Starting from the last bus in the NBA

Chapter 219 Meeting the Spurs Again

After returning to Seattle, the Sonics have three full days of rest, enough to adjust their status.

Not only that, Paul Westphal really tried the one-star four-shot tactic during training.

It feels pretty good.

Especially when there is Gary Payton or Wang Hao on the field, the effect is better.

However, it still depends on the state of the inside star, that is, the state of Ewing.

If it was Ewing ten years ago, the execution of this tactic would have felt somewhat invincible.

Inside defense, rebounding, and even offense, it can be said to be a catch.

Even, he can do better than Warcraft Howard.

It's a pity that Ewing's strength is greatly reduced today, and his physical fitness is not a small problem.

Fortunately, the Sonics didn't expect too much, just play a role in the substitute stage.

Can't beat the opponent's starter, and can't beat the opponent's substitute?

Taking advantage of these two days, Wang Hao also participated in many activities, mainly the invitations for the covers of various magazines.

In this regard, he did not refuse.

Although the players mainly play ball, if they are too low-key, it may not be a good thing.

After all, being low key is forgotten.

Sometimes, various awards in the NBA still value fame very much. The greater the fame, the more opportunities there are.

Of course, strength is the foundation, and fame is a bonus.

He also deliberately found a time to meet with Nick Anderson, mainly to discuss the next investment direction.

Regarding this aspect, Wang Hao didn't think too much about it.

When the dot-com bubble just passed and it was the time of bottom-hunting, just buy those few eye-catching internet stocks in later generations.

In terms of finance, apart from a few more famous incidents, he doesn't know too much.

However, it doesn't matter.

Anyway, he has already participated in Penguin's two financings, and is now the largest shareholder. Of course, he does not participate in management.

In addition, he also registered multiple Internet domain names early in the morning, such as Facebook.

He doesn't intend to hang out with Wall Street, and he doesn't need to pay special attention to these things.

Therefore, even though Nick Anderson gave him a lot of suggestions, he rejected them all one by one.

That's right, this year's bumper harvest seems to make this Wall Street old fritter feel like he's doing it again.

He planned to take Wang Hao's money to take risks, what was he thinking, he really thought that everyone knew the future just like him.

Wang Hao doesn't care about Nick Anderson's ambitions, but don't even think about taking risks with his money.

When necessary, he doesn't mind kicking out a disobedient subordinate.

Three days later, the Sonics ushered in another opponent at home, the Dallas Mavericks.

This season, the performance of the Mavericks is pretty good. So far, they have achieved a record of 6 wins and 4 losses.

Of course, compared to the Supersonics, that's not enough. The Supersonics have won 9 consecutive victories, ranking first in the league.

The reason why such a record can be achieved is that the old Nelson's tactics are further mature.

The most important reason is Nash's growth. After ten games, Nash averaged 16 points and 7.5 assists per game.

If McGrady's performance this year is not too exaggerated, he may even have the opportunity to compete for the Most Improved Player of the season.

In addition, it is Nowitzki's continuous improvement.

This season, Nowitzki finally entered the 20+ club and became a real first-class star.

Michael Finley, Nowitzki, plus Steve Nash, the Mavericks' lineup is definitely not weak.

In addition to these three, the remaining two starters are shooting guard Greg Buckner and big center Bradley.

In fact, this is not the regular starting of the Mavericks. In the previous games, Steve Nash and Howard Eisley were composed of dual point guards.

I have to say that the mad scientist really deserved his reputation, he dared to use any kind of lineup.

You know, Nash's defense is not good, plus the smaller Howard Asley.

The entire Mavericks' backcourt combination has given up on defense.

Today's old Don Nelson, obsessed with offense, has really reached the point of madness.

It's just that, in this game, he took the initiative to make adjustments and used Greg Buckner, who has a relatively better defense.

Of course, it is said that the defense is good, but it is actually only relative to Nash and Howard Exile.

Speaking of Greg, in fact, he and Wang Hao still have a little relationship, both of them are sophomores.

That's right, he was also born in the 1999 draft, and his pick was even slightly higher than Wang Hao.

For defense, Don Nelson just made a little adjustment, after all, he didn't really care.

Starting with him, playing a good offense is the most important thing.

Maybe it's because the Supersonics have done well this year, and the fans have also seen hope. Today's attendance is really not low.

Not only that, there were singing and cheering in the key arena, and the fans spontaneously cheered for the team.

Finally, the game started.

Bradley with a big bamboo pole is indeed the tallest player in the NBA. His height and wingspan are very exaggerated.

Don't look at the thin body, but in terms of the jump ball alone, this advantage is really too great.

Just as Ewing was about to jump, he reached the ball as soon as he stood on tiptoe, and passed the ball to Nash.

After Nash got the ball, without any hesitation, he immediately picked up his speed and rushed to the opponent's half.

Whether it can be done at once is not the most important thing, the most important thing is to increase the speed.

Wang Hao posted it immediately. In comparison, the most important thing is not to allow Nash to pass the ball easily.

As Nash moved, the entire Mavericks ran.

Wang Hao thought he had defended well, but with Nash's change of direction, he still let him pass the ball easily.

Nowitzki rushed to slap on the horse, first made a fake move to shake PJ Brown away, and then broke through and made a layup.

0:2
From the start of the game, but only 7 seconds have passed, the Mavericks have successfully scored.

Looking back, Gary Payton also quickly advanced with the ball. Howard Exile wanted to delay and was directly thrown.

As for Wang Hao, that would be too much.

Squeezing Nash directly under the basket, Gary Payton immediately passed the ball over, and Wang Hao directly put the ball into the basket.

Nash could do nothing but shiver under the basket.

This attack also did not exceed 10 seconds.

Such a fast-paced offensive and defensive transition, scoring goals one after another, made the fans happy.

The Mavericks are good at playing fast-paced, and the Sonics are not bad in this respect either.

Moreover, the Sonics have not given up on defense while ensuring offense, which the Mavericks do not have.

This led to the fact that the Sonics had a chance to defend the Mavericks, but the Mavericks couldn't.

Especially after a few minutes, Ewing was replaced, the height of the Supersonic lineup dropped, but the speed was greatly improved.

Especially Lewis, after facing Nowitzki, he played very well.

Two consecutive single defenses against Nowitzki, and also hit a three-pointer in the offense.

I have to say that Lewis's performance this season is not bad.

Today's Nowitzki has not yet practiced unsolvable singles, let alone the uncanny golden rooster independence.

His advantage in the position of power forward, the most important thing is his extraordinary flexibility and moving speed.

Unfortunately, this is also what Lewis has, and even, he can play the third position for a long time.

The most important thing to defend Nowitzki is the speed of movement.

You know, after Nowitzki's personal ability reaches its peak, defending him is definitely a big problem.

At that time, someone pioneered the use of wing strikers to defend him.

Wing strikers are often not too tall, and they have very good athletic ability and wingspan.

When Nowitzki chooses outside shots, he can effectively interfere, but when he breaks through, he is restricted to death.

In 2007, the reason why the Warriors led by Nelson were able to create a black eight miracle was largely because of this.

In that series, Nowitzki averaged less than 20 points per game, 19.7 points to be exact.

It looks good, but the problem is that his shooting rate is less than 40%.

This is absolutely unacceptable for an inside player, who is still a core player who focuses on offense.

You know, he was the regular season MVP of that season.

The reason why Nowitzki can be restricted in this way, in addition to Nowitzki's own reasons, Stephen Jackson contributed a lot.

Stephen Jackson is known as a martial arts saint. In addition to his good fighting ability, he also defends very well.

As a standard wing player, his athletic ability is good, coupled with his height and long arms, he can indeed effectively limit Nowitzki.

As the game progressed, the Sonics took advantage of a rain of three-pointers and took the lead in one fell swoop in the third quarter.

And keep this game until the end of the game. After all, the Mavericks can score, but they can't defend.

If you don't defend well and let your opponent score while you score, then naturally there is no way to catch up with the score.

128:116
In the whole game, the two teams scored a total of 244 points, which is the highest score since the new season.

Continuously scoring goals, the two teams really staged a wonderful fast offensive and defensive performance.

Wang Hao continued to maintain a good state and scored a game-high 38 points.

Then there was Gary Payton, who easily scored 20+12.

In addition, Lewis also performed very well, scoring 26 points in a single game, which is not inferior to Nowitzki.

Nowitzki played in the second half, hit consecutive outside shots, and also scored 25 points, which is also the highest score for the Mavericks.

In addition to Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash also both scored 20+.

In one game, six players from the two teams scored 20+. I don’t know if such a game is unprecedented.

With the victory of this game, the Sonics won 11 consecutive victories in the season and secured the top spot in the rankings.

Next, there are two more away games. Fortunately, the game is in the West, which is much easier.

First it was an away game against the Los Angeles Clippers, and then went to Texas to challenge two strong opponents in Texas.

It was the Mavericks who had just fought, and the San Antonio Spurs.

With Duncan left, and Duncan's injury has recovered, the Spurs once again returned to the ranks of strong teams.

In fact, during the offseason, the Spurs also made reinforcements, but it was just a small fight.

For them, as long as Duncan stays, the cornerstone of the team will be there.

Facing the Clippers and Mavericks, the Sonics continued their winning streak, and the two teams did not cause them too much trouble.

After all, the winning streak is in progress, and the Sonics' players are in good shape.

Unless a team can forcibly break their momentum, otherwise, this state will continue.

In a short period of time, the Sonics can't meet the Lakers. Everyone is concerned about whether the Spurs can give the Sonics their first defeat of the season at home.

Including Paul Westphal, as well as many supersonic players, are also very concerned about this game.

Although in the playoffs last season, the Sonics defeated the Spurs and successfully advanced to the Western Conference semifinals.

But if the series is played again, even if it is the Sonics, they are not confident that they will definitely win.

The same is true this season. As one of the strong teams in the Western Conference, the Spurs are definitely one of their opponents in the playoffs.

Not only the Sonics think so, but also the Spurs.

Popovich is studying the Sonics' new season's game, and he is very uneasy.

"During the offseason, we can actually be bolder. If we are more aggressive, we may be able to bring Wang back."

That's right, during the offseason, the Spurs did chase Wang Hao and made an offer.

However, this offer is not so sincere.

Of course, the main reason was that Duncan had plans to leave at the time, which made the Spurs a little bit battered.

After all, getting Wang Hao is just icing on the cake, and keeping Duncan is the foundation of the team.

But who knows, since the new season, Wang Hao has played the best performance in the league, even at the MVP level.

To be honest, Popovich has some regrets.

In fact, not only him, but also those teams that had chased Wang Hao but didn't do their best, all regretted it at this time.

"Duncan + Wang Hao."

Thinking of this, Popovich became excited unconsciously. This is definitely the foundation of the dynasty.

Unfortunately, this can only be imagined in the mind.

Since he is an opponent, he cannot be polite. Popovich is already considering how to deal with Wang Hao.

Last season, Wang Hao was just an excellent shooter, and his shooting and off-ball movement were fine.

But in this season, Wang Hao has made up for his shortcomings. Although there are still many shortcomings, it is not so easy to deal with.

As soon as he stepped into the center of the Alamo Dome, there was a burst of boos at the scene, especially when Wang Hao came out, the boos reached a climax.

Fans in San Antonio have nothing to love about the team that eliminated them last season.

For all this, Wang Hao can accept it calmly.

After all, as a strong team, you must constantly beat your opponents, and the hatred of opponent fans is actually a kind of recognition.

For this arena and this team, the Sonics are also no strangers, after all, they just played a series.

Anyway, they are already familiar with it, and the Spurs haven't changed much, and the coaching staff has nothing to say, just play normally after playing.

(End of this chapter)