Starting from the last bus in the NBA

Chapter 288 Magic Team

116:94
There is no way, and in the end the Spurs can only lose Seattle and swallow the strength of the first game of the season.

As for the Sonics, they have won two consecutive victories all the way.

Two consecutive victories is nothing great, what is great is the gold content of the opponents who have won two consecutive victories.

The Spurs and Kings are strong contenders for the top four in the Western Conference, and they are both the top teams in the league.

In this game, Wang Hao still performed well, with 31 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, as well as 2 steals and 1 block.

In addition to Wang Hao, other Supersonic players also played well.

Gary Payton has 15 points and 11 assists. This season, his goal is not only the best defensive team, but also the assist king.

Then there is PJ Brown, who also scored 10 points and 13 rebounds in this game, as well as a game-high 3 blocks.

One-on-one tough defense, this is not PJ Brown's strong point, but once he moves, his quick help defense can better protect the basket.

Rashard Lewis also scored 14 points, Michael Reid 11 and Quentin Richardson 12.

Earl Watson, who came off the bench, also played well, with 7 points and 4 assists, which is considered a qualified substitute.

In the end, under the powerful firepower of 6 players who scored in double figures, the Sonics' victory was not too difficult.

More importantly, through this game, Paul Westphal figured out another starting lineup.

Without Ewing, the Sonics can play in the starting lineup.

There is no way, after all, Ewing is one year older, so there is really no way to expect too much from him.

The Sonics have only one requirement for him, try to stay healthy and play when necessary.

Of course, this requirement is not simple.

Because when he needs to play, it must be against O'Neal, at least a player of O'Neal's level.

The season has already started, so naturally it won't stop easily.

The Supersonic game continues, and it continues to play at home, which avoids the pain of running around.

And their opponent is the Jazz.

Compared with last season, this year's Jazz team is one year older, especially the Jazz double star, plus one is almost 80 years old.

It's just that, compared to last season, the Jazz still made reinforcements.

The Jazz brought in Donyell Marshall from the Golden State Warriors, yes, that big pitcher.

This can be regarded as an early big pitcher in the NBA.

He is best known for his feat of hitting 12 three-pointers in a single game, breaking the record for three-pointers in a single game.

This record has been maintained for more than ten years, and some people can tie it, but it has been broken for more than ten years.

The one who broke the record was called Stephen Curry.

Of course, this was once, and now the single-game three-pointer record has long been broken by Wang Hao, and Marshall has no chance.

However, he still has strength.

Perhaps, Jerry Sloan really wants to continue to hit the results while the Jazz double star can still play.

That's right, continue to hit the results, not the championship.

No way, with the current lineup of the Jazz, the chances of winning the championship are almost zero.

No way, this lineup is really not competitive.

The reason why they signed up was purely to appease the fans and to allow the Jazz double stars to play for another two years.

It's just that what Wang Hao is most curious about the Jazz is actually AK47 Kirilenko from Russia.

This is also the first player in the NBA to win the block leader as a forward player.

Kirilenko's greatest value is naturally defense, omnipotent defense.

Moreover, he is not only good at defense, on offense, he is still very good at breaking through and shooting.

It's a pity that the reason of injury prevented him from going further.

At the beginning of the new season, the Jazz have lost two games in a row.

At the beginning of the game, the Jazz were directly beaten up, and were beaten 10:0 by the Supersonics.

Moreover, these 10 points were all obtained by the Sonics using counterattacks, and the Jazz couldn't even do defense.

No way, the Supersonics are too fast, and there is no chance for them to fall into a defensive formation.

In fact, this is really not to blame the Sonics, it is purely the Jazz's own reasons.

If you look at the lineup of the Jazz, Quincy Lewis is 201 centimeters, Marshall is 206 centimeters, Karl Malone is 208 centimeters, and Greg Ostertag is as high as 218 centimeters.

In other words, in the Jazz lineup, except for John Stockton, there is no one below 2 meters.

To be honest, while this has established a huge advantage in height, it is also at a huge disadvantage in speed.

Once the Supersonics run, the Jazz simply can't keep up.

As for the offense, to be honest, the Jazz's offense can only rely on the Jazz's double stars.

Marshall has a huge height advantage over Michael Reed, and Ostertag has a huge advantage over PJ Brown.

But the question is, can the two have a chance to attack with the ball?

Even if you pass the ball to them, can you score?
Therefore, the Jazz's offense still gave the ball to Karl Malone and let him single Lewis.

At this time, the supersonic double-team will also catch up immediately, and they will not give a chance at all.

Then take advantage of the speed, fast rotation.

Needless to say, the effect is very good. The supersonic speed has achieved a huge lead in the opening game.

As a last resort, Jerry Sloan had to make adjustments.

Ostertag's fake starter was replaced, and it was naturally the familiar Brian Russell.

To be honest, it's quite strange, why did Jerry Sloan have to arrange Ostertag as a fake starter?
What is the significance of a starter who averages more than ten minutes per game?
In fact, this kind of thing is not uncommon, but there are some special reasons for this.

For example, the Sonics did this last year. Ewing only played 20 minutes in his first game.

The reason is naturally Ewing's age.

Therefore, regardless of the short playing time, every shot he made was at an extremely critical moment.

The Spurs love it too!
Popovich will always pair Duncan with a center, but, well, this starter is fake.

It is to make this false starter in the opening stage, and first go to the opponent's center to kill the confrontation.

It's almost there, and then move Duncan to the center position, which is to protect Duncan.

But, does Karl Malone need it?

Especially now, Karl Malone's speed has dropped significantly, and he relies more on experience and weight to play.

In this case, less than a center is more suitable?

I didn't see that he just wanted to play his old life in order to defend Lewis's running position.

After the lineup adjustment, the Jazz did not allow the Sonics to easily play a quick offensive and defensive transition.

It's just that, falling into positional warfare, Wang Hao became an unsolvable existence again.

First Bryan Russell, then Quincy Lewis, couldn't defend Wang Hao at all.

As for double-teaming, Wang Hao is not a snake who snaps off the pass button with his jersey in his mouth, all by himself.

He can pass the ball, and he does it well.

What's more, there is Gary Payton outside the Supersonics. You can't give him the ball and let him organize the offense again.

Kirilenko was able to use his height and confrontation to limit Wang Hao's low post singles to a large extent.

However, Wang Hao is not only good at this trick.

He decisively chose a breakthrough from the outside, or even an offense without the ball. The immature Kirilenko was obviously helpless.

Not too many surprises, the Sonics have won three consecutive victories.

This game is over, and the good times of the Sonics are over.

The team lost?
Of course not, this game hasn't been played yet, how could they lose!

After the end of this home game, the Sonics will start a period of road trip.

And it's an away trip to the Eastern Conference, and it's really not easy to play 5 games in a week.

Speaking of which, this is also impossible.

Because in the next week, there will be some activities in the Key Arena, and there is no time for the Sonics to play.

No way, this is the disadvantage of not owning the arena.

You are also renting the arena to use, and others are also renting the arena to use. They spend the same amount of money, and they cannot let you do everything.

Just like the Spurs, they have a long road trip every February.

Because during this period, the Spurs' home team has been rented out and cannot be used at all.

This is San Antonio's Animal Husbandry Exhibition, which is a fixed program every year, and the Spurs can only wander around every year.

And their opponent on the first Eastern Conference road trip is the Magic.

Coming to Orlando soon, Wang Hao also made a special call to McGrady, after all, the relationship between everyone is good.

Although he doesn't plan to play brother basketball, it's actually not bad to maintain some good relationships.

"Wang, do you know? Grant is really great, and I have learned a lot from him.

You know, we play a little bit similarly, and I learned a lot from him.

I think we have a great chance this year!

By the way, you have to be ready, tomorrow, we will definitely surprise you. "

"Really? Then you have to be prepared to lose."

"Losing? That's impossible. Now that I have Grant, he will help me win the game."

"Hope it's what you want."

Perhaps it was the feeling of being alone last year that was too uncomfortable and too powerless.

After all, one person's strength is still limited, and a one-person team cannot beat a five-person team.

Therefore, when Grant Hill appeared in the small training camp as scheduled this season, he has played steadily until now.

This made McGrady very happy, and now he also has helpers.

In the previous three games, the Magic achieved a record of 2 wins and 1 loss, and also won the Raptors.

McGrady is full of confidence and hope for this season.

To be honest, Wang Hao really wanted to remind him that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

However, he still couldn't bear it.

After all, being happy for a while is a while.

This is also impossible. In the NBA, injuries are definitely not uncommon.

Even if it is reimbursed for a season, it is not impossible.

However, as long as the injury is cured, and then come back to find the state, then there is no problem.

But who would have thought that the injury has stuck to Grant Hill since then, and he will never be separated again.

At least during the years when McGrady was still in the Magic, Grant Hill basically didn't play well.

I know, it's because of his injury, but I don't know, I thought he and McGrady didn't get along.

After the game started, the Magic team really brought a lot of impact. In fact, this is also the characteristic of the Magic team.

With the two major stars of McGrady and Grant Hill, both of them are almost incomprehensible in singles.

Especially a one-step breakthrough with super explosive power makes most defenders helpless.

In this case, more can only rely on teamwork.

To put it bluntly, it is double-teaming defense, allowing inside players to double-team more and restricting them from breakthroughs.

But the problem is, if one person breaks through, you can double-team, but if two people break through one after another, what should we do?
Under the constant impact of Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill, the Supersonic's defense was really messed up.

It's just that the supersonic speed is not vegetarian.

In particular, they gained overall strength, allowing the Sonics to have more choices in the game.

If you can't defend, then attack.

Especially for the Magic's defense, the best defender on the outside is McGrady, and the best defender on the inside is Grant Horace.

McGrady's defense was really good two years ago, but not now.

Because he puts more energy into the offense, in addition, his physical fitness does not support it.

After all, not everyone is called Kobe Bryant, who can play 40 minutes on both ends of the offense and defense.

Not to mention McGrady, not even Wang Hao.

He can at most guarantee 30 minutes of high-intensity on both ends of the offense and defense, more, then it will not work.

It's just that Wang Hao can adjust himself, and he can adjust and rest by himself during certain periods of time.

Just like James at his peak, what did you say?Want to rest?Think beautifully!

Just find a few minutes on the field to catch your breath!

As for Grant Horace, this guy is almost 37 years old, and physical fitness has long been a big problem.

You know, his salary this season is only more than 200 million, which is not a very high price.

Even so, the Lakers are not willing to spend the money here.

Except that the Lakers are cold-blooded and ruthless, they treat the heroes who won the championship like this, and more importantly, the Lakers don't think it's worth it.

Sure enough, in the game, Horace was really a loophole.

The movement speed is greatly reduced, allowing Wang Hao to break through easily, or to make mid-range shots easily.

What's more, let Lewis continue to get opportunities on the outside.

Horace is like this, not to mention the rest of the Magic, who also have a fragmented defense.

At the beginning of the game, with the performance of the two stars, the Magic really clenched the score and even took the lead.

But as the game came to the fourth quarter, as the physical fitness of McGrady and Grant Hill declined, the efficiency also declined.

At this time, Wang Hao made a move.

He first scored 5 points from inside and outside, leading the Sonics to overtake the score in one fell swoop.

Immediately afterwards, it was his breakthrough pass, which constantly created scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Under the leadership of Wang Hao, the Supersonics immediately rained three-pointers. In less than 3 minutes, they beat the Magic 15:3.

For these 3 points, it was still a free throw.

The star players are not strong, and the role players have not played well. The Magic seem to be directly beaten.

In the case of successive mistakes, the Supersonics quickly opened the score to more than 10 points.

In this way, the Sonics firmly controlled the situation, and the Magic reluctantly swallowed the defeat.

(End of this chapter)