changes on the court at this time.

Although the opponent did not destroy their own offensive tactics and still use that style of play, the focus of tactics has changed from Anthony to Stoudemire.

In D'Antoni's eyes, this change is possible, even extremely meaningful.

Because it would solve one of the two difficulties the Knicks faced last game, Cousins' post-up offense.

It's just that the coaching staff of the Bucks made him shine even more, because their reaction speed can really be described as abnormal.

No matter how you change the Knicks, the Bucks will always be one step ahead of you.

"This can no longer be solved at the tactical level, because at the tactical level, we have not gained any sweetness from the Bucks."

"The Bucks are inherently stronger than the Knicks in terms of player advantages, especially in terms of defensive willingness, which the Knicks players do not have."

The first quarter is over.

(End of this chapter)