The best teammates in the NBA

Chapter 102

Taking advantage of the break during the festival, in the Sina Sports Studio, hosts Ke Xiaofan and Ma Jian were also summarizing their performance in the first quarter.

"For the Magic, the player with the best performance in the first quarter must be Rashad Lewis. Director Ma, what do you think about this?"

"Rashad-Lewis has a lot of outside opportunities, mainly relying on Howard's ability inside. Both offensive and defensive ends completely suppressed Krstic. The Thunder shrunk a little, and the outside opportunities came out."

"Howard will continue to play in the next game. There was a foul in the first quarter, and the control was very good. If the Thunder want to chase points, the inside defense must be strengthened."

What Ma Jian said before the game came true, and the Thunder did not hold up inside and got blasted.
"Indeed, when a single defense can't stop Howard, then the game is indeed difficult to play. Well, the second quarter will start immediately, let's turn the scene back to the scene."

Coach Brooks directly let Jeff Green continue to play in the second quarter. Ethan Thomas couldn't open up the offensive space on the court and had to fall out of the rotation.

"Kayce, try to speed up the offensive rhythm and attack the opponent's back line more. Green, pay attention to Ryan Anderson's outside shooting, and the defense must keep up!"

Li Ze nodded to show that he understands that this is a good opportunity to chase points.

In the second quarter of the Thunder, Li Ze and Sefolosha partnered in the backcourt, with Jeff Green and Ibaka in the front line, and Nick Collison at the center.

The Magic paired Anthony Johnson and JJ Redick in the backcourt, Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson up front and Marcin Gortat at center.

"The Magic's rotation lineup still maintains a strong point of one inside and one outside, and the offensive space on the court is also very good. Carter's offense with this lineup is guaranteed, it depends on the defensive effect."

Ma Jian saw that the Magic had Marcin Gortat inside and Carter outside, and immediately felt that the Thunder team was going to be cold.

The offensive routines of the two teams are also very similar. The Magic rely on Carter, and the Thunder rely on Li Ze. They all have a big man inside and four outsiders who can shoot.

After Li Zeyun passed halftime, Carter immediately came up to defend, and this lineup relied on him for offense and defense.

In the pick-and-roll at position 5, Collison raised the screen, Li Ze dribbled the ball with his right hand to accelerate the breakthrough, and Marcin Gortat was not very defensive because Carter squeezed through the screen very quickly.

The quality of the pick-and-roll was not high, and he felt Carter's physical resistance against him by his side. Suddenly, he dribbled the ball behind his back, then turned around sharply with his left hand, and shot a fallback jumper.

"Shua" scored a 2-pointer.

"Oh ah!!!"

The whole set of movements was so smooth and unrestrained that the audience in the Amway Arena suddenly let out a huge exclamation.

"Good shot! Li Ze's shot is really beautiful, the action is so beautiful, and the most important thing is that he made the ball in the end. This must be selected as the top ten balls!"

The host Ke Xiaofan was immediately excited when he saw Li Ze's cool goal.

"Nice combination ball move, well done, Lee!"

Carter caught up with Li Ze, who was back on defense, and said something to him with a smile.

"It can only be used once, I know, after that this trick will be useless to you."

Li Ze shrugged his shoulders. As far as the game looks fancy, it still depends on Carter. Just for actual dunks, this big guy can play brilliantly.
The Magic attacked, and Anthony Johnson was also an experienced veteran. After halftime, he handed the ball to Carter, and at the same time began to direct traffic, signaling his teammates to open space for Carter.

Facing Jeff Green's defense, Carter dribbled the ball under his crotch continuously and then changed direction, swaying Jeff Green away, and dribbling the ball with his left hand to accelerate the breakthrough.

Marcin Gortat blocked Collison in the paint, allowing Carter to make an easy layup.

Li Ze felt helpless. If Ibaka shrinks, Ryan Anderson will get an open chance. In the next round, he will still have to defend Carter, and Jeff Green can't keep up.

After a quick dribble across the half, Li Ze signaled Sefoloza to come over to catch the ball, and then sank to the bottom corner. Jeff Green came out to catch the ball under the cover of Collison, and faced Ryan Anderson's defense Shunbu breakthrough.

This acceleration passed Ryan Anderson cleanly, Marcin Gortat came up to defend, Jeff Green passed to Collison under the basket during the march, the latter caught the ball and scored 2 points.

Although Jeff Green's skills are a bit rough, he must have no problem with dribbling breakthroughs. After all, he is also the fifth overall pick in the first round.

"Wonderful cooperation, it seems that other players of the Thunder team have gradually stepped up, and now it depends on the defense."

Ma Jian expects the Thunder to defend for a few rounds and narrow the point difference.

The Magic attacked, and this time Li Ze directly marked Carter. It was still a pick-and-roll attack. Li Ze struggled to squeeze through, but Carter suddenly split the ball while he was on the move. JJ Redick from the outside line caught the ball and shot it.

"Shua" 3-pointer hollow into the net.

The Thunder's defense off the ball was half a beat slow, which directly allowed JJ Redick to run out of the opportunity.

In the next 4 minutes or so, the Magic played internally and externally. Marcin Gortat frequently succeeded in the low post, and Ryan Anderson and JJ Redick also hit three-pointers.

For the Thunder team, Li Ze broke free throws consecutively, and other people's piecemeal attacks did not make the point difference widen too much.

Seeing that the players on the field were not playing well, the head coach Brooks called a timeout again. He felt that he should get back the main force in the last official timeout. This timeout was a bit late.

The second quarter lasted more than half a quarter. The Magic are now 17-13 in a single quarter. In addition to a mid-range shot, Li Ze also made 4 free throws and scored 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

The Magic defended against Li Ze by not giving shots. They went in and assisted in the defense, allowing others to finish. As a result, when the opportunity came out, the teammates missed several shots, and the point difference was still widened.

Li Ze sits on the bench and begins to ton ton. He has already discovered that he will start the hand-to-hand mode for the defense of the current team. After the dislocation, the Magic directly fouled in a few rounds.

"The old man Van Gundy is not a good person, is there such a defense against rookies!!"

Li Ze thought depressedly while drinking water.

Taking advantage of the long pause, in the Sina Sports studio, the host Ke Xiaofan couldn't help but say:

"The Magic team's defense is a bit special. There were two misplaced defenses and they fouled directly. What do you think of this?"

"This is the strategy of the Magic. Gortat's defense against the pick-and-roll, Carter was too slow, and he went straight up and was knocked into the air by Li Ze. Anthony Johnson also directly hit Li Ze with his body that time."

"Van Gundy must have explained before the game that he would not allow Li Ze to play comfortably and frequently confronted his body. Li Ze is 19 years old this year, and he must suffer in terms of physical strength, and this defensive method has worked."

Ma Jian felt that the Magic had caught all the weaknesses of the Thunder.

"Actually, not only Li Ze, but also the Magic defending Durant. Coach Van Gundy did a very good job before the game and successfully restricted the Thunder."

The host Ke Xiaofan also sighed in his heart, if he plays well, others will study him, it is not easy to eat the rice of the NBA.

In the rest of the second quarter, coach Brooks took back Turtle and Durant, bit the score, and fought hard in the third quarter. If he couldn't catch up again, the game would be dropped.

Fortunately, after the return of the main players of the two teams, the point difference did not continue to widen. At halftime, the Magic entered the second half with a 60-46 lead of 14 points.

In the Thunder's locker room, everyone was not in a good mood. They trailed by 14 points at halftime.

Coach Brooks didn't have any good solutions. This is a flaw in the lineup, so in the second half, he had to bet on the drop in the Magic's outside shooting percentage.

"Green, at the beginning of the second half, we double-teamed Howard in the low post. Others pay attention to the rotation defense on the outside, rebounds, especially long rebounds, we must control them at this time."

When Li Ze heard the coach's tactical arrangement, he knew that it was to protect the inside line, and the outside line would depend on the sky.

"I must increase strength training in the future. Are these guys playing rugby? Many moves are not for rushing the ball, they just want to foul!"

Durant was beaten badly in the first half. Whether it was over-screening or receiving the ball in the low post, the Magic, led by Pietrus, fought against each other.

"The playing style of the East is like this. The finals between the Spurs and the Pistons were not good!"

Jeff Green also complained.

"Actually, it's the same in the West. The confrontation is still the best that Russell does, and it won't be affected at all."

Although Li Ze was a little depressed, he admitted his shortcomings.

"Actually, I was also affected, and my hand feeling dropped a lot. After the first few games, I felt like an elite shooter!"

Guigui thinks that she is not performing well, and she also speaks her mind.

"Haha, Russell, don't take the delusion seriously, believe me, attacking the basket is what you should do!"

Jeff Green laughed and teased Turtle.

Seeing that everyone in the locker room started chatting and laughing again, Li Ze also felt relieved, he will fight again in the second half, there is still a chance
At the beginning of the third quarter, both sides got back the main lineup, and the outcome depends on this quarter.

After the turtle dribbled through the half court, it directly gave the ball to Li Ze who asked for the ball in the low post. Facing Carter's defense, Li Ze took a tentative step and shot a jumper.

"唰" mid-range hit.

The main strategy of the Thunder in the second half is to speed up, and the 14-point difference is really slow to catch up.

On the Magic's first attack in the second half, Jason Williams lobbed to Howard in the low post. After the latter received the ball, he hit it and Jeff Green quickly stepped forward to double-team.

Howard was not reluctant, and directly threw Rashard Lewis in the bottom corner. Durant rotated in place, and the Magic continued to pass without stopping the ball. Finally, Jason Williams made an open 3-point jumper.

"唰" hit steadily.

Li Ze frowned, this is a point that the Thunder team deliberately let go, but it all went in
In the next game, Li Ze experienced the horror of shooting all over the place, and the magic team's three-pointers began to rain!
As long as Howard is double-teamed in the low post, the Magic can make a three-pointer from the outside. Michael Pietrus scored two goals in a row at this time.

"Ah!! Ah!!"

The audience at the Amway Arena was happy. The Thunder scored 2 points with great difficulty, and the Magic hit back with Bang Bang and threw 3 points. The point difference continued to widen.

Li Ze glanced at Coach Brooks and saw that the coach signaled to continue, so he had no choice but to continue to stick to this defensive strategy.

But the three-pointer is unreasonable. When Carter also threw two consecutive three-pointers against the defense, the Thunder collapsed, especially the ultra-long three-pointer. Coach Brooks shook his head.

"Ha! Wow!!"

Howard screamed and clapped Carter's hands to celebrate, and by the way, he also incited the audience, and the Amway Arena was completely boiling.

It is very difficult for a young team to play against the wind. The Thunder team hit the iron frequently at this time. Li Ze wanted to pursue open shots reasonably, but at this time everyone couldn't make a shot. He knew he had taken it for granted.

After playing for most of the quarter, the head coach Brooks replaced the main players, and Ming Jin withdrew.

Sitting on the bench, Li Ze was also thinking about his own problems. He had a chance in the third quarter, but he broke the offensive rhythm. Trust his teammates, or should he be stubborn?
"In the end, the physical defects are magnified. It's a pity that everyone is training their muscles these days, and they don't give whistles when they touch porcelain. This is really too difficult."

(End of this chapter)