The way of the center

Chapter 39 Chaos
"I think coach George Ricard has found a way to deal with Brook Lopez. In just 2 minutes, Brook didn't score a single point. Instead, the Cyclones took advantage of the counterattack opportunity to score in one breath. Six points, the giants Stanford University is now six points behind the Cyclones, it's unbelievable!"

The commentator couldn't believe his eyes, and so did the Stanford fans.As long as Brook Lopez was on the court in previous games, the Stanford Crimson's scoring pace would not stop.But now, the Cyclones actually let Brook not score for a full 2 ​​minutes, which is something that even UCLA's Kevin Love couldn't do.

Kevin Love single-handedly defended Brook Lopez the entire game, so of course he couldn't contain this guy.However, the Cyclones used risky double-teaming to defend it, and the integrity is not only reflected on the offensive end.

However, Brook Lopez has always been the most dazzling star center in this season of guards. An Jie was able to get rid of the double-team problem when facing the University of Kansas, so Brook can do the same now.

After changing to holding the ball in a high position, Brook Lopez was still tightly double-teamed by the Cyclones.But on the outside, it's much easier to pass the ball.

Although Brook Lopez is still very reluctant to pass the ball when facing double-teams, at least he will not make mistakes when passing the ball from a high position to the outside.After getting the ball open, Markle also showed his superb shooting ability. With a three-pointer, he chased the Cyclones' six-point advantage to only three points.

If the Cyclones continue to use double-teams, then Brook will also hold the ball in the high post.And after a few rounds, Robin also saw that his brother needed to respond. If Brook passed to him, then Robin would still be able to score points against Asakin's defense.It can be said that Miles did not call a timeout, and the two Lopez brothers solved the double-team problem by themselves.Brook Lopez had completed three novels during his college years. From this aspect that has nothing to do with basketball, we can also see how flexible this big man's head is.

Sure enough, this kind of trick that came up on the spur of the moment couldn't defeat this talented guy. If he wanted to pass the test of Stanford University, he had to rely on hard power to break through.

When Brook faced Anjie again, the Cyclones really didn't dare to double-team rashly.Brook Lopez and Angie were one-on-one, and the game went around and returned to the two centers.

Brook broke his 2-minute scoring drought with a simple back-turning jump shot. Anjie had already defended vigorously. He thought that his palm had completely blocked Brook's sight, but Brook was able to throw the ball.

On the offensive end, as long as Anjie gets rid of Robin, he will find that Brook can always defend to the basket in time.If it weren't for the different hairstyles of the two brothers, An Jie might have thought that Lopez would be a double, because whether he was breaking through or retreating, he could always see these two identical faces.

And after being fooled a few times, the slow Brook didn't go out when Asakin gave Mike Taylor a pick-and-roll.In this way, Mike Taylor couldn't bypass Brook's defense. He tried to pass the ball to Asakin who was unmarked in the high post, but Asakin did not disappoint Brook. He made zero three shots. This is today Asakin's mid-range shot.

The two sides come and go on the court, seeing each other and breaking each other.The Stanford Crimson team not only evened the score, but also overtook it by five points.Coach Ricard had to call the first timeout since the start of the second half. His arrangement was indeed successful, but Brook Lopez's ability to adapt to the situation was much stronger than he thought.

Wu Hua's eyes staring at the field were not even willing to blink. This game was really exciting, and it lived up to the hype of the media before the game.At this moment, he has long forgotten that he is a reporter. He is now enjoying the purest happiness brought by basketball as a fan.As for the matter of taking pictures for An Jie, he had long since left it out of the blue.

NBA scouts also gained a lot in this game. The players who occupy the top few picks this season are all outside without exception, but the appearance of these two big men may break this pattern.

"If you have the ability to persuade An Jie to participate in the draft, arrange it quickly, because you don't want to miss such an excellent player." This is what a scout said when reporting to his manager.

Anjie and Brook Lopez, so far neither of them has been able to beat the other on the field. Although it seems that Brook has the upper hand at the moment, the audience has seen Anjie's counterattack ability in the first half.

The entanglement between Angie and Brook continued after they re-entered the field, and the gorgeous duel between the centers was far from over.

As the two kept switching offense and defense, the cheers of the fans of the two teams never stopped.In this era when perimeter players dominate, it is really a different kind of enjoyment to appreciate such a peak duel between centers.

Brook scored on the hook here, and Ainger swayed his shoulders for a jumper in the other half.The volatilization of skills and steps, the collision of muscles.Everyone else seemed to be a foil, and the two big centers continued their performances to their heart's content.

What else can the coaches of the two teams do?The strongest offensive firepower of their two teams is the center, and the two centers are very smart.The use of various tactics can no longer limit these two guys, and now they can only solve the problem by themselves.

With eight minutes left in the game, Stanford led by eight.

With 7 minutes left in the game, the Cyclones narrowed the point difference to only two points.

With 6 minutes left in the game, the Cyclones led by one point.

With 5 minutes left in the game, Anjie and Brook Lopez were both replaced by the coach.

It's time for these two guys to rest. It is impossible to open the score in a short time. Now we can only let them recover their strength as much as possible, and then send these two big men to a showdown at the last moment. .

With 3 minutes left in the game, Stanford University once again overtook the point difference, and now they entered the last timeout before the decisive battle with a 7-point lead.

"I believe that you will not be satisfied with stopping at the round of 64! We did not participate in the March Madness Championship just for formality, we want to popularize! We want to win! In the last 3 minutes, if you win, continue, if you lose, go home! Which of you wants to go back as a loser!?" Ricard looked around at his players.

"We're not going back! We want to popularize!" The players yelled.

Unlike Ricard's psychological adjustment, Stanford's coach Miles still talked about tactics calmly before the final battle.

"Brook, you go back to defend the Chinese, Robin, you play back to the power forward position, so that they don't dare to break through the perimeter. They won't have much to do. The Chinese is our biggest threat. But I Believe in you, Brook, you will definitely defeat your opponent and bring us to the next round." Myers looked at his proud disciple firmly.

"We are here to compete with UCLA for the championship. If we lose to the Cyclones, why not make Westbrook and Kevin Love laugh?" Brook still remembers the scene of losing the league championship by three points. Chu, he didn't want to repeat the old pattern in the March Madness.

collision!Brook Lopez hit the back, forced Anjie to advance into the three-second zone, and then completed the attack with a hook again.

Skill!Anjie's nimble footwork made Brook Lopez's center of gravity fluctuate. Finally, after several consecutive fake moves tricked Lopez into jumping, Anjie easily scored a layup with a low hand.

Art!Mike Taylor's breakthrough made Stanford University's position shrink to the basket. After he jumped up, he passed the ball beautifully to the unmarked Anthony Ben. Anthony Ben plunged into the inside line, and the entire Stanford University defense It's all messed up.I don't know when, Cruz suddenly received a basketball flying out of the penalty area, and then made a shot from outside the three-point line.Anthony Ben's second greatest weapon is the wonderful biography of elusive and haunted!

Violence!Robin Lopez turned around and passed Asakin with ease. He dunked heavily and felt that the basket was about to be pulled off by him.This is not over yet, after the dunk, Robin pushed Asakin as a provocation.

One minute passed, and the Cyclones only narrowed the point difference by one point.Just 1 more minutes, and Stanford can take the next round with its head held high.But this word is not given up in the cyclone team's dictionary, and they are determined to fight Stanford University to the end.

With Anjie's pick-and-roll, Mike Taylor once again broke through to Brook, who had switched defenses. Anjie mentioned that Brook couldn't sit idly by.Robin immediately made up for the basket. In his opinion, Mike Taylor was here to block himself.

However, there is one guy on offense that the Cyclones have always been overlooked.

Taylor pulled the ball down after faking a layup, then looped his arm around Robin Lopez's back in the air and passed the ball.The person who received the ball was Asakin, a center who averaged no more than 3.6 points per game.

After Robin was tricked into jumping, Asakin faced an empty basket.He jumped up vigorously and prepared to attack the frame, and Robin had already completed the second take-off after landing at this moment.To be honest, Robin's bullet speed and jump height are completely incomparable to Asakin.If he still wanted to dunk, he would definitely be blocked. Asakin turned his wrist and turned the dunk into a layup.The basketball hit the white frame of the backboard and then refracted into the net.

"Four points! At the most critical moment, Asakin stepped forward!" Although the sports commentary should remain neutral, Paul Philips expressed his love for his hometown team.Anyway, his and Bill's commentary was only broadcast locally in Ames City, so they didn't have to worry about whether their partiality in the commentary would bring bad consequences.

After Asakin scored, he forced Robin Lopez's hard layup on the defensive end.Robin yelled at the referee that Asakin had fouled, but the referee didn't respond, but walked away from Robin silently.It was a ball that could be blown or not, but Asakin has always played very clean and restrained, so the referee subconsciously felt that Asakin would definitely not foul.

Robin didn't return to the defense in time because he was arguing with the referee. This is a good opportunity for Mike Taylor to break into the penalty area.Without the deterrence of the block king, Taylor completed his throw for the second time, and the sight remained the same.

Two points to go!

Stanford University handed the ball to Brook Lopez just to be on the safe side. After he settled down in the low post, the Cyclones actually resorted to double-teaming tactics again!

Robin wanted to run out of position to meet his brother, but Asakin didn't give him a chance to connect the ball like a candy.

And Anjie didn't give Brook a chance to pass the ball. He saw the timing and slapped the basketball off Brook's hand. Cruz, who was quick-eyed and quick-handed, fell to the ground and firmly held the ball into his arms.

Cruz got on his stomach and threw the ball before the Stanford players got up for it.McTaylor carried Foster to pick up the basketball. During the confrontation with Taylor, Foster suddenly lost his center of gravity and fell down. The scene looked very chaotic.

Although the scene was chaotic, Mike Taylor, who is already in the third grade, has a very clear mind. After he picked up the ball, he immediately advanced quickly, and Anthony Benn on the other side was also on the right attack route. The Cyclones are now playing two-on-one in the frontcourt !

"Will it be an alley-oop!?" The ESPN commentator recognized Anthony Ben's excellent bounce today, and they expected Anthony Benn to dunk another one in their hearts.

Markle knew that Mike Taylor was a pass-first point guard, so he unconsciously took a few steps towards Ben, thinking that Taylor would definitely pass the ball.

Stepping on the free throw line, Mike Taylor raised the ball with both hands in the direction of Ben.Markle jumped up immediately, he had to intercept the pass.

However, this is not the first time that Mike Taylor has used his fake moves and realistic eyes to deceive people. Is it a pass or a shot?Except for Mike Taylor himself, no one can guess what he will do next.

This is a beautiful European step layup, but Mike Taylor's first step is really like a pass.With Taylor's layup, the Cyclones tied the score in the last minute.

Coach Larry Myers immediately called a timeout, and the situation was out of his control.

Until the last minute, the dark horse was still biting the giants.In the next 1 minute, just one mistake may ruin the previous 1 minutes of hard work.No matter if they are wealthy or grassroots, they are all one step away from death at this moment, and only a hair's breadth away from victory. .

(End of this chapter)