basketball pope

Chapter 36 [Excellent defense, sharp offense]

After the warm-up, the players from both sides stood on the court, and the game was about to start.

Lance looked at the information and said oddly, "Today the Knicks adjusted their starting lineup and added an inexperienced fringe. Neither Oakley nor Mills are on the injured list?"

Arnold said: "The Hornets also have an undrafted rookie into the NBA, let's see how it works."

Five Knicks: Charlie Ward, Houston, Bowen, Johnson, Ewing.

Five Hornets: David Wesley, Glen Rice, Tony Farmar, Anthony Mason Jr., Verratti Divac.

It just so happens that the newcomers on both sides are small forwards.

Farmar entered the NBA undrafted. He is 206cm tall, weighs 111kg, is tall and strong, and is 27 years old.He previously played in the Euroleague for a few years and was good at defense and low post attack.

The Hornets want to replicate the Knicks' three-man frontcourt formation, better protect rebounds, and target the Knicks Johnson and Oakley's striker combination.Now, Hornets coach Dave Cowens is a little confused.

what's going on?Who is Bowen?

Did the Knicks play cards unexpectedly?
Van Gundy has left a rigid impression on many people. He will always be the same set of starters, and as long as no one is injured, he will not adjust for a season.

The Knicks have been significantly different this season.Ward was a backup last season and replaced Childs today.He will organize, wait for the perimeter to wait for three-point opportunities to shoot, and is more stable than Childs.This is the method of using Kidd when the Mavericks win the championship in the future, without occupying the ball.

On the sidelines, Van Gundy was expressionless and whispered to Yang Rui, "Can you have a seat? Don't cross your legs, you are not a fan."

"Jeff, your opponent is just a wasp, you don't need to frown deliberately, you seem to care about your opponent, right?" Yang Rui crossed Erlang's legs and folded his chest, as if he was at home.

Van Gundy hummed: "This is a game, you better be serious, otherwise once you lose, the media will definitely not say good things."

"No? You think we're going to lose to the Hornets?"

"..."

"There will be a wonderful goal in a while, will you stand up to celebrate?" Yang Rui asked.

"What do you want to do?"

"Determine a safe distance, I even have a towel ready, I'm afraid that the distance will be too close and I will throw you." Yang Rui took out a towel and lit it up.

Isn't throwing towels what fringe players do? !Van Gundy suddenly felt that there was an insurmountable age gap with Yang Rui.

Yang Rui doesn't think there is any shame in this, is it possible that he has to hold back when he is happy?He can do whatever he wants. In his previous life, he never had the opportunity to watch the NBA live, and now he is excited.

Ewing beat Divac with a jump ball. "Ghost Hand" is a famous floor-flowing center who doesn't jump on his jumper, and his toes are raised.

Ward took the ball across the half court, guarded with his back and waited for the players to pull away. Ewing screened Houston without the ball on the left side as arranged. Johnson ran to the middle and made a pick-and-roll for Ward.

The two screens were almost simultaneously performed, Mason switched to Ward, Ward took a pass to the side, Houston got rid of Rice, received the ball and shot a three-pointer.

Divac stood near the penalty area, two steps away to watch the excitement, did not switch defenses, and the ball went into the net hollow. 3 to 0.

This tactic has been tried and tested. In fact, it is a set that Divac will be good at in the King in the future. He will cover Bibby, Bobby Jackson and others on the periphery to help his teammates catch the ball. Yang Rui did an experiment in the Knicks in advance.

To prevent off-the-ball screening moves on the side, the center's speed is not enough, and Divac can never get up quickly.

The Hornets attacked, and the Knicks resorted to the "pseudo-zone defense" they were good at.This is Van Gundy's tactic, and Yang Rui has benefited a lot.

Yang Rui arranged defensive tactics, mainly man-to-man, a strategy of quickly switching defenses after encountering a pick-and-roll.As long as the opponent is good at coping with passing the ball in such a tactic, there are bound to be gaps.

Most teams lack the ability to respond inside. The Hornets are different. Divac and Mason are both excellent insiders.

In Van Gundy's defensive tactics, the center is near the penalty area, protecting the rim at all times, making rotations on the outside, and when necessary, let people who are not good at shooting take mid-to-long-range shots.

Divac pulled out, and Ewing took two steps and looked at each other.On the surface, it looks like man-to-man, but in reality, it is impossible to stare at anyone at this distance.After a few passes, Divac was preparing to make a mid-range shot, and Houston released Farmar from the side and rushed to interfere.

Divac opened up his vision and accurately passed the ball to the empty space. Farmar received the ball from the bottom line, but did not shoot when no one was defending. Farmar's layup failed and he had to pass the ball again.

The NBA clearly stipulates that zone defense is not allowed. In fact, many tactics are not man-to-man, and no one has ever been blown by the referee.If this is a violation, the league should not be called the NBA. It is more appropriate to call it a heads-up game.When Jordan was playing against the Pistons, he was often followed by two people without the ball.

With 24 seconds to go, Rice missed a jumper under the interference of Bowen, and Johnson grabbed the backcourt rebound.

Ward dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and Ewing on the left helped Houston get rid of it.

Mason switched to the pick-and-roll, and Houston took a pass to Johnson, who was running 70 degrees to the right. He took a step inside the three-point line and made a mid-range shot.

Divac came out and stretched out his hand, interfered slightly, and the ball went in. 5 to 0.

Van Gundy understood that Yang Rui was right again.It is because Oakley is not on the court that the team can have this dislocation singled-out advantage.Divac is struggling to defend Johnson or Houston, and the speed is too slow.

Wesley took the ball to the frontcourt and played a pick-and-roll with Divac. Johnson switched defenses much faster. As long as he did not encounter a super defender with a particularly sharp breakthrough, he would not be easily passed.

The ball was passed to the middle, Divac faced Ward with a jumper and hit the iron, Ewing protected the rebound in the backcourt, and then fell on the ground.

For a side screen, Ward passed it to Houston, who attracted Mason to switch without passing Johnson, waited for Ewing to cut with two steps, and gave it to the low post.

Rice is 201cm tall, and defending Ewing in the low post is too disadvantageous. The other three Knicks pulled out the perimeter. Divac retreated to make up the defense.

Rice released Ewing in the low post on the left to chase and defend too far away, so he could only leave it to his teammates. How could Mason, who is the closest, let Houston go?
Johnson took a look, shot a three-pointer, and hit again! 8 to 0.

Commentator Arnold said depressedly: "The Hornets' defense was too lax in the opening game, and they can't play like this. The Knicks' two three-pointers are good opportunities to make shots."

Lance said: "Today, the Knicks were uncharacteristically. Van Gundy used Ewing as a blue-collar collar. The opening shot was from outside players. The Hornets are in a bad situation, and the rookie Farmar can't shoot. I don't understand why he should start."

Having said that, Farmar was emptied again. He attempted a mid-range shot on the right side, but he missed the basket without being defended. Ewing stuck Divac and scored the rebound.

Excellent defense, sharp offense, the Knicks clearly have the upper hand.

PS
(End of this chapter)