Pick Westbrook

Chapter 429 Ball Control
The sudden contraction of the Pelicans' defense put a lot of defensive pressure on the Bulls.

After Rose scored a goal, he immediately encountered a large area of ​​zone defense and assistance defense. If he couldn't break through, he could only try mid-range shots and three-point shots.

Made two mid-range hits, missed a shot, and missed both three-pointers.

Barkley was extremely satisfied and said: "The Pelicans are still a strong defensive team, and they deserve to be the team that won the championship with defense last season."

"Their overall defensive strength puts a lot of pressure on Rose."

The Bulls then changed their offensive strategy, allowing Noah and Boozer to pick and roll for Rose outside the three-point line.

In this way, the two defensive giants inside the Pelicans, Anthony Davis and DeAndre Jordan, can be driven.

Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau has no intention of changing the focus of offense in tonight's game. Regardless of whether Rose is restricted by the Pelicans' defense, he just wants Rose to let go of the offense.

"The ability to perform on the best defensive team in the league is the key to how far the Bulls can go."

"Ross, you are the key to the Bulls."

But then what happened on the court made Tom Thibodeau, who is also a defensive coach, couldn't help but marvel.

When Anthony Davis and DeAndre Jordan were called out of the inside, Jimmy Butler and Leonard began to participate more in the inside defense.

Rose lost the defensive pressure of attacking the frame when facing the entanglement and defense of the two, but the defensive pressure increased sharply during the breakthrough.

Leonard made a long-handed steal while defending once, and Jimmy Butler directly pushed Rose to break through near the free throw line and turned it into a one-on-one shooting single.

Under such defensive pressure, Rose can only start to distribute the ball to help his teammates attack.

Boozer hit a jumper from the free throw line, Noah grabbed an offensive rebound from the basket, and then encountered a hot pot hat with thick eyebrows.

Kirk Hinrich hit two consecutive three-pointers, and Luol Deng's defense against Jimmy Butler was excellent.

But Leonard suddenly broke out.

He first received a pass from Paul and hit an open three-pointer, and then Kirk Hinrich made two mid-range shots in consecutive singles.

At the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans led by 28:25.

The second game.

The Pelicans sent a full bench lineup: point guard Devin Harris, shooting guard JJ Redick, small forward Vince Carter, power forward Antetokounmpo and center Oden.

In the first round of this lineup, it ended with Devin Harris failing for a layup and turning to a mid-range shot.

Stevens couldn't help but said: "The Bulls are also a strong defensive team. Tom Thibodeau is the best defensive tactician I have ever seen besides the coach."

Li Lai nodded in agreement, but he keenly discovered that the problem with the Pelicans' offense was not only the Bulls' strong defense, but also their player configuration and offense.

Devin Harris is good at breaking through and not good at passing the ball. JJ Redick is a professional spot-up shooter. Veteran Vince Carter can become a pinnacle of the sea, but this is just a regular season. It is impossible for such a veteran to stand up and fight. Kill him.

Antetokounmpo is still just a stunned young man. This is also his first official NBA game. He has not yet been able to stand up and handle the ball.

Oden can perform inside singles, but because Antetokounmpo does not have a stable shooting ability, at this moment the Pelicans' offensive inside has gathered four people to form a mahjong table.

In the Pelicans' tactical system, players are never allowed to play against the opponent's defensive focus, so Oden will not become the first choice on the offensive end.

This is the reason why the helpless German Harris could only break through and try to attack in the round just now.

"We need playmakers, we need players who can create space."

Li Lai, who discovered the problem with the team's lineup, immediately made adjustments, taking Devin Harris and Chris Paul ahead of schedule.

After Paul came on the court, he immediately organized an outside pick-and-roll. As Antetokounmpo mentioned a high single block, Oden inside immediately gained a comfortable offensive space.

Paul passed the ball inside, the Bulls were forced to double-team, and JJ-Redick had a chance to make a three-pointer from the bottom corner.

Swish!
Hit it!

"After Paul came on the court, our offense was much more stable."

Du Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief and said.

This game also allowed Li Lai to discover the mistakes and problems in the lineup. Fortunately, such problems were discovered in the first game of the regular season.

He immediately asked Stevens to make adjustments to the lineup.

"From now on, Paul will take a break 2 minutes early in the first quarter, allowing Devin Harris to play early."

"At that time, the starting players played a lot of time, and his playing will inject vitality into our lineup."

"And Paul can lead the bench to fight in the next second quarter."

"Before Antetokounmpo didn't develop his ability to control the ball, we could only use this method."

It took Stevens only a moment to understand Li Lai's consideration for adjusting the lineup. He said with some concern: "All teams in the regular season are adjusting their lineups."

"Our substitution strategy of playing Paul first will be figured out by the opponent one day. If we are restricted at that time, there will still be a lot of problems in the second team."

Li Lai said with a smile: "Did they forget that we have Jimmy Butler and Dior who are equally good at passing?"

"Also, when it comes to the playoffs, Antetokounmpo should be able to play a round or two with the ball."

Regarding Antetokounmpo's practice of holding the ball as early as possible, Li Lai asked Paul early on. The opponent is also Antetokounmpo's designated veteran, and taught him the overall situation of passing and ball handling throughout the season.

Li Lai believes that in the previous life, Antetokounmpo was trained by the legendary point guard Kidd, and in this life, Antetokounmpo was trained by Chris Paul, who is also a future legendary point guard. big gap.

On the court, Antetokounmpo hit the rim and dunked under Paul's ground pass, scoring his first goal in the NBA.

JJ-Redick hit three three-pointers in a single quarter, which directly made the Bulls lose sight of one another and wonder whether to defend the Pelicans inside or outside.

At the end of the second quarter, the Pelicans have led by 60 points at 50:10.

Because of the overall defensive ability of the Bulls, Li Lai did not give Nick Young, who could only play singles, playing time.

In the third quarter, Rose started his unparalleled breakthrough performance again, scoring 6 points in a row to stop the Pelicans.

Li Lai made another adjustment to the defensive lineup, took down Jordan, pushed the thick eyebrows to the center position, and at the same time Diaw played.

Under this lineup, the Pelicans are extremely flexible, defending Rose's breakthrough more easily and easily.

At the end of the game, the Pelicans won the game 104:95.

伦纳德在今晚发挥出色，21投12中，拿下了28分6篮板4助攻的数据，J.J-雷迪克三分9中5，贡献了17分2篮板1助攻。

公牛队的罗斯全场出手了28次，命中了其中的13球，打出了30分4篮板6助攻的数据。

Kenny Smith couldn't help but use the slogan "The Son of the Windy City Returns" to describe Rose's performance in this game.

after the game.

With a towel draped over his back, Ross walked up to Li Lai and clapped hands with Li Lai.

"Coach, I'm back."

Li Lai patted the other person on the back and said, "Your body is recovering well. It can be seen that you have been working hard these days."

Rose choked up for a while, swallowing all the suffering of this period in his stomach. He knew that the coach understood him.

Li Lai continued: "Have you practiced three-pointers well? You know, as long as you are willing, you will become a qualified pitcher."

Rose hesitated for a while and said: "I have practiced, but the team needs me to break through the basket more and cause damage."

Li Lai couldn't help but cast a glance at Tom Thibodeau, who was still as stubborn as ever.

Throughout November, the Pelicans achieved a record of 11 wins and 13 loss, ranking first in the league.

Leonard's performance this month has been jaw-droppingly exaggerated.

场均30分6篮板2助攻2抢断1盖帽，投篮命中率51%，三分球命中率44%。

On the latest MVP list, Leonard overwhelmed James and Durant, who ranked second and third, and won 3 times of the best player of the week and the best player of the month in January.

In a team-oriented team like the Pelicans, it is really not easy for Leonard to still perform like this.

Barkley even bluntly stated on his own show that the third-year Leonard has shown the potential of a superstar. He was able to win the FMVP last season, definitely not because of the fluke of defending James.

Barkley's remarks immediately aroused discussions among fans across the United States, and everyone was talking about how good the player nicknamed Robot is.

In the team, Jimmy Butler was the happiest player. He put his arms around Leonard's shoulders and kept bragging to his teammates how good Leonard was and how hard he worked with him during the offseason. training.

Of course, Jimmy did not forget to challenge Leonard to a new duel.

"This is Jimmy and Kawhi's 299 challenges. I will play a more terrifying performance than Kawhi this month."

The first game in December will be the Pelicans against the Heat.

Due to salary issues, the Heat did not have a particularly large reinforcement in the off-season, just like the Pelicans.

Their only major signing was the signing of striker Michael Beasley with a basic salary.

Michael Beasley has a good singles ability. The Heat believe that the reason why they lost to the Pelicans in the Finals last season is that no one except the Big Three can score with the ball at critical moments.

If there was another player who could stand up with the ball in that round of the series, the Heat would never be defeated by the Pelicans 4:2.

Before the game started, James said very seriously: "We are here for revenge in this game tonight."

"I know how good Kawhi Leonard has been since the start of the season, and they have the best record in the league at 13-1."

"We're going to get Leonard tonight, he won't have such an easy scoring opportunity again."

Miami, American Airlines Arena.

The flaming opening show ignited the atmosphere of the fans in the field, and they wanted to support the home team by cursing the Pelicans shit.

Heat starting lineup: Mario - Chalmers, Dwyane - Wade, LeBron - James, Chris - Bosh and Birdman Anderson.

At the beginning of the game, Birdman Anderson dunked successfully at the basket after receiving a pass from James.

Then Wade broke through the basket and used a trick. Wade slammed past Anthony Davis and Jordan's defensive layup.

Bosh hit a solid mid-range jumper from the free throw line.

The Heat made a brilliant start 8:0.

Li Lai frowned and realized that the field was unfavorable to the Pelicans. The Heat's lineup was small and flexible. Jordan was switched out time and time again, and he didn't have the strength to defend against small ones at all.

This is the key to the Heat's 8:0 start.

Stevens said: "DeAndre Jordan is the best defender of the penalty area in the league, but when encountering the Heat's lineup that is too space-seeking and flexible, his advantage is not so obvious."

Du Feng nodded in agreement and said: "Earlier in the regular season, the Warriors bloodbathed the Heat 112:100 for this reason."

"The Warriors are also an offensive team, but the Heat can't fight against them at all."

"In order to open up space for James and Wadela, the Heat pursued too much flexibility, resulting in extremely weak defense inside."

"Meeting us, the Heat took advantage because DeAndre Jordan couldn't defend, but they had to suffer when they met the Warriors."

"With the addition of coach Mike Brown this season, the Warriors have become the eighth-ranked defensive team in the league with a defensive system of rotation and unlimited defense."

"We have to watch out for them."

The lineups of the teams in the league have always been restrained. The Heat's lineup restrained the Pelicans, and the Warriors' lineup restrained the Heat, but the Pelicans dominated the Warriors.

Because the Warriors are good at shooting, unlike the Heat who are good at hitting the basket, and the Pelicans are the best perimeter defensive team in the league, they are not afraid of the Warriors' shooting.

Of course, that was last season's Warriors team. Li Lai was a little afraid of this season's five-star Warriors, and he had been waiting for the opportunity to play against the opponent to see if this team was really as brave and good at fighting as in his previous life.

Get back on the court.

Although the Heat are full of impact, there are also many outside pick-and-rolls in their offensive tactics. This is James' habit of playing.

The Pelicans also fell into a disadvantage at the beginning, but Li Lai has a way to shorten this disadvantage.

"Antetokounmpo!" Li Lai suddenly shouted.

Antetokounmpo on the bench quickly got up from his seat, took off his training clothes and ran to Li Lai.

"coach."

Li Lai pointed to James on the court and said: "This is a very precious opportunity for you. James is your excellent growth template."

"Of course you are Antetokounmpo, not James, but his playing habits, IQ and the way he handles the ball need you to learn."

"Go guard him, Antetokounmpo."

"Let him remember you!"

Antetokounmpo, who was encouraged by Li Lai, clenched his hands. So far his average per game is 8 points and 5 rebounds.

This data performance is considered good among rookies this year, probably at the middle level, but far from reaching the top ten level.

However, Li Lai has been trying to appease Brother Antetokounmpo, and even Stevens is trying to persuade him to calm down as much as possible and not be disturbed by external factors.

Antetokounmpo was late in contact with basketball. He needs to lay the foundation more than those rookies, and he can't do without a calm temperament.

In the training plan Li Lai designed for Antetokounmpo, in addition to gaining muscle and weight, the first priority is to play tactics and improve basketball IQ, and the second is to control the ball.

(End of this chapter)