Healing Basketball

Chapter 416 416. Second in the West! (8000 words)
"Warden, you, Butcher, and Little Flying Squirrel were selected as All-Stars, and you became a brand-new Big Three combination..."

"Of course, from the moment I entered the NBA, my goal is the championship."

On February 2, the last game day of the first half of the season, the Trail Blazers came to Seattle.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Liu Xiu accepted an exclusive interview with the court station, which was scheduled yesterday.

The three All-Stars of the Trail Blazers just entertained themselves in private and called themselves the "Big Three", and the imperial court directly shouted it out.

Liu Xiu didn't refuse. In fact, being called the Big Three is quite a cool thing. As for the pressure brought by this title, I really don't care too much. For him, the pressure from the outside world is not as important as he himself The degree of emphasis on stress has a large impact.

After accepting the interview and returning to the room, the boss's secretary came.

After exchanging pleasantries, the secretary took out a gift, the Star Wars series notebook just released by the aliens in January, which Liu Xiu had seen while watching the news.

"The boss knows that you like to play World of Warcraft recently, so he specially chose this computer. Every player in our team has one. You don't have to worry about computer configuration problems when you play away games in the future..." The secretary conveyed the boss's message to the players. caring.

Liu Xiu picked up the laptop, it was like a solid steel plate, much heavier than his own dilapidated notebook, but let alone, he really liked this gift.

Just one question: "Isn't the alliance prohibiting giving expensive gifts? This notebook costs several thousand dollars, right?"

The secretary replied: "Don't worry, the warden. The boss has approved the alliance's application. You only need to add the gift expenses this time to the amount of luxury tax you pay. Coaches and staff in other departments also have corresponding seasons." Win the prize."

"Yes...is that so..." Liu Xiu felt what it meant to be rich and to be able to do whatever she wanted.

Damn capitalism!
Liu Xiu put away the presents, and had another question: "Why are there gifts suddenly this year? There didn't seem to be any in the mid-season last year."

The secretary was at a loss for words, what did he say?
Said that the boss was unhappy when he saw each of you last year?Said that the boss did not deduct your wages last year, which is already good, and you still think about bonuses?

However, the secretary is professional, so he responded in a non-essential way: "Yesterday, the boss was having a meeting in Seattle, and he was very happy to learn that you, Butcher, and Little Flying Squirrel were all selected as All-Stars. Yesterday afternoon, he temporarily decided to give gifts and bonuses."

"What? The boss is also in Seattle?" Liu Xiu screamed!

Seeing Liu Xiu's panicked expression, the secretary almost laughed out loud.

But as a good employee, the secretary still thought about it: Is this the point?

Professionalism is an essential quality for a secretary. He replied: "The boss still has work today, and he left Seattle this morning. He asked me to express my apologies to you for not being able to come to the scene to cheer for you in person."

Liu Xiu's hanging heart finally returned to his stomach. He wiped off the sweat that didn't exist on his forehead and said, "The boss is too polite. Work is the most important thing. There is no need to come to watch the game. We have already received his wishes."

Hearing this, the secretary thought to himself: The labor-management relationship of our team is so harmonious, the relationship is so good!
Look, the warden cares more about the boss, and worries about affecting the boss's work.

It's just that he has to go to the hotel next door to report to the boss about the reaction of the team members to the gift, which is a bit of a headache...

After leaving Liu Xiu's room, the secretary went to the parking lot, ready to go to the boss's side.

Gifts, in fact, only a few star players were given by him personally, and the others were given by the staff. The boss wanted to know how the stars would react when they saw the gifts.

Not for any reason, I just want to do this thing, just like wanting to play football and watch movies in my spare time...

A light bulb popped out of the secretary's head that no one else could see, and there it is!

John Nash's half-time financial report predicts that their Trail Blazers may be profitable this season.

This is the first time they have made a profit since the 98-99 season, and this boss must not be able to stand it.

As a qualified secretary, you must share the worries of the boss, find a way to keep the team unprofitable, and find a way to make the boss spend more money during the season cycle!
It must not be spent indiscriminately, but to start spending money to help the team.

Now that the boss has new things to do in his spare time, he won't care about feedback on gift giving anymore.

Plan pass!
……

……

At 7:40 in the evening, after resting for an afternoon and completing the warm-up, the Trail Blazers first entered the field of the Key Stadium. When he came to this arena to play on behalf of the Lakers during the season, there were many, many more fans wearing his jersey.

Two years later, the fans in Seattle have already looked away from Payton's clamor to trade him to a championship team, and that Payton did not come back to join forces with Ray Allen in the summer of 03...etc.

Back then, in the era of Payton + Rainman, the record was more than 6 wins for 55 consecutive years, including 61 wins, 63 wins, and 64 wins in three seasons. When the Supersonic team suffered consecutive injuries and their record collapsed last season, fans only remembered Payton's good.

Seeing the three Musketeers play so well this season, they only have the chance to hit 55 wins and guarantee the strength of 50 wins. Only then did they realize that they were already very strong back then.

After the players of the visiting team entered the field, the lights at the entrance of the players of the visiting team dimmed.

Liu Xiu is quite envious of the treatment Payton received when he returned to the stadium where he spent more than ten years.

When it comes to the NBA in the 90s, Payton is absolutely inescapable...background.

Then the home team players came on the field. The Sonics with three musketeers are very suitable for offensive basketball under the new rules. The current record of 33 wins and 16 losses ranks second in the Northwest Division and fifth in the West.

After the players of the two teams entered the arena, the lights were turned on, and Little Flying Squirrel and Butcher felt a hot gaze from the other side.

Rashard Lewis!
He has played 40 games so far this season. He is a super shooter with an average of 20.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. As a pure shooter, his short-range scoring average is only 4.8 points per game, including free throws. 75%, 46% three-point shooting, no need to hold the ball, space pulling ability, shooting stability are amazing, one of the most popular substitutes for the Western All-Stars...

Little Momonga and Butcher, who occupied the two free agent positions of the Western All-Star bench, in Lewis' view, it was these two who robbed him of his All-Star position.

You must know that for functional players like them, it is not easy to be selected as an All-Star.

Even Reggie Miller, in his 18th year of career, has been selected to the All-Star number of times!
Little Flying Squirrel and Butcher had expected Lewis' hostility. After announcing the All-Star substitute list yesterday, the voting results were announced.

In the west, under the situation that the league assigned Stoudemire to the center position, 5 people including Stoudemire, Nowitzki, Marion, Ray Allen, and Nash locked 5 spots. Fixed position, other people can only be selected by the coach to choose 'free man'.

Lewis got a lot of votes!

All-stars, even superstars care about things, players at the edge of the All-Stars must care more.

On the side of Little Flying Squirrel, the matchup was less than one, and Lewis was only incidentally hostile. The relationship between him and Randolph was finally settled this time.

On the other side, Liu Xiu and Ray Allen looked at each other, nodded to each other as greetings, and neither stepped forward to greet each other.

Does his warden have a good relationship with Ray Allen?Or is it bad?Liu Xiu was always puzzled.

But the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, which is also good. It’s good to say hello to Ray Allen when you see him like this, and don’t bother him at ordinary times. It’s also good to call Dong Ge if you have something to do; it’s also good to greet James politely. It's not bad for a while; the volute is too arrogant, but he also likes Bel's polite and ceremonial way of communicating...

It's strange to have the same relationship with everyone.

...

In the final preparation stage before the game, the spirit of the Trail Blazers players was very high!
The last game in the first half of the season; the Spurs lost another game, 12 losses, and their Trail Blazers have the advantage of playing against each other. This defeat of the Supersonics can regain the second place in the Western Conference; And most importantly, Warden, Butcher, and Flying Squirrel were selected as All-Stars together... Afterwards, they invited their teammates to Denver for the All-Star Weekend. The team's game mood is even higher than that of the Sonics players at home!

At 7:58, the referee notified the two teams to start.

Liu Xiu went to the technical table to polish the chalk, and copied Little Flying Squirrel's 'Flying Squirrel', which increased the counterattack speed by 3; Ray Allen's 'Quick Shot', the shooting speed was increased by 10%, and the shooting speed was increased by an additional 10% when catching and shooting.

When finishing the final preparations before the game and about to step onto the court, what Liu Xiu was looking forward to came!
Ray Allen came to Liu Xiu's side to rub chalk, and said while rubbing: "When you run without the ball and have enough physical fitness, the threat of attacking the basket is as important as the threat of outside catch and shoot, and even more important. The threat of cutting the ball into the frame is stronger, but now your ability in this area is not good enough, which in turn affects your progress in running without the ball outside. You are not Lewis, you do not have his talent, you cannot train like him Running ability, so you need to pay more attention to the balance of threats, so that opponents cannot make defensive multiple choice questions.”

Liu Xiu responded, "Thank you."

Ray Allen nodded.

A little more interaction.

The first two teams came to the field.

Trail Blazers: Payton, Liu Xiu, outlaws, Randolph, Kwame Brown.

Sonics: Ridnour, Ray Allen, Radmanovich, Lewis, Nick Collison.

Raheem is sitting on the bench. Tonight he is arranged to play as a substitute because of the consideration of position. His attention is on Jerome James, Reggie Evans, Dan Ni Fortson and other opponents.

The Sonics in front of us are one of the teams with the most changing styles in the middle of this season.

The formation of the three musketeers is unparalleled in firepower, the short offensive rebounding army is also a headache, and the pick-and-roll offense instigated by Ridnour is very stable... A coach who can coach for more than 20 years always has his excellence, Nate McMillan showed early on his ability to adapt to the rules.

The three musketeers formation will always be found by the opponent, but relying on the changeable style of play, the Sonics have continued to remain strong this season, and they have also continued to maintain the strength of the three musketeers.

Coming off the bench tonight, it's still a little difficult to deal with the opponent's frontcourt substitutes. After all, his bishop is just a past All-Star, and he doesn't have the popularity of the new All-Star Little Momonga sitting next to him. .

Yes, the bishop is a little envious.

Originally, he had gradually lost his enthusiasm for basketball during the Eagles stage. At that time, he no longer cared about these things. Now that he has regained his enthusiasm for basketball, he really cares.

If you have negative emotions, just sprinkle them on your opponents!
Let’s first look at how the starters deal with the opponent. As the first substitute in the frontcourt, he may play at any time. It is not just the opponent’s frontcourt substitutes that need to be paid attention to. He may also have to deal with the starter. In this case, the advantage of being a substitute You have to make good use of it - you can first understand the other party's state tonight.

On the court, the game has already begun.

Kwame Brown easily defeated Nick Collison to win the jump ball. Liu Xiu and Kwame Brown played a pick-and-roll. Lewis, who expanded to defend the pick-and-roll, was easily broken by Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu entered the inside and attracted Nick Collison to defend. Randolph lobbed the ball, and the latter scored two points with both hands filling the frame.

The Blazers' offensive rhythm is brisk and agile!

This is the third time this season that they have played against the Three Musketeers. The Trail Blazers have a lot of experience, so don't try to defend against it, it's over!
It is more important to maintain the continuity of offensive firepower!

When it came time for the Sonics to attack, the rhythm was not as fast as the Trail Blazers, but smooth and smooth. Ridnour and Nick Collison launched a pick-and-roll attack. After two ball moves, it finally came to Lewis. Lewis received the ball long Two points shot hit!

The great thing about Lewis is that you know that he can only catch the ball and make long-range shots. He can still get the ball and shoot opportunities by relying on his running position and the restraint of his teammates.

Offensive and defensive transition, as soon as Lewis' long two-pointer fell into the basket, Payton quickly picked up the ball and sent it to Liu Xiu on the right side of the free throw line. Liu Xiu pushed for a fast break!

'Talent: Flying Squirrel' is triggered, Liu Xiuqi's counterattack speed +3!

The extrajudicial lunatics also rushed down immediately, launching an attack together with Liu Xiu.

The Supersonics have a good defensive discipline. They were not stunned when they were hit suddenly. Although the formation was messy, they actively retreated. They did a good job of blocking Liu Xiu in the middle and intercepting the outlaws on the flanks. , Liu Xiu did not choose to make an emergency stop jump shot, but confronted Ray Allen who was on defense and entered the basket, and passed back to the direction of the free throw line. Randolph caught the ball and made a three-step layup!
Lewis didn't even dare to go up to see the fierce look of the butcher catching the ball directly.

Very nice fast break 3 on 4!

The main condition for the Trail Blazers to succeed in this wave of fast breaks is the athletic ability of the outlaws!

In the transition between offense and defense, Lewis quickly picked up the ball and served, and he saw an opportunity to counterattack.

Although he couldn't accept the fact that he couldn't guard against it, he was scared to take a step back when he saw the butcher catch the ball for a layup just now. He felt ashamed and wanted to fight back!
Ridnour, who received the ball, also noticed that the Trail Blazers were in a messy formation, so he accelerated his counterattack!

Under the leadership of Commander Ridnour, the Sonics played a beautiful counterattack, the fast down formation is very good, the passing and receiving cooperation is very good, and Radmanovich cuts the ball from the flank... Maybe it is an opportunity Great, great, the skier was a little uncomfortable, and the layup popped out of his neck.

The retracted Liu Xiu grabbed the defensive rebound, and the other four members of the Supersonic team retreated very quickly. No one in the Supersonic team would think about offensive rebounds. When the end point was shot, the others began to retreat. .

Without a fast break opportunity, Liu Xiu still chose to advance quickly, and the Blazers players also quickly ran to the frontcourt to settle in tacit understanding.

Liu Xiu came to the top arc, Kwame Brown ran over to block Ray Allen, Liu Xiu continued to pick and roll Lewis.

Using the cover to go straight to the inside, Nick Collison chose to shrink the basket and release Randolph for a mid-range shot. He did not give the opponent a direct chance to attack the basket. Pressed up, but a little slower, when his interfering hand was in place, Liu Xiu's throw had already flown past the interfering line...and fell into the frame!
For this ball, the 'quick shot' copied from Ray Allen played a key role!Liu Xiu's use of this move became more and more proficient as the number of fights increased.

The Supersonics coach McMillan was not in a hurry. They also played well in the first two offenses. The game had just begun, and Payton dragged an old bone and four young teammates under the age of 2. Rhythm switching between offense and defense, and even the defensive formation can't be maintained... This makes McMillan feel that something is wrong, but he can't tell right away.

As the game unfolded, the Sonics quickly caught up with a 4-point difference. As long as the three musketeers feel normal, they can score against the Suns, Nets, and Nuggets!
This lineup is difficult to defend, because they don't rely on fast breaks and offensive and defensive conversions to score, but pick-and-roll offenses in positional warfare + running to catch and shoot.

Just like singles shooting, it is the most basic style of play. This most basic style of play lacks those amazing running positions and the ability to create dislocations. It also has high requirements for those who execute tactics. Three or more There is no second team in the entire league who has a shooting percentage of more than 40% and averages more than 2 three-pointers per game, which also means that it is difficult to defend.

The two teams fell into a stalemate, and the score was chasing each other, but this stalemate did not last long. As the Sonics attacked for three consecutive rounds, the situation suddenly changed!
The Trail Blazers, who had already sped up their speed, took the opportunity to counterattack and made 3 of 2 shots. One of them was a three-pointer from Liu Xiu's flanking return pass. They played a wave of 5-0. The score suddenly became 12 to 9, and the lead came to 17 points!
McMillan was still inexperienced, and it was only at this time that he realized something was wrong—the rhythm of the three musketeers was being led off by the opponent!
The Three Musketeers are not suitable for playing fast in transition!

The guards, Ray Allen and Ridnor, are quick, but the three bigs, from Radmanovich to Nick Collison, lack athleticism.

It doesn't matter if you pass and cut faster in positional battles, but running with the Trail Blazers, the rhythm of the game will be affected, and the rhythm of shooting will gradually be affected!

McMillan interrupted the game with a long timeout, allowing the three musketeers to slow down.

But the rhythm is messed up, but it is not so easy to adjust it.

After returning from the timeout, the Trail Blazers put on the backcourt double guns of the little flying mouse + the warden, and the combination of outlaw lunatics, Raheem, and Kwame Brown played and continued to run!
The Sonics wouldn't be so easily distracted. It's just that when they first saw the Trail Blazers starting with extrajudicial lunatics, they subconsciously thought that the Trail Blazers wanted to strengthen their defense.

Relying on the Trail Blazers' league-best 13-1 record last month and a month-long 10-game winning streak, the Outlaw's defense rose to prominence during this period, and his 'disturbance flow' defense got high recommendation.

Many people think that the single defense of the outlaw fanatic has the shadow of Garnett, and has the potential to defend from the 1st position to the 5th position. From Iverson to Big Z, the outlaw fanatic has made the opponent's shooting easier. More difficult to defend successfully.

Garnett was the first to show this ability. Many people don't know that Garnett is one of the players who defended Iverson best. "Perfect player", these sayings actually started from his restrictions on Iverson. When Garnett defended outside players, he never aimed to defend the opponent alone. When he switched defenses, he only had one defensive goal. ——Increase the difficulty of the opponent's outside shooting.

Still take Iverson as an example. When Iverson played against O'Neal, he averaged 29 points and 7 assists per game; when he played against Duncan, he averaged 28 points and 8 assists per game; And assists, Garnett is the best limit.

Now the outlaw lunatic has also shown this characteristic. It seems that he can't defend against anyone alone, but in fact the defensive effect is quite good. Some experts predict that in time, the outlaw lunatic has the potential to become a top single defense pioneer. .

The shadow of a famous tree, the outlaw fanatics start tonight, the supersonic team, from the coaching staff to the players, will naturally think that the Trail Blazers want to use the outlaw fanatics' outstanding mobility and excellent size to interfere with them Who would have thought that the Trail Blazers were actually trying to speed up better in the starting stage?If you play fast, the outlaws are much better at small forward than Raheem.

The Supersonics call timeout did not play a good role in adjustment, and let the Trail Blazers replace Momo and Raheem, further speeding up the tempo. At 8 minutes and 11 seconds into the first quarter, the score came to 26 to 15 , The Blazers' lead extended to 11 points!The Supersonics were forced to switch to a positional lineup in advance, trying to regain control of the initiative through adjustments in play, but only managed to stabilize the score and did not continue to pull away. Raheem, who came off the bench, played Lewis, Ray The frontcourt trio of Gee Evans and Jerome James performed with ease.

首节打完，靠着刘秀7分3助攻、拉希姆8分、小飞鼠5分、兰多夫4分……开拓者队以34比22领先超音速队12分进入节间休息！
...

While the Sonics are still seen as contenders for the top spot in the Northwest Division, it's only because they're No. 2 in the Northwest Division.

The middle of the season is the stage when the strength gap between teams of all levels is revealed. Up to now, what should be shown has already been shown.

After the formation of the three musketeers was gradually found by each team to target strategies, the Supersonics relied on increasingly rich tactics to integrate the formation of the three musketeers into the entire tactical system. The style of play, relying on the excellent adaptability of the coach, continues their strength close to the top teams.

McMillan, a talented coach, has a lot of skills and has done a good job, but it is undeniable that the Sonics have fallen out of the first echelon, while the Trail Blazers' top position in the Northwest Division has become more and more stable. It's obvious.

Of course, it doesn't mean that the Sonics have no chance of winning if there is a gap in strength. They also have their advantages. The best tactic for the Sonics to deal with the Trail Blazers is the three musketeers.

However, when this point was disrupted by the Trail Blazers due to a careless start, the confidence of many Supersonic players collapsed!Before the game, McMillan kept emphasizing the advantages of the three musketeers formation. This kind of emphasis did make the three pitchers very confident when they played, but once they performed poorly, their confidence collapsed more thoroughly.

The Sonics lost in the first two games this season, and they lost by 12 points in the first quarter. In this case, all kinds of bad memories of the first two losses kept lingering in the minds of the Sonics players. emerging from...

During the intermission, McMillan actively mobilized the enthusiasm of the players, but the effect was not good. Watching the team's boss Ray Allen say nothing, McMillan was also helpless. Compared with the top pitcher Reggie- Miller, let's not talk about strength, just talk about leadership and charisma. Ray Allen is indeed far behind.

Ray Allen prefers to lead by example, and he doesn't tell others, he has to rely on his teammates to feel it for themselves, but his temperament is not so prominent in this aspect, and his strength is not as strong as those super shooting guards. The shooting guard, Carter with the least honor, also had three teams and one second team once, while Ray Allen had three teams once.

If there is anything that Ray Allen does not lose to those guys, it is the character of being brave to take responsibility, and he is still on the same level as those guys when he dares to fight.

After the start of the second quarter, Ray Allen began to use actions to drive his teammates to fight with the Trail Blazers!
He didn't have much expectation. After falling into a disadvantage in the last match against the Trail Blazers, he was the only one who was still fighting.

But surprisingly, he didn't fight alone this time, and his strongest teammates also played hard under the disadvantage.

Ray Allen was very excited to resist the oppression of the prison team with Lewis!
Ray Allen can't lead the team alone, and Lewis can't lead the team alone. The two of them together, eh, the effect is pretty good!
Driven by the two, the Sonics clenched the score in the first half and did not allow the Trail Blazers to continue to expand their lead.

At the end of the half, the two teams scored 60 to 49, and the Trail Blazers led by 11 points into the second half.

In the third quarter, the Sonics launched a counterattack. Lewis made 8 of 5 shots in a single quarter, including 5 of 3 three-pointers. He scored 13 points in a single quarter without free throws. Ray Allen also scored 8 points in a single quarter. The two teamed up to help the Sonics score 27 points in the third quarter, and they fought inextricably with the Trail Blazers, who also scored 27 points.

However, Lewis and Ray Allen both scored 21 points in a single quarter combined, and the Sonics only scored 27 points in a single quarter. Players, every one has a score!
At the end of the quarter, the Trail Blazers, who executed their tactics steadily, scored 26 points in a single quarter. Ray Allen and Lewis were weak in succession, and the Sonics only scored 22 points in the final quarter.

尽管刘易斯22投13中、其中三分球12中6、外加6中5的罚球爆砍37分，雷-阿伦17投9中，其中三分球7中3，外加7中7的罚球也拿到了28分，两人合砍65分，但超音速队全队仅拿到98分。

靠着刘秀的23分、拉希姆的24分7板、兰多夫的17分9板3助攻、佩顿的15分6助攻、小飞鼠的12分4助攻、夸梅-布朗6分10板1抢断1盖帽……开拓者队以113比98轻取超音速队！

...

The Trail Blazers' record improved to 38 wins and 12 losses, ending the first half of the season with the second place in the Western Conference!

The tactics were executed very well tonight, and the game went extremely smoothly. After the final whistle sounded, all the Blazers players cheered and celebrated excitedly. This is a victory for the team. They played a beautiful team offensive and defensive battle tonight. Steadily suppressed the Sonics and further enhanced their dominance in the Northwest Division!
The losing side must be unhappy. The pressure of the Sonics, which lost the last half of the game, is very low.

Lewis stared at Randolph on the opposite side. He scored more than twice as many points as Randolph and beat the opponent, but the opponent won!
Emotions can be conveyed to others, and it is easier to be hostile. The butcher felt Lewis' eyes and arrogantly bulged his biceps towards Lewis, making Lewis so angry!

The butcher didn't have any liking or dislike for Lewis at first, but the other party regarded him as an enemy, so of course he wouldn't give him a good face.

After a game, the grievances deepened...

The Sonics, as the second strongest player on the team, are in this mood. How can others be better?
As the coach, McMillan couldn't say anything to the players after the loss, but at this time, the strongest player on the team left the court silently with a towel on after the loss, without saying anything...

McMillan really felt that Ray Allen was mainly responsible for the embarrassing strength of the team stuck in the early 50s and unable to make progress.

On Liu Xiu's side, after celebrating with his teammates, he turned on the system and watched the system prompt at the end of the game.

"Match Rating:
Game type: regular season.

Basic reward: 500 healing value.

数据：出场38分钟，15投8中（含三分球2中1），罚球6中6，合计23分7板5助攻1抢断。

Game Analysis: A+.

Competition influence: B.

Overall rating: A-.

Congratulations to the host for getting the reward: 750 healing value. "

The system also judged that this was a team victory.

Besides this, there is another system prompt.

"...Mission: The Last Gunner triggers."

(End of this chapter)